“I have a bad feeling about this.” An Analysis of Star Wars as a Popular Culture Artifact

Sikandar Alexander Muqbil, TYBA 

2020-2021

‘A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.’ The iconic ‘opening crawl’ of every Star Wars movie has set the tone and the context for over forty years of media, originating from ‘A New Hope’ in 1977. Since then the franchise has spawned twelve live-action movies, tv shows, animated series, countless video games, books, comics and a variety of other media, including its own Wikipedia, (‘Wookiepedia’) that have seen it become the second highest-grossing media franchise of all time as well as the second largest film series, second only to Pokemon and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) (Wood, 2019). Star Wars has also spawned several generations of avid fans, from those introduced to the space opera in the late 20th century, with the ‘original trilogy,’ to those introduced in the 2000s with the prequel era and the newer trilogy of movies. This paper attempts to examine the Star Wars universe as a popular culture artifact, exploring both why and how the series became the ‘big daddy’ of science fiction franchises, as well as the impact it has had on popular culture through its portrayal of certain themes, such as gender, class, authority, democracy, rebellion, mythology, etc. For this paper, theories from Pierre Bourdieu and Theodore W. Adorno will be used to critically analyse the Star Wars universe, both its content and it’s ‘industrialization,’ before and after the acquisition of the franchise by Disney.

In what way, however, can Star Wars be considered an artifact of popular culture? Popular Culture can be defined as a ‘set of practices, beliefs, and objects that embody the most broadly shared meanings of a social system’ (Kidd, 2014). It includes aspects of media, entertainment, leisure and fashion, and is differentiated from ‘high culture’ or ‘folk culture’ on the basis of its widespread consumption, as well as, in the case of Star Wars, a commodity which is produced ‘…through capitalist processes driven by a profit motive and sold to consumers’ (Kidd, 2014). A pop culture artifact, therefore, is characterized by production for commercial purposes, and widespread consumption in a variety of different mediums. In this context, the Star Wars ‘universe’ is perhaps not only one of the most lucrative pop culture artifacts of the last half-century, but also particularly interesting as a case study, due to its longevity and continued popularity as a pop culture artifact. 

Star Wars’ enduring, even growing popularity is not surprising, given its takeover by Disney in 2012, an organization that has become a ‘factory’ for the production of popular culture artifacts. Although Star Wars’ popularity and enshrined status in pop culture lore preceded this takeover of Lucasfilm - the production company behind Star Wars - Adorno’s theory of the ‘culture industry’ rings more true in the context of what Star Wars has become in the last decade. Adorno, with this theory, argues that the culture industry changes the fundamental character of art, with the emphasis being on its marketability. Additionally, this art no longer promises a ‘freedom from societally dictated uses’ but rather becomes valuable only for its ‘exchange value’ (Horkheimer & Adorno, 2002). From this perspective, the co-option of Star Wars into the Disney machine has reflected this idea of the ‘culture industry’ more so than ever. From 1977-2005, a 28-year period, a grand total of six live action films were produced. In the last five years alone, there have been five new Star Wars movies, with new Star Wars TV shows in the pipeline, as well as a 14-acre theme park in Disneyland which opened in 2019. 

This is not, however to say that the Star Wars franchise pre-Disney, was created and expanded in a form not reminiscent of Adorno’s culture industry. In many ways, Star Wars is the pioneering space-opera that has spawned four decades of films, including becoming the ‘formula’ of a ‘feel-good film.’ According to Lucas’ biographer, Chris Salewicz:

‘Star Wars turned upside down Hollywood’s attitudes towards science fiction; it was partly responsible for the notion of the Feelgood film …it exploded the boundaries of special effects; it made merchandising the characters from a movie as important as the movie itself; it created a pop mythology, and...lodged the notion of the Force in the collective psyche.’ (Forbes, 1999)

The idea of merchandising being ‘as important’ as the film itself is perhaps no more poignant than in the framework of Adorno’s idea of the culture industry. Lucasfilm’s merchandising deals with Lego, Hasbro, Pepsi and many more, have brought in over $33 billion for the franchise, with toys accounting for over $15 billion of that revenue. 

