7 Surprisingly Deep Thoughts On Symbolism In “Star Wars”

Warning: These theories about “Star Wars” could make your brain explode like the Death Star. Andrew Gordon, a retired University of Florida professor, was one of the first film scholars to treat the original trilogy as worthy of academic study. His interpretations could change the way you see "Star Wars" forever.

1. Luke Skywalker and the inescapable relatives

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Our hero finally gets free of moisture-farming micro-manager Uncle Owen, but “wherever Luke goes in the universe, he keeps running into his family,” Gordon says. “He rescues Leia not realizing she’s his sister, he chases Darth Vader not realizing he's his father. It’s like George Bailey in ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ – he’ll never get out of Bedford Falls. You want to escape from your family, but you never will, and that's OK.”

2. Some extremely literal symbolism you might have missed

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The character’s names can be less than subtle. Han Solo tends to be a loner; Luke Skywalker is destined to traverse the galaxy. “Darth Vader sounds like ‘dark invader’ or ‘death father.’ The names are blatant,” Gordon says. Also: As Luke’s world is turned upside down by discovering his true identity, he spends a lot of time physically upside down – in the Wampa cave, on Dagobah, and over the Cloud City after the “I am your father” convo.

3. Mood lighting

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When Han and Leia share a scene, you can often spot red lights in the background. It's subtler than playing Barry White, but not a lot.

4. A whole different way of thinking about that Tauntaun

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Gordon points out that death and rebirth symbols abound in the movies. Luke looks like a goner out on the snows of Hoth, but Han comes to the rescue. Before you know it, Luke’s being pulled, C-section-style, from inside a Tauntaun and healed in a goo bath Gordon likens to amniotic fluid. Happy re-birthday!

5. Stop feeling so superior to Jabba the Hutt

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With his endless snacking and his giant baby face, Jabba the Hutt is stuck in the earliest of the five Freudian psychosexual development stages. “Jabba represents total oral regression,” Gordon says in his essay “Sex in the ‘Star Wars’ Trilogy.” But don’t feel superior just yet. He continues: "Each viewer in the audience plays in part the role of Jabba the Hutt: immobile, dwelling in the dark, stuffing oneself with popcorn, voyeuristically devouring the images on the screen, delighting in the explosions.” At least popcorn isn’t alive.

6. Chewbacca = Cowardly Lion?

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Gordon is one of several scholars who have pointed out parallels to the “Wizard of Oz.” “Like Dorothy, Luke is a nice kid living on the farm who dreams of adventure and magically gets his wish granted,” he says. If Luke is Dorothy, R2-D2 is Toto, the faithful companion, while C-3PO is the Tin Man (not a stretch). Chewbacca is the Cowardly Lion, but before you take offense, Gordon reminds us that “we discover that the Cowardly Lion is really quite courageous.” The Jawas stand in for Munchkins and Darth Vader is the Wicked Witch, while Leia is the Good Witch. “The castle Dorothy has to invade is the Death Star,” Gordon says. “In the end, the heroes get medals, the same as at the end of ‘Star Wars.’” But does it sync up with “Dark Side of the Moon”?

7. Sir Luke

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“Star Wars” follows a traditional pattern of mythic adventure where a hero — often one separated from his parents — discovers his destiny. Sounds a bit like Harry Potter, not to mention King Arthur. “Luke is like a Knight of the Round Table summoned to adventure. He must discover his true identity and attain his true powers,” Gordon says. “Obi Wan is the Merlin figure who gives him the sword Excalibur: the light saber.” C-3PO even calls him “Sir Luke” at one point.

8. A meditation on our growing fear that the technology we adore will eventually destroy us

Technology was moving into American homes and lives at an unprecedented rate at the time of the original trilogy, and “people felt like they were living in a machine world,” Gordon says. “With the Death Star, George Lucas built a machine world and blew it up. It was good technology versus bad technology. Look at Darth Vader: He’s a man who has become more and more mechanical. He lives inside a machine that is keeping him alive. He speaks with a mechanical voice. He's like a soulless robot. In 1984, not too long after ‘Star Wars,’ we get ‘The Terminator.’ Clearly these ideas are circulating in the culture.”