ST Analysis of The Force Awakens (Themes, Symbolism, etc.)

There's more than a little Red Riding Hood going on in that forest.

 

I love this post. Unmasking is a major theme in this film. I haven't really thought through all of Kylo Ren's masking and unmasking, but Finns various masks are remarkable. They could have subtitled this film "The Unmasking of FN-2187"

Finn is unmasked repeatedly throughout the film, each time sending himself and the person he is unmasked to on a journey.

First, Finn is given a mask of Blood by a companion Stormtrooper, which begins his unmasking to himself, and sends the Stormtrooper on a journey of death.

Then, Finn and Kylo Ren, while both masked, share a moment of recognition in the aftermath of the massacre on Jakku. Ren stops, and they see each other, through their masks. One has committed and ordered murder, the other has refused it. They are, while masked, unmasked to each other, in opposition. This sends them both back to the Finalizer.

Back aboard the Finalizer, he unmasks to the audience, this represents his unmasking to himself, but he is quickly remasked by authority. This sends him in search of escape. This unmasking is actually the most curious unmasking of the whole film, as it is to the Audience for whom I believe he is the Stand-In.

Next, he unmasks himself to Poe, and then chooses to remask himself in order to escape. This unmasking sends them both off the Finalizer and on a journey of friendship, and Finn is given a name.

When we see him again, he is unmasked for a third time on the surface of the Jakku, but his face is suddenly presented to the audience in his fear. This, I believe is his new mask for this stage of his journey. He removes his Stormtrooper gear and puts on a new skin, Poe's coat. The coat is a curious metaphor, he now literally wears a Turncoat. He is discovered in this guise by Rey and BB8, and he defensively unmasks himself falsely to Rey as a resistance fighter, the coat representing now his mask of fear of discovery as a Traitor. This sends him and Rey on the Journey from Jakku.

Finn and Rey are then found by Han Solo, who sees immediately through Finn's fear mask. Unmasked privately Solo, he receives Solo's warning about wearing a mask before a Woman. This unmasking reminds Solo that he cannot hide from the Woman and thus to his reunion with Leia, and sends Finn to Maz.

Maz removes Finn's fear-mask in front of Rey, and he finally admits who he and unmasks himself to her. This sends him on a journey, he thinks, to hide in the outer rim, and Rey on a journey to confront her own fear.

Next, Finn is unmasked to his former compatriots, the Stormtroopers. They see him in his turncoat, and he kills one and the stormtrooper (again) on a journey of death.

Finn next finally meets someone to whom he does not have to unmask himself, Poe. He offers to give his coat back, relinquishing his fear mask at last. Poe tells him to keep this coat, transforming him to a Resistance fighter, now his true skin. This sends him and Poe back to battle.

Finn is then unmasked again to Rey, which sends them both to the final confrontation with Kylo Ren.

Finally, Finn is unmasked to Ren, and Ren to Finn, as their new true chosen selves. Ren attempts to name Finn as a traitor, but Finn unmasks himself as a loyal and brave resistance fighter, standing over the body of his fallen companion against an opponent he surely knows outmatches him. This sends Ren to his final confrotation with Rey.

Finn is unconscious as the film ends, leaving the audience, for whom he is the Stand-In, adrift in an uncertain future.

 

I think it's impossible to conclude that the three main characters of the film being introduced with masks on is simply an accident of design. It's nice, symbolic, mythic subtext, and the film has a lot of that across its length. That's partly why the "superficial blockbuster version of Star Wars" accusations just don't stick.

 

Lucas created Star Wars as a story told through visual symbols, but he also created it as mass market media art, and people vary greatly in their ability and inclination to see the world though symbols. There is no escaping the "Superficial Blockbuster" label. We can only be grateful that the filmmakers continued, and hopefully will continue, to show enough care that the label remains untrue.

 

This will always happens as only a few people have the understanding to enjoy these subtle symbolisms.