Ironically, the fundamental messaging of Star Wars, and the heroes that we come to love over multiple movies, are all part of the ‘Rebellion’ or the ‘Resistance.’ The central story of all the live-action films, is essentially a family drama of the Skywalkers, spanning three generations, in which there is a never-ending battle between good and evil. The notions of the ‘Force,’ the ‘Light Side,’ ‘Dark Side,’ the ‘Sith’ and the ‘Jedi’ are brimming with religious symbolism, and the character arc of each of the central protagonists, is rife with capitalist ideas of industrialization, urbanization and mass production among others. These concepts are central to narratives of mythology, which according to Campbell, ‘effect a reconciliation of the individual consciousness with the universal will, leaving behind the life of ignorance’ (Peters, 2012). The concept of a hero and his/her adventure, a story which is told repeatedly, in multiple forms, reinforces the duality, a ‘balance of opposites,’ between mercy and justice, good and evil, right and wrong, which is determined by a cosmic force such as a God-figure, or literally ‘the Force’ in Star Wars. Star Wars is essentially a religious epic, retold in a ‘galaxy far, far away,’ reflecting modern, capitalist ideas in its narrative. 

According to George Lucas:

‘I’m telling an old myth in a new way. Each society takes that myth and retells it in a different way, which relates to the particular environment they live in. The motif is the same. It’s just that it gets localised. As it turns out, I’m localizing it for the planet.’ (Peters, 2012).

Through this, we can see how Adorno views popular culture as a type of ‘social cement’. Pop culture does not necessarily hide reality from people, nor are they directly being misled by it. Similarly, the central message that dominates Star Wars, i.e., that one must be ‘chosen’ or ‘Force sensitive,’ in order to defeat the forces of evil, reinforces Adorno’s point, that popular culture makes its consumers recognize how difficult it is to effect change, and thus one must resign oneself to the solace that pop culture offers (Strinati, 1995). Neither the Rebellion nor the Resistance in the Star Wars movies would have been able to defeat evil without ‘Jedi Knights,’ and are usually depicted as floundering in their efforts until a Jedi enters the fray. Thus, in order to challenge the status quo, one must be somehow ‘special.’

Another key point from Adorno’s theory is the idea of standardization and pseudo-individualism. Standardization, 

‘defines the way the culture industry squeezes out any kind of challenge, originality, authenticity or intellectual stimulation’ (Strinati, 1995),

In the context of Star Wars, this is reflected in the similarities between the protagonists of the three sagas. Anakin, Luke and Rey have almost exactly the same origin story – all three are trapped on a desert planet, from which they escape after years of slavery/indentured labour. All three are ‘Force sensitive’ due to their genealogy, except for Anakin (who, although is said to have been ‘made’ by a Sith Lord, Darth Plagueis, thus explaining his turn to the Dark Side). The resemblance between these origin stories, especially in the context of the latest trilogy is a prime example of the culture industry at work. ‘The Force Awakens,’ the first instalment of the Disney-era movies, shares almost the same plot as the original Star Wars movie, ‘A New Hope.’ The subsequent movies continue to build on this, recycling the same characters from the original trilogy like Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, etc., to the point that they are more an effort to please fans with nostalgia than create a new narrative.

Adorno’s notion of the ‘regression of listening,’ which although he explores in the context of popular music versus classical music, is particularly poignant in the backdrop of Star Wars, and the effort to please fans mentioned above. According to this idea, 

‘regressive listeners behave like children. Again and again and with stubborn malice, they demand the one dish they have once been served. Accordingly, they suffer from the delusion that they are exercising some degree of control and choice in their leisure pursuits’ (Strinati, 1995). 

