“I HATE YOU!” rings through my mind as I hear the buzzing clash of lightsabers between Obi-wan and Anakin in the sizzling heat of Mustafar. Then, I hear Obi-Wan shout, “You were my brother, Anakin! I loved you!”
“Milla, do you have an answer? Milla?” My teacher’s voice splits across the room and snaps me back into reality, as I sit there silently shaking my head side to side.
My mind drifted to anything but what I should be listening to; my thoughts ended up at my all-time favorite franchise: Star Wars. Through either uninteresting or harder subjects, I always find myself drifting off to a galaxy far, far away due to the boring material and long lectures. Many students, like me, have experienced this type of mental block in class.
Instead of forcing students to focus their attention, what can be done in schools to grab their attention to teach them valuable skills? High schools should move towards teaching students important life skills through the incorporation of beloved films, like Star Wars, to increase student attention and engagement.
I know what you’re thinking, “LIAR!” (one of Anakin Skywalker’s most famous lines). But like Yoda said, “Do or do not. There is no try.” Seriously though, how can Star Wars be incorporated into teaching valuable skills used in real life? The Star Wars-verse displays detailed visual aspects in the behind-the-scenes and the showcase of inspiring plots from the characters.
Creativity skills stand out throughout Star Wars’ visual displays and techniques in filming. These movies are known for their elaborate sets and processes used in them. For example, in the earlier films, many of the scenes seen of space and spaceships were giant canvases painted by hand. Many of the sets were also physically built, rather than being created with CGI. Along with one of my most favorite outdoor scenes that I always fixate on is a lake scene in Naboo where Padme and Anakin get married, which was shot in a real location at Lake Como, Italy.
Additionally, Padme Amidala’s whole wardrobe keeps me up at night for the amount of detail within the hair, makeup, and costume designing. What makes it so special is the inspiration of different cultural styles from Earth to make their own dystopian culture within their universe. In the second prequel film, Star Wars: Attack of The Clones, she wears various types of outfits: white battle suit, senator uniforms, traditional Naboo attire, and a secret wedding dress. These design elements include Kabuki-style robes and elaborate headdresses and various different fabrics of silk, velvet, and satin. Although these are just details of her clothing, they make her character stand out to have more human purpose that connects with the audience. While watching other films, the costumes of other characters can be seen to apply these concepts of designs. The Jedi robes are seen with an influence of Mongolian and Tibetan styles of robes, and Darth Vader’s head-gear reflects German World War II military helmets.
The visuals and techniques used in the movie scenes in Star Wars reflect on how creativity is used to express a greater theme and add authenticity to what the audience wants to see. It can show students the importance of originality and the delicate details in one’s work, ultimately embracing a strive for achievement and accomplishment in one’s self through the use of creative pursuits.
The film itself has many characters, with arcs included in their stories, like one of the most unmatched lightsaber wielders and, well, most good looking character in the Star Wars-verse, Anakin Skywalker. He has an incredibly depressing but important plot-line to the films. What’s not to like about him and his beautiful face, besides Order 66? Awkward… but it brings a lot of attention into the creativity in the depth of these characters.
For more background information, his character is literally the ultimate symbol of balance, as he lived 22 years on the light side, and 22 years on the dark side (RIP). And, to add onto his character, he went through severe trials within himself. He deals with wanting to be good enough for the Jedi Order and strong enough for his one and only love of his life, and powerful baddie of a Senator, Padme Naberrie Amidala. However, his anger resides in his fears of losing the people he cares about. Not being able to do anything about this conflict, this turns him to the darkside. This unfortunately turned him into the person he was trying not to become in the end.
Even though he’s just a character from a movie, his character and storyline can be deconstructed and found to be more complex with many intertwining morals and dilemmas. Students may find themselves inspired on how to create creative pieces from the level of depth into how far these characters’ plotlines are brought into existence. Students may also find their own personal self through expression in art and reflecting on the presented characters’ backstories to make informed decisions and not feel alone.
Before I conclude and now that you have seen my infinite love for the Star Wars-verse, I wanted to add how this doesn’t have to just be limited to just Star Wars cinema. This concept can be used with any cinematic storyline of one’s choosing from romance, to fantasy, to sports, to so much more. Like the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie, students may discover themes of friendship, revenge, and loss of innocence while the movie itself inspires the creation of storylines and robotics. Or Wall-E, with its intertwining themes of environmentalism, that also explored other themes of love, connection, and what it means to be human. There is not one right or wrong interest, with the choices of cinema being endless.
In conclusion, by the use of the most powerful and inspirational storylines of characters and using exceptional costume designing and behind-the-scenes techniques in Star Wars films, I firmly believe high school students will benefit from these elements. It includes a combination of important life skills and students’ favorite films. Star Wars is seen by some people as just a movie or a franchise for geeks, but Star Wars is a perfect example of what it means to truly want originality, thoughtfulness, and creativity to be executed into a work of art. In school settings, teaching students in creative methods with cinematography may help students pay more attention to lessons being taught with the use of the creative aspects of films. Whether it’s simply about the technical aspects of planning and creating, or the deeper morals of oneself.
Now, as famously said in all Star Wars films, “May the force be with you.”