 

Definitely. People seem to forget that the storytellers and movie makers are creating at a much slower pace than we view, so they have the time to create and build the final product. When they are thoughtful, when they honestly wish to create a good cohesive and meaningful story, they consider these things we are discussing here, evaluate whether they work or not, and - in many cases - build in much more than many can conceivably pick up if they are only absorbing the film superficially. Naturally there are well used archetypal patterns and symbols in nearly all stories, but how these patterns are woven in, the effectiveness of that weaving, and its impact on the entire story arch can significantly enhance the experience conciously or subconciously. I think the mask use was both subtle and brilliant.

 

As an addendum, this also suggests the Allegory of the Cave, where Rey's cave is perhaps Jakku. The shadows on the wall are as distant as "a myth" (her initial idea of Luke), but become frightening when she's tied to them. It's so fitting that the line from Guinness' Obi-Wan incorporated in the vision is: "Don't be afraid."

 

http://brightlightsfilm.com/star-wa...mpbell-hero-mythic-myth-deepens/#.VtxDCPDfWrU

Have just posted in another thread about how I was looking for a particular review that touched on the Arthurian symbolism in Force Awakens. Haven't found it yet, but this is a pretty comprehensive exploration of mythology in TFA (it's closer to an academic essay actually, as it's written by a Professor of Myth Studies) and it does also touch on Arthurian myth in TFA too.

"Gushers" will appreciate it, "Haters" probably not so much.

 

During the interrogation scene, you have Kylo (dressed all in black) emerging from out of the darkness shadows to confront Rey (dressed in white/grey), who is bathed in light (from the lights right above her). Also you could say that she was in kind of a pseudo-crucifixion type of pose when restrained.

Oh and he's kneeling when we first see him.

 

I mean, yeah.

There's certainly an echo of Hansel and Gretl in they forest scene as well. In the primeval forest. And without a parent to protect them.

Kylo's look and manner even comes across as decidedly wolfish in that scene.

 

He was described as a Lone Wolf in the interviews but that didn't really come up or appear in the film.


We all know about Masks but what about Covers?

The Falcon is covered with a sheet as well as R2. Luke's Lightsaber is also covered by a chest.*

Gives the impression that the past has been covered up (both literally and metaphorically).


You can extend this further with R2 being replaced by BB 8 and the Falcon, Solo's ship now being a hauler (exact name forgotten sorry)


*parallel! The Lightsaber is in a chest just like in ANH but no one shows Rey it, she discovers it on her own though Obi Wan calls to her.
(What happened to the Parallel image thread? Because there are quite a few)

 

Upon my last rewatching of Force Awakens, the strongest symbolism that came to mind is Finn's exodus in the deserts of Jakku in the beginning of the movie. You can see he's shedding his stormtrooper armor piece by piece as he transverses the desert, basically shedding the shackles of his former identity and journeying to find a new one.

 

The running theme in TFA seems to be finding out where you came from and where you are meant to go.

Kylo: came from both the good side and the dark side (grandfather is Vader) and is torn between the dark and the light.

Rey: Thinks her family is coming back but embraces a new pathway. Her desire to find out about her family will certainly return as you cannot just disregard the background of the main protagonist.

Finn: came from a family he never knew to do a mission he doesn't believe in. Like Rey, I am assuming his family will come back up in future episodes.

So, mysterious or not, your past and where you come from inevitably plays a major role in paving your destiny.

 

Just wanted to make a quick point about the way that the Arthurian (and other mythological motifs) work in TFA, as the thread that contained the original discussion, the "JJ's legacy" thread, has moved on, and it's no longer a place where discussion about this topic can be had.

It was suggested (mostly by moreorless12 I believe - I need to learn to tag ppl into replies!) that the Arthurian motifs and symbolism in TFA do not contain dramatic weight or depth, but that seems to me like it may be proceeding from a slight misunderstanding of how such allusions work in movies. They're not supposed to be an exploration of the CONCEPT of Arthurian mythology, they provide an extra layer of mythological richness on top of scenes that already contain dramatic depth, as per the writing and acting. They're more akin to subtext, which is how such allusions always work in film. Here's just a bog standard definition from the interwebs:

"A mythological allusion is when a piece of art, literature or music hints at a piece of mythology...such allusions are not extended; they are not representations, metaphors or personifications."

