Summa bellum
stellarum
Question VII
Of The Force Awakens
First Article
Whether The Force Awakens was a knockoff of A New Hope?
[Note: several plot potencies are actualized in this article.]
[Note: several plot potencies are actualized in this article.]
We proceed thus to the First Article:-
Objection 1. It seems
that The Force Awakens is merely a remake of A New Hope. For, as some have
said, it features a protégé who betrays his mentor, as Kylo Ren betrayed Luke.
This is just as when Anakin betrayed Obi Wan. Therefore it seems as if The
Force Awakens is merely a remake of A New Hope.
Obj. 2. Further, A New Hope was about the conflict between
the Rebel Alliance and The Galactic Empire and its ominous battle station.
Similarly, in The Force Awakens, the conflict is between the Resistance and The
First Order and its even more ominous Starkiller battle station. Therefore it
seems as if The Force Awakens is merely a remake of A New Hope.
Obj. 3. Further, the main hero of A New Hope is a young
person, apparently fatherless, who is from a desert planet. The main hero of
The Force Awakens is also a young person, apparently fatherless, who is from a
desert planet. Therefore it seems as if The Force Awakens is merely a remake of
A New Hope.
On the contrary, It is written: The Force Awakens “dishes out
familiarity without apology and arranges it in such a way that, even as we
recognize the patterns and beats, it feels fresh and invigorating and, lest we
forget what's really at stake here, fun” (James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk).
I answer that, since The Force Awakens is the continuation of
the saga of the first six films, and since those films revolved around the rise,
fall, and redemption of Anakin Skywalker, that in order to maintain that
narrative arc, a similar cycle had to be repeated in Anakin’s family. Since Anakin
is dead, and since he only had two children, the only logical option therefore
was to focus on the elements of the rise, fall, and redemption of his grandchildren.
If the sequels completely departed from this theme, they would totally
undermine the integrity and diminish the beauty of the original six movies. Therefore,
there had to be a fundamental similarity between the old movies and the new
movies, and especially between episodes IV and VII, in which Anakin’s
child/grandchildren are introduced as heroes.
Reply to Objection 1. While it is true that both movies
involve the betrayal of a mentor, Kylo Ren’s murder of his father is
unprecedented. Thus we do not have a simple “remake,” but an artistic mix of
old themes with new variations.
Reply Obj. 2. The
repeated effort of a centralized power to control the universe (The Galactic
Empire and The First Order) is hardly surprising, given the fact that actual
history is replete with many examples of the same impulse toward empire (Napoleon’s repeated efforts, Germany and
Russia, etc). Further, acquisition of the ultimate weapon to secure power has
always been a driving force in actual history, and it is no surprise that such
a motif would reappear in the Star Wars saga. And of course, because freedom is
also a powerful and natural impulse, there will always be resistance movements
to such efforts. Therefore we do not have a mere “remake,” but a reflection of
the way things are in history.
Reply Obj. 3. There
are two reasons something may be said to be just like something else. One is
because it is a mindless copy. But the other is because it is an artistic
motif. It is in this second sense that there are many similarities between Rey and Luke. The filmmakers want us to see her as a “second coming” of Luke, quite
possibly as his daughter. Recall, one of the last things Yoda said before he
became one with the Force: “Luke...the Force runs strong in your family. Pass
on what you have learned.” Therefore, we do not have a “remake,” but an
artistic extension of Luke’s story in a new character.
And so this criticism fails, and amounts to nothing more
than a giant pile of bantha fodder.