The recycling of said narrative was one of the key reasons Star Wars fans, including myself, loved ‘The Force Awakens,’ despite the familiar plot and recycling of characters. ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ (the last movie), however was extremely poorly received, as Disney becomes the embodiment of the culture industry, rehashing the favourite characters and scenes from earlier movies in a way that felt more like a compilation of those movies rather than a completely new movie. Commercially, however, this has worked well for the franchise, because it has helped keep fans of the original movies in the continued consumption of new movies and TV series, while also introducing new viewers to Star Wars lore, and create an entire cycle of consumption around the movies, including video games, theme parks, etc. Star Wars, which has always been a part of the culture industry, has now unfortunately become a cash-cow for Disney, which has also had an impact on their tone, content and narrative.

Star Wars, despite having the ability to influence narratives positively, especially with regards to gender, class, status and religion, among other themes, has often failed to do so. According to Nusz (2012), ‘films do more than entertain; they offer up subject positions, mobilize desires, influence us unconsciously and help to construct the landscape of our culture.’ In the framework of gender in Star Wars, however, female characters have been few and far between. The original trilogy of movies, for example, which coincided with the second and third waves of feminism in the US, failed to use Leia Organa, for example, as anything more than a sidekick and a sexual object. In a scene in ‘Return of the Jedi,’ Leia is captured, dressed in a gold bikini, and chained to a giant slug. Quite literally. This particular scene in the movie is also problematic because it is practically the only representation of a female character from the original trilogy which was made into a toy. Thus despite her other achievements in the movies, such as leading the Rebellion against The Empire and the Resistance against the First Order, the only ‘consumable’ aspect of her character in another form apart from in the movies, is as a sex slave needing to be saved by a male figure. Similarly, Padmé Amidala, from the prequel movies, is a senator and the queen of Naboo, but as the films progress, loses the earlier, positive narrative as a champion of democratic values, becoming merely an object of desire, Anakin’s girlfriend and the reason for his turn to the Dark Side. 

The new era of Star Wars movies, however, make an attempt to defy the gender stereotypes that have riddled pop culture movies. Rey is the central character in the newest episodes of the Star Wars movies and is portrayed as strong, complex and brave and not needing a male figure to save her. Her independence as a female character is evidenced by a scene in The Force Awakens, in which when she meets Finn for the first time, while being chased by Stormtroopers, he grabs her hand instinctively, to which she responds with ‘“I know how to run without you holding my hand!” Finally, after over forty years of male-centric narratives, do we have a strong female character, who possesses agency and empowers herself rather than being empowered by the male characters around her, or by her political status. 

In the framework of the theories of Bourdieu, Star Wars as an artifact of popular culture is also particularly relevant. According to Bourdieu, judgements of taste are related to social position and in turn, are also ways in which social positioning occurs. Star Wars is, in many ways, the Godfather of fandom culture, i.e., in terms of its unification of consumers of a particular film series and as it’s fandom has grown, so has the revulsion towards the ‘nerds,’ who enjoy Sci-Fi films. Taste, according to Bourdieu, 

‘…both unites and separates by defining the lifestyle of others through negotiation. That is, the dominant class expresses disgust at the cultural taste of subordinate classes. This is a form of ‘symbolic violence’ in that it expresses material domination in non-material ways.’ (Turner, Edmunds, 2002)

 Even today, when interest in Star Wars has been renewed as a result of the new movies and TV shows released by Disney, this same ‘symbolic violence’ exists (Turner & Edmunds, 2002). As a Star Wars fan myself, I’ve often been called a nerd for making references to the movies, even for recommending them – while my recommendation of the series to others may be clouded by my investment in it (several Lego Star Destroyers and a Millenium Falcon), the disgust towards Star Wars in general is representative of this ‘symbolic violence’, which occurs towards most artifacts of popular culture, simply due to their status as ‘popular.’ ‘A New Hope,’ the original Star Wars film was nominated for eleven Academy Awards, winning seven, before promptly dropping off the radar of the Academy completely. 

