“Somebody has to save our skins. Into the garbage chute, flyboy!”
On this week's episode of Deep Thoughts About Stupid Shit, Emily tackles the foundational pop culture text of every Gen X childhood: the 1977 film Star Wars IV: A New Hope. By following the storytelling rubric offered by Joseph Campbell's monomyth (a.k.a., The Hero's Journey), George Lucas created a film that changed the industry. (If only he knew when to leave well enough alone.)
Emily reminds Tracie of how the depiction of Princess Leia as a badass inspired their mother, who knew that storytelling where a woman grabs the blaster and saves herself was revolutionary. But Leia is the only woman in the galaxy far far away, which meant the sisters also learned that there was only one way to be a heroine, and that she must be flawless.
The sisters also discuss how the film drew inspiration from history, including the recently ended Vietnam War. George Lucas intended for the rebels to represent the Viet Cong while the Empire represents America--a message that flew over the heads of the audience who most needed to recognize the critique. But Lucas also undermined his point by hiring an entirely white cast, making it much easier for viewers to identify with the rebels.
Finally, Emily admires the way Lucas made the world of Star Wars feel lived in--in part by making space and alien worlds look dingy, dented, and distressed, but also by refusing to slow down the plot to explain everything. Undermining this storytelling choice in later installments (we're looking at you Midichlorians!) is one of Emily's biggest disappointments with the greater Star Wars canon.
Stuck behind a big walking carpet? Throw on some headphones and listen in while you wait.
We are Tracie Guy-Decker and Emily Guy Birken, known to our extended family as the Guy Girls.
We both have super-serious personas in our "day jobs." No, really. Emily is a Finance writer who used to be a classroom teacher. Tracie writes and consults on social justice and mindfulness and works as a copywriter and project manager for non-profits. If you really need to see the bona fides, please visit our individual websites: tracieguydecker.com and emilyguybirken.com
For our work together, what you need to know is that Tracie is older (3 years), Emily is funnier (by at least 3 percent), and we're both hella smart, often over-literal, and completely unashamed of our overthinking prowess. We love movies and tv, science fiction and murder mysteries, good storytelling with liberal amounts of dramatic irony, and analyzing pop culture for gender dynamics, psychology, sociology, and whatever else we find there.
Learn more about Tracie and Emily (including our other projects), join the Guy Girls' family, secure exclusive access to bonus episodes, video version, and early access to Deep Thoughts by visiting us on Patreon.
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