Star Wars: A New Hope (Episode IV), released in 1978, marked the beginning of the Star Wars franchise. Two movies were made after its success, as well as: three prequel movies, three sequel movies, three anthology films, seven animated series, six animated micro-series, one live-action series, and one game show. A New Hope gathered seven Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (John Barry, Norman Reynolds, Leslie Dilley, Roger Christian), Best Costume Design (John Mollo), Best Sound (Don MacDougall, Ray West, Bob Minkler, Derek Ball), Best Film Editing (Paul Hirsch, Marcia Lucas, Richard Chew) Best Effects-Visual Effects (John Stears, John Dykstra, Richard Edlund, Grant McCune, Robert Blalack), Best Music-Original Score (John Williams), and the Special Achievement Award (Benjamin Burtt Jr.) for the creation of the alien, creature and robot voices. A New Hope won a total of 63 awards from 1978-2021. In 2021, it entered the OFTA Film Hall of Fame for its score and three characters: Darth Vader (James Earl Jones and the late David Prowse), Han Solo (Harrison Ford), and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). Episode IV was filmed in Tunisia, Guatemala, the UK, and Death Valley (California, USA). Star Wars: A New Hope was written and directed by George Lucas, the founder of Pixar, Lucasfilm, THX Ltd., Skywalker Sound, Industrial Light & Magic, and LucasArts. The inspiration for the Star Wars franchise came from the Flash Gordon comic strips. After being rejected for the Flash Gordon rights to make a film, Lucas decided to make his own version without restrictions. Thus, the Star Wars franchise was born and reached the 26th spot on IMDb’s Top 250 Films list.
The movie stars Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker with the supporting cast of Harrison Ford, the late Carrie Fisher, the late Peter Cushing, the late Alec Guinness, the late David Prowse, James Earl Jones, Anthony Daniels, the late Kenny Baker, and the late Peter Mayhew. Star Wars was Anthony Daniels’ and Kenny Baker’s film debut, where they did not star in many famous films since then. The movie centers around the protagonist, Luke Skywalker, who joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a pilot, a Wookie, and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire’s battle station while rescuing Princess Leia from Darth Vader. The heroes in the story heavily rely on the expertise of their droids. Are droids considered slaves in the Star Wars universe, and how does this affect their alliances to the Rebels?
In Star Wars, droids and robots could be compared to slaves. They were brought and sold on the black market, programmed to do specific tasks, and abused their owners. The one true argument that related droids to slaves is the assumption that the droids are sentient beings. They can feel and experience the world. However, they are not made of flesh and blood, as humans are treated as second-class citizens. This is why aliens and people have no qualms about buying them from the black market, reprogramming them, erasing their memories, and having them do their bidding. There is no denying that the droids have emotions. C-3PO’s entire personality centers around his concern for his R2-D2 and Luke’s wellbeing. R2-D2, on the other hand, makes snarky remarks about his former owners and the need to complete his mission.
The treatment of the droids in Star Wars raises an interesting ethical question that has been explored in Sci-Fi movies since the 1960s. If droids have feelings and emotions, do they have the same rights as humans? Are they allowed to live as they please, wander the streets, go to school and work, and own a house? If so, then what is their true purpose? What did humans create droids for then? Star Wars also gives us a glimpse of what might (and probably will) happen to droid life forms if they were to evolve to the point of sentience. We will most likely abuse the droids because humans love repeating history. We’ll sell them on the black market to the highest bidder and come home with our pockets lined with cash and sleep tightly. We’re already slowly starting to do it. I can’t be the only one who swears at my phone after an auto-correct fail or at my laptop when it randomly decides to glitch. I also can’t be the only one who remembers when people used to sell phones that had the Flappy Bird game downloaded after it was taken off Google Play and App Store. The question boils down to this: when we get to the brink of true artificial intelligence, do we program them to be our equals, or are they a means to an end?
In conclusion, the droids absolutely are slaves in the Star Wars universe. They are sentient beings who can feel and express emotions and trade snide remarks. However, the two droids who accompany Luke, Han, and Leia on their journey are treated well. There are options to escape, and they are not forced to hang on to the Millenium Falcon or Luke. Luke even mentions to C-3PO that he should stop calling him “Master Luke” and just stick to Luke instead. This shows that the droids felt safe with them and wanted to see how the mission with the Rebels would pan out. Luke even asks his plane engineer to keep R2-D2 as his droid on his mission because of their shared encounters. While the droid species are considered slaves in the Star Wars franchise, R2-D2 and C-3PO are not held against their will with Luke, Han, and Leia. They choose to be with the Rebel Alliance because it makes them feel safe. Star Wars will always be a problematic movie franchise for me to understand. There are a lot of names and species and alliances that you have to be aware of, and there are multiple storylines that you have to be able to follow. I am watching the series now and can understand why it garners such a vast fanbase. It’s just fun to watch.
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