Although this is not necessarily indicative of its attainment of ‘pop’ status, due to the Oscars historical distaste for film series, including for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), it is perhaps evidence to show this ‘symbolic violence’ at play. The Academy, in a sense, legitimizes taste within the film industry and the ‘pop’ status that the Star Wars franchise has attained is potentially a factor that has kept excellent Star Wars films such as ‘The Empire Strikes Back,’ a phrase which has come to be used as the gold-standard for a sequel, has been shunned by ‘highbrow’ culture. 

Another facet of Bourdieu’s theory that is applicable in this study of Star Wars is his idea of cultural reproduction. Bourdieu argues that cultural values are transmitted from generation to generation, through various mechanisms which help maintain cultural continuity (Chandler & Munday, 2011). The generational aspect of Star Wars is a particularly interesting feature, because of the forty year period over which Star Wars has remained relevant in pop culture. The MCU, despite having the foundation of comic books in the 1960s, did not bring their characters to the big screen until 2008, more than 30 years after the first Star Wars movie. George Lucas’ own admission, that his movies are myths, placed in slightly more relatable contexts is indicative of the impact of storytelling and mythology on society. Star Wars broadly attempts to reflect societal values and in the original trilogy, with Master Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi’s wisdom (somewhat reminiscent of Buddhist philosophy, especially relating to concepts of attachment) making the movies play an important role, especially for children whose parents are Star Wars fans, in socialization (Nusz, 2012). It is not only the content of the films, however, that is transmitted across generations in the case of Star Wars, but also its commercial aspect as discussed earlier in this paper. 

As an avid Star Wars fan, the transformation of the franchise in the last ten years has been both a source of mirth, due to Disney’s almost production-line pace of churning out new films and content, as well as conflict, as a result of social media that has arisen in the Star Wars fanbase. Although this idea has not been explored in this paper, this ‘split’ in the fan base brings to mind an ideological conflict that has become more present than ever, i.e., a conflict between democracy and authoritarianism that has become a part of our daily discussions that is explored widely in popular culture, especially in Star Wars. And in this way, the microcosm that popular culture is, in reflecting the status quo, while also justifying it in a sense. It also reflects the power that pop culture can have, in effecting meaningful change through its narratives. In today’s world, it seems Padmé Amidala’s quote, seems more fitting than ever - ‘”So this is how liberty dies…with thunderous applause.”’ Until then, may the force be with you. 

References

Turner, B., & Edmunds, J. (2002). The Distaste of Taste: Bourdieu, Cultural Capital and the Australian post-war elite. University of Cambridge. 

Strinati, Dominic. (1995) An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture. Second Edition. London: Routledge 

Kidd, Dustin. (2014). Pop culture freaks: Identity, mass media, and society. Boulder, CO: Westview.

Nusz, A. (2012). The foundational structures behind Star Wars. University of Louisville. Retrieved from:

https://ir.library.louisville.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2074&context=etd

Forbes, B. (1999). Battling the Dark Side: Star Wars and Popular Understandings of Evil. Wordandworld.luthersem.edu. Retrieved 18 September 2020, from http://wordandworld.luthersem.edu/content/pdfs/19-4_god_and_evil/19-4_forbes.pdf.

Peters, T. (2012). ‘The Force’ as Law: Mythology, Ideology and Order in George Lucas’s Star Wars. Australian Feminist Law Journal, 36(1), 125-143. https://doi.org/10.1080/13200968.2012.10854471

Katz, T.H.A (2018), Reconstructing the Death Star: Myth and Memory in the Star Wars Franchise. Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 91. Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1092&context=etd

Morgan, R. (2020). Rey-ifying a New Heroine: Interrogating the Curriculum of Femininity in Star Wars Films. Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2034. Retried from: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/2034