What Makes A Star Wars Story A Star Wars Story?

1) Light Versus Dark

The most fundamental aspect of the Star Wars formula is the concept of a conflict between light and dark – good versus evil; democracy versus fascism. In terms of narrative storytelling, it is arguably the most solid foundation on which to build a plot arc, since it provides vast scope for character and scenario. It allows for epic heroes and villains, complex political machinations and an extended period of dispute that propels the action through multiple chapters.

Every Star Wars film ever made features this element, and it’s the aspect of the story that ties everything together. When it’s used to accentuate the grey area between the two opposing sides, however, its impact can be variable. While the battle between the forces of light and dark was stark and clear in the highly popular Episodes IV, V, and VI, the trilogy of prequels that followed focused heavily upon the political side of this conflict, which inevitably was not so clear cut and obvious – being mired in treachery and betrayal. The well-executed Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, on the other hand, embraced the ‘grey area’ between the idea of light and dark, and explored the idea that war makes us do things that are morally questionable, regardless of which side we are fighting for.

The difference between the way in which the prequel trilogy deals with light against dark, and the way in the first of the rebooted anthology films deals with it, is in the scenarios within which it is presented. The prequel trilogies opting for the more political aspect leaves us with three films that are very stilted and staid. Rogue One, by contrast, is a war film – and gives us the gritty realism of a frontline position.