"Hope is like the sun. If you only believe in it when you see it, you'll never make it through the night." - Amilyn Holdo and Leia Organa

What is the hero’s journey?

Created by Joseph Campbell, the hero’s journey focuses on just that -- the steps a hero must go through as part of the monomyth (a universal pattern in heroic tales like The Iliad, The Odyssey, Harry Potter, and Star Wars). George Lucas directly used Campbell’s theory during the creation process of A New Hope. Campbell was posthumously revealed to be racist, antisemitic, and misogynistic; I will not tolerate or allow any of his beliefs to be shared on this site, and I do not hold any of these beliefs myself. Understanding the hero's journey (and how Campbell's beliefs, particularly about women, resulted in Murdock's heroine's journey) is vital to any analysis of Star Wars, however, so some discussion of his academic work (rather than the man himself) must occur.

Campbell’s work has inspired others like Maureen Murdock to develop the heroine’s journey. Murdock, a student of Campbell’s, developed the heroine’s journey in the 1980s to better represent women’s journeys as Campbell’s narrative excludes women and female characters (according to him). This model involves a rejection of the feminine or society’s prescribed gender roles, a confrontation with various obstacles (elements present in Campbell’s hero’s journey), and a recognition that a total rejection of femininity and acceptance of masculinity (and their accompanying social roles) is not sustainable, resulting in heroines integrating both masculine and feminine perspectives and ways of being into their person and post-quest life. 

What is the feminist lens? What is feminist media analysis?

Feminist lenses of analysis use feminist theory, queer theory, and other concepts from gender and sexuality studies (also known as women’s studies, feminist studies, queer studies, etc.) to critically read and analyze various texts. Feminist media analysis uses relevant feminist theories and texts to critically view and analyze media such as movies, TV shows, social media channels, theatrical performances, dances, and other products of the fine and performing arts. This project uses feminist media analysis to create viewing, reading, or interacting guides with different elements of the Star Wars franchise which allow readers to pinpoint the feminist elements in the various texts. 

What materials did you use to build this project and the analysis?

Use the References tab at the top of the page to see the primary and secondary sources (original material and derivative scholarly material respectively). For more about the project, licensing, and copyrighting, see About the Project (also at the top of the page). To reach us about our source material or points of analysis, use the Contact Us feature at the bottom of the page.

Does this project use the Bechdel Test?

The Bechdel test or Bechdel-Wallace, as defined here, uses a three part test to measure women’s representation in film and fiction, and the criteria are as follows: the media under review 1) has at least two named women in it who 2) talk to each other 3) about something other than a man. Passing or failing the test is meant to highlight gender inequality in film, TV, and other fictional media rather than critiquing the representation of women in the text of study. The Bechdel test’s standards are incredibly low, especially now in 2024, and while I will reference it in relation to the Star Wars films, I am not factoring it into my analysis of whether the media or characters of study are feminist. I will instead use it to highlight interactions between women in the Star Wars universe and as a familiar term, as some users may be familiar with the Bechdel test, so my use of the term might provide a familiar point of comparison. 

1. Lincoln Geraghty, "Creating and Comparing Myth in Twentieth-Century Science Fiction: 'Star Trek' and 'Star Wars,'" Literature/Film Quarterly 33, no. 2 (2005): 192, JSTOR. 

Image credit, in order of appearance:

Image credit to Built on Hope

Image credