“DON’T Let the Past Die”: A Case for Nostalgia in Star Wars: The Last Jedi A film analysis of Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017) Written by Vikram Nijhawan1,2,3 1 Department of English, 2Department of History, 3Department of Classics 2 Second-year undergraduate of Trinity College, University of Toronto “I wish I could make you understand, but I’m not coming back. Nothing can make me change my mind.” This is what Luke Skywalker says to his lifelong droid companion R2-D2, when the latter berated him for abandoning the Resistance and the Jedi ways in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. It is also likely these same words were uttered by a disgruntled fan, explaining to a friend why he refuses to return to the theatre to watch this film for a second time. There is no question Rian Johnson’s second installment in the Star Wars sequel trilogy drew a fine line of division between audience members. Many applauded the film for steering the franchise in a new, unexpected direction, subverting the typical beats to create a more nuanced Star Wars story for the modern age. Meanwhile, the diehard fans criticized Johnson’s creative choices for disrespecting the lore which preceded it, resulting in a film which felt a long time removed, and very far far away, from the traditional Star Wars they enjoyed. It makes sense that a movie which advocates, on a thematic level, “letting the past die” would upset many long-time viewers. The handling of Luke Skywalker in particular drew much controversy. The hero of the original trilogy seems unrecognizable from the character presented in this film. No longer is he a bright-eyed and optimistic warrior fighting for good; rather, he is a jaded and depressed Jedi, who feels he’s past his prime. There have been countless analyses of his actions in The Last Jedi, from casually tossing away his lightsaber at the beginning, to his arguably anticlimactic, undeserved death at the film’s end. However, one small moment, near the end of the first act, was seldom-addressed and yet incredibly riveting: Luke’s re-encounter with R2-D2. Prior to this, all the audience witnesses of the great Jedi master is a curmudgeon, who wishes to remain in his self-imposed exile. When the young Rey seeks his guidance in the Force, Skywalker flat-out rejects her. Yet this two-minute scene reveals the plucky, high-spirited farm boy fans fell in love with back in the very first Star Wars film in 1977. Of all the scenes in this movie, it is this one which best acts as a bridge for the franchise’s past and present, able to satisfy long-time viewers and newcomers alike. The technique it uses is pretty simple: recontextualizing an iconic moment from the original films to fit the current one’s story. If the rest of the plot followed that underlying principle, The Last Jedi may have received praise from both segments of the audience. Instead, it merely illustrates what could have been.
Screenwriters’ Perspectives Vol. 1 No. 1 2020
15