Now if the argument is made that said scenes that include such allusions are already lacking dramatic weight or depth due to the writing and acting proper, that's an entirely different argument to make, and one which has been hashed out already in various forms across various threads as it is. I'd disagree obviously.

Just briefly for instance; the allusion of Luke as a "Fisher King" has been built up throughout the movie through various hints and subtle nods (allusions). The final scene where Rey presents him with the sabre is already powerful and dramatic (without any Arthurian allusions at all) because the entire film has really built towards this moment. Therefore the mythological allusions, and the final image of the "impotent, wounded Fisher King" therefore subtly add to the depth and drama of the overt narrative/writing.

Same with Rey's "sword in the snow" moment - it already contains depth and drama because it represents her "accepting the call" moment, where her internal conflict is resolved, and it really concludes her arc with the force - the "destiny" of which was essentially already foretold at Maz's castle (another sequence of the film containing Arthurian allusion).The Arthurian allusions here just add an extra layer.

Now it's also fair to argue that that you don't see the allusions in the first place - that's just something that can be debated (and has been). Again I'd disagree, and I'd say there's quite a bit of evidence backing me up, but certainly it can be debated.

 

I think that's a valid point - not everyone will care to see any such allusions (though I believe they are they are there and intentional), and of course if the film is not working for someone, they won't care anyway, but I also think that as reworked within the story in TFA itself, those moments - Rey finding, then turning away from, then catching the saber, Rey finding the lost warrior who can help heal the galaxy - these are all powerful in and of themselves, regardless of what mythological inspiration they are drawing from. Now I've also seen some people suggest that TFA cheats in this regard by playing heavily on the investment the previous movies have generated in terms of characters and the battle between light and dark, etc, but why on earth wouldn't they do that? And which of the films (beyond ANH) doesn't use past investment as a major weapon in its storytelling arsenal?

 

Actually, what I really like about the composition of that scene is he doesn't really emerge from darkness - he lingers there at the edges of the light source surrounding Rey for pretty much the whole scene. Even when he's only a couple of inches away from her face, the light still doesn't reach him.

 

Hmm, good point.

 

Not my observation, but Glen Robert Gill in his analysis identifies Finn's escape from the FO as a "rebirth", and so we find, "Finn's TIE-Fighter escaping it's hangar with it's tether still attached like an umbilical cord."

 

visual symbolism: there isn't much of any JJ Abrams patented "lens flare" in Force Awakens but the two times I do notice it ... it's entirely on a shot behind Kylo Ren. First when the Starkiller Base fires, the weapon beams "lens flare" dark red as Kylo watches. and when Kylo walks into Starkiller base and is searching for Han, there's a push-in on him with "lens flare" at the bottom edge of the frame. It feels dark, powerful, angry. Which totally works for Kylo at those moments

 

There's also just a tiny bit of lens flare in the Finn/Poe tie fighter escape sequence I believe, but I don't recall seeing any more outside of those other scenes that you mention.

 

There are a couple of lens flares in Kylo's first scene; when his shuttle lands and when Poe is walked past the blaster bolt frozen in mid-air.

 

I call the tie fighter falling down to Jakku, like Finn's falling down the rabbit hole (Alice in Wonderland).

He goes from the known (the life he's lived) to the unknown.

 

This thread is one of the best.

I would add that the fact that Chewie and R2 did not follow Rey into finding Luke also tells that climbing those steps equals to take part in a spiritual journey that must be done individually.

 

Someone mentioned for the TFA poster, you from left to right with hot to cool colors.
Red to orange to blue and green.
Basically going from intensity to calmness. And then see where each character is located in the poster.

 

I like the alignment of Ren's sabre and Rey's staff in the poster. Probably been mentioned already.