The Star Wars trilogies are all about fighting totalitarianism, but other than main characters like Luke, Leia, and Han, the films never show anyone’s motivation for fighting. Rogue One, however, does; it shows what life is like under totalitarianism and why the rebels are fighting it. Each rebel is fighting for something different, but underneath it all, they are fighting for the same thing as well.
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Credits:
Footage from:
Rogue One (2016), Dir. Gareth Edwards
Revenge of the Sith (2005), Dir. George Lucas
Star Wars (1977), Dir. George Lucas
The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Dir. Irvin Kershner
Return Of The Jedi (1983), Dir. Richard Marguand
The Force Awakens (2015), Dir. J.J. Abrams
Army Of Shadows (1969), Dir. Jean-Pierre Melville
The Pianist (2002), Dir. Roman Polanski
Music From:
Rogue One Soundtrack - Michael Giacchino
Star Wars Prequel and Original Trilogy Soundtracks - John Williams
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Full Transcript:
Hi, my name is Gabe and in this video I’ll be looking into Rogue One. I’ve always been a big Star Wars fan, and when Disney announced they were making expanded universe films, and that these films would focus on the original trilogy, I was really excited because, well let’s just say that the original trilogy is much better than the other two.
To me, the point of the expanded universe, in addition to telling more stories and giving us glimpses into new parts of the Star Wars world, is to help flesh out the original films. In my opinion, expanded universe stories should not just be entertaining, they should also increase the power and enhance the stories that were original told.
GRAND MOFF TARKIN: You may fire when ready.
And while Rogue One has its flaws,
DARTH VADER: Be careful not to choke on your aspirations.
I think it does this really well.
At this point, I should mention that spoilers are ahead.
First and foremost, Rogue One’s purpose is to explain a perceived plot hole in the original trilogy.
Galen Erso: We call it the Death Star. I’ve placed a weakness deep within the system, a flaw so small and powerful they will never find it.
Everyone knows this, but it is actually the film’s other dynamics, what is going on beneath this layer, that really added to the Star Wars universe for me.
Chirrut Imwe: I am one with the force and the force is with me.
While Star Wars has tackled several issues in the two and two-thirds trilogies that have been released, there is one issue common in all of them: totalitarianism. The prequels were about its rise, the original trilogy about rebelling against it, and the sequel trilogy about rebelling against it again. But nowhere in any of these films do we actually see what life is like under totalitarianism. Sure, it’s glimpsed at here:
Han Solo: Looks like someone is beginning to take an interest in your handy work.
and here:
DARTH VADER: Perhaps you think you’re being treated unfairly?
LANDO CALRISSIAN: No.
DARTH VADER: Good. It would be unfortunate if I had to leave a garrison here.
but these are fleeing moments, and they are also of fringe civilizations, ones that operated mostly outside the regime’s jurisdiction.
Rogue One however, goes right to the heart of what it means to live under totalitarianism. It takes place in occupied outposts and cities, prisons, labor camps, hideaways, research and data centers, and even amongst resistance slash extremist slash terrorist organizations. The film shows families torn apart,
LYRA ERSO: You will never win.ORSON KRENNIC: Do it.
cultures exploited,
CASSIAN ANDOR: Protectors of the Kyber Temple, but there’s nothing left to protect so now they’re just causing trouble for everybody.
spirituality destroyed, politics covering up evil deeds,
DARTH VADER: The Senate has been informed that Jedha was destroyed in a mining disaster.
and paranoia reigning supreme.
SAW GERRERA: Did you come here to kill me?
It also shows scientists abducted then executed once their job is complete and a resistance that is disorganized and barely surviving, with the rebels fighting amongst themselves just as much as the regime they are opposing.
ALLIANCE COUNCILMEMBER: If it’s war you want, you’ll fight alone.
SECOND ALLIANCE COUNCILMEMBER: If that’s how it’s going, why have an Alliance at all?
CASSIAN ANDOR: Calm down. Calm down.
This last bit is shown very effectively here: a moment that immediately reminded me of this French classic, where WWII resistance fighters kill their own leader to prevent her from falling to the Nazis.
And there’s also this scene, with fighting eerily similar that of the Polish resistance.
All of this highlights what life is like under totalitarianism. But it doesn’t end here, for in addition to all this, Rogue One continues through an interesting form of character development.
