The original Star Wars (1977) is a space fantasy adventure and the first of its kind to blend the genres of the classic serial, science fiction, medieval romance, and samurai drama. Each character in Star Wars represents a familiar archetype – the legendary hero, the princess, the wizard, the evil shadow, and so forth. From its cinematography to its music to its special effects, Star Wars established new frontiers that would pivot the entire industry but also spark psychological obsession among fans that would last decades.

Here, we discuss our own connection to the film and some early memories of seeing it for the first time (which are very different). In part one of this two-part analysis, we discuss the framework of Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey” and map the characters, plot line, and relationships to this universal monomyth. In this episode, the focus is on Luke Skywalker, the inexperienced, sheltered farmboy seeking something bigger than his humble, dull life on the remote planet of Tatooine. His call to adventure is catapulted by a call for help set in hologram, a curiously wise hermit with a laser sword, and a shockingly brutal attack by the Empire. But the shallowness of Luke Skywalker’s search for greatness, how privileged he is, and whether he deserves legacy become debatable.