Discussions of a movie’s genre tend to get bogged down in semantics and miss the point. Genres are more or less just loose categories that help streaming services to catalogue their content. A great movie is a great movie, regardless of its genre. But George Lucas’Star Warsandits many prequels, sequels, and spin-offsare often included under the sci-fi banner and there are a few crucial elements that preventStar Warsfrom qualifying as hard science fiction.
While all the space travel and laser fights might scream sci-fi,Star Warsactually has more in common with another genre: fantasy. Despite its interstellar setting,Star Warshas more in common withThe Wizard of Ozthan2001.
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As laid out by pioneering writers like Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury and Leigh Brackett (who, incidentally, has a screenwriting credit onThe Empire Strikes Backfor her work on a crucial early draft), science fiction stories traditionally speculate about humanity’s future and the dangers of the rise of technology. Straightforward science fiction should hit close to home by recontextualizing real-world concepts in futuristic settings.
Instead of taking a look in the mirror to expose humanity’s weaknesses,Star Warstakes audiences to a galaxy far, far away with its own laws of physics. There’s plenty of futuristic tech inthe movie’s groundbreaking “used future” production design, but it all blends into the background as a part of everyday life in this universe. With Luke, Obi-Wan, and Vader all using the Force,Star Warsembraces magical realism. It’s not a movie about astronauts or computer hackers; it’s a movie about wizards and monsters.
Star Wars’ closest competitor for the title of most popular franchise set in outer space,Star Trek, isa lot closer to hard sci-fithan Lucas’ saga. Gene Roddenberry conceived the series in the ‘60s to tackle prevalent social issues like racism and McCarthyism using allegories in a cosmic setting. With its use of heady sci-fi storytelling to capture contemporary fears, the originalStar Trekseries was a lot likeThe Twilight Zonein space.Star Trekis broadly about humanity’s quest to chart the universe and boldly go where no one has gone before. It imagines the future of Earth and the ultimate fate of the human race.Star Warsimagines entirely new worlds filled with entirely new species – even the humans aren’t really humans. Luke Skywalker might look like a human and have the name Luke, but he grew up on Tatooine and has the Force. Technically, he’s nothing like us.
Audiences are expected to suspend their disbelief when they watch aStar Warsmovie. The lore has all been meticulously explained on Wookieepedia, but C-3PO’s programming can’t be picked apart like HAL’s can. In2001, everything HAL does to get the upper hand – like reading Dave’s lips – can be done by a real computer, whichmakes Kubrick’s movie all the more haunting. IfStar Warsfans actually think about C-3PO’s programming, like the fact that he was programmed to feel pain and fear, his whole characterization falls apart. But then, it’s later revealed that he was programmed by the kid who grew up to slaughter Sandpeople and younglings, so it’s possible it was just a sadistic joke. Viewers aren’t supposed to ask these questions; they’re supposed to just accept Threepio as he is, like the Tin Man. And thanks to Anthony Daniels’ incredible performance, they do.
All the main characters inStar Warsare reimagined fairy tale archetypes: Luke is a farm boy (albeit on a moisture farm),Leia is a princess who needs to be saved, Obi-Wan is a wise old wizard who guides the hero on his quest – the list of parallels goes on. While Princess Leia does initially need to be rescued,Star Warssmartly subverts the “damsel in distress” narrative as Luke and Han spring her from the Death Star’s detention center without an escape plan, so the savior dynamic is promptly flipped and suddenly Leia is saving them. Lucas’ archetypal storytelling was influenced by Joseph Campbell’s studies in mythology, and the “hero’s journey” thatStar Warsemployed has been emulated by just about every blockbuster since. Former Disney employee Christopher Vogler even turned it into a how-to guide calledThe Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers.
For the distinctive tone ofStar Wars, Lucas didn’t take much influence from science fiction. In fact, he drew influence from everything but: westerns;The Lord of the Rings; serials likeFlash Gordon, which included high-tech gadgets and weapons purely for the pulpy aesthetic and not to explore technology’s impact on society; andAkira Kurosawa’sThe Hidden Fortress, which similarly revolves around a princess leading a rebellion against oppressive overlords and a veteran warrior confronting his old nemesis. The main difference is that it’s told from the perspective of two downtrodden peasants whileStar Warsis told from the perspective of two downtrodden droids.
Despite skewing fantasy more than sci-fi,Star Warsdoes share one key trait with science fiction. LikeDistrict 9’s recreation of apartheid with aliens andChildren of Men’s study of humanity’s ugliest sides in the context of a dystopian future,Star Warsfilters social commentary through a genre story. George Lucas conceivedthe Rebels’ struggle against the Empireas an allegory for the Vietnam War, which had ended just two years earlier (and was still ongoing when he started writing). SinceStar Warshit theaters and inspired a new generation of filmmakers, more socially conscious fantasy movies have been popping up. Guillermo del Toro’sPan’s Labyrinthsets a traditional fairy tale about a little girl discovering magic against the harrowing backdrop of Francoist Spain.
Outside ofThe Lord of the RingsandGame of Thrones, the fantasy genre doesn’t get a lot of love. There are plenty of Y.A. fantasy romance novel trilogies trying to be the nextTwilightorHunger Games, but this genre iscapable of providing so much more. As a speculative genre drawn from the magical tropes of fairy tales – some of the earliest stories ever told – fantasy stories have the ability to convey powerful parables in an escapist setting. With today’s filmmaking technologies, the sky is the limit.
