Critical Approaches to Media

The Empire Strikes Back. Han Solo frozen in carbonite.

View the clip on YouTube.

This scene is one of the memorable lines from what many agree to be the best of the Star Wars films. Like all cinema, it can be analyzed through many different critical lenses to dig deeper into the meaning of the film and its place in society. One lens through which this scene can be analyzed is that of feminist media criticism. Throughout the movie, the relationship between Han Solo (Harrison Ford) Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) is becoming increasingly romantic. When Leia finally admits to Han that she loves him he responds simply with, “I know.” This short, but very effective piece of dialogue reinforces the stereotype that women are emotional whereas men are strong and resist outwardly showing emotions. Even though he is about to be put into a state of hibernation, Han remains a masculine image. He gives instructions to another male character, Chewbacca, to look after Leia while he is away. Even though Leia is often portrayed as an independent and strong woman, the men in the film still feel that she needs to be cared for by a man.

Another analytical framework that can be applied to this scene, as well as the film series, is the deconstruction/poststructuralist lens. The character of Darth Vader is portrayed in the films as the personification of evil. He helps run the Empire, which oppresses everyone and benefits a limited few. Hi robotic appearance and sinister voice make him the exact opposite of the youthful and innocent Luke Skywalker. Vader is always dressed in his black uniform while Luke usually wears white. Vader preaches a gospel of anger and hate while Luke resists him and searches for the good in the world. In this scene, Darth Vader is freezing one of the beloved main characters to further his own agenda, both personally and politically, a decidedly “evil” thing to do. At the same time, Luke is coming to the rescue in order to save the day. He abandons his own personal training to come to the aid of his friends and fight the forces of evil. However, as the film progresses Vader’s means are not entirely evil. He eventually helps destroy the empire, seemingly out of a desire to make amends with his own son Luke. This no longer makes him archetypal evil character that he is made out to be. Also, if he had wanted to do real harm, he easily could have killed Han Solo instead of simple putting him into hibernation. Although it is based upon obvious categorization of “good” versus “evil,” upon further analysis this framework eventually collapses.

Having students use the deconstruction/poststructuralist lens is an excellent way to have students explore the idea of attaching labels to ideas and objects, both in film and in society in general. As a classroom activity, a teacher could show a film clip such as this one or any other clip where archetypes are used. Separating students into pairs, have one student look for all of the “good” qualities/actions of a character and have the other look for all of the evil qualities/actions. Once the clip is finished and each student has a list, give them some time to prepare an argument. Have the students debate each other on whether or not a character is purely “good” or purely “evil.” This activity could also be done in groups of four, with two students arguing each side. Hopefully, the students and the class as a whole will come to the conclusion that no label can be 100% accurate all of the time.