CHIRRUT IMWE: There is more than one sort of prison, Captain. I sense that you carry yours wherever you go.
Specifically, this film does not develop its characters through normal storylines, the way the original trilogy did with its coming-of-age,
LUKE SKYWALKER: I want to learn the ways of the force and become a Jedi like my father.
love,
PRINCESS LEIA: I love you.
HAN SOLO: I know.
and family drama stories.
LUKE SKYWALKER: Father, please!
Instead, Rogue One develops its characters by focusing on how totalitarianism affects them,
GALEN ERSO: I tried to think of you only in the moments when I am strong because the pain of not having you with me, your mother, our family, the pain of that loss is so overwhelming I risk failing even now.
like Jyn losing faith due to her family’s destruction,
SAW GERRERA: You can stand to see the Imperial flag reign across the galaxy?
JYN ERSO: It’s not a problem if you don’t look up.
then finding faith again through another family in the rebellion,
CASSIAN ANDOR: Welcome home.
or Cassian, who loses himself in his fight against the empire,
CASSIAN ANDOR: I’ve been in this fight since I was six years old. You’re not the only one who lost everything.
then finds himself again, allowing him to fight even stronger,
CASSIAN ANDOR: Every time I walked away from something I wanted to forget, I told myself it was for a cause I believed in, a cause that was worth it. Without that, we’re lost.
or Chirrut and Baze, whose entire reason for being was destroyed, until they find purpose again fighting against the empire.
CHIRRUT IMWE: You will always find me.
BAZE MALBUS: The force is with me. I am one with the force, the force is with me.
And there’s also Bodhi, who risks torture and death to redeem himself for actions that were probably beyond his control and understanding, and even K2S0 was originally a bad guy, and the reprogramming that made him good also made him super-annoying,
K-2SO: Did you know that wasn’t me?
JYN ERSO: Course.
until he proved his worth when he sacrificed himself for the rebellion.
K-2SO: Goodbye.
All of this comes together in what is by far the best portion of the film: the third act. For it is here that these characters find the hope and purpose that the Empire stole from them. They find a reason to stand tall, to rise up and fight for what they believe in, for what they know is right.
REBEL SOLDIER: For Jedha!
It is in this act that the story transitions from one of life under totalitarianism to a battle against it. This is also the battle where they all die.
U-WING PILOT: We’re going down!
This battle then leads straight into the original trilogy, a trilogy where we repeatedly see rebels dying.
ALDERAANIAN SECURITY: Launch!
But in those films, the rebels died fighting what appeared to be a foreign entity to them. In those films, the non-main character rebels never interacted with the Empire on a personal level, those films never showed the personal reasons the nameless rebels had for fighting totalitarianism. Rogue One however, does. Rogue One shows that the rebels weren’t just fighting some entity they knew was evil but was foreign to them. Rogue One shows that the fight was personal, that each rebel had their own purpose, their own beliefs, their own story; that each rebel had their own reason for fighting, which for many of them meant ultimately dying.
In a way, while the original trilogy was the story of Luke, Leia, and Han, Rogue One is the story of everyone else in the rebellion. It is the story of all the rebels the original trilogy didn’t have time to focus on.
X-WING PILOT: She’s gonna blow!
This is what Rogue One adds to the Star Wars universe, beyond explaining away a plot hole: Rogue One lets us connect with the average rebel; it shows us how it was personal to them. The original and sequel trilogies show rebels fighting against evil, but Rogue One showed that the rebels were fighting for something as well.
CAPTAIN ANTILLES: What is it they’ve sent us?
PRINCESS LEIA: Hope.
They were fighting for hope, the hope of a better future, the hope that oppression would end and good would prevail. This is what Rogue One is about: finding hope and keeping it alive, using it to do what you know is right. We see this everywhere in Star Wars,
HAMMERHEAD CAPTAIN: Sublight thrusters full power!
not just in Rogue One but all throughout the original trilogy.
RED LEADER: It’s away!
DAK RALTER: Right now I feel I could take on the whole Empire myself.
LUKE SKYWALKER: I know what you mean.
ADMIRAL ACKBAR: May the force be with us.
It is a powerful message and an incredible addition to what were already amazing films, and it is why Rogue One, despite some flaws, is an excellent expanded universe film.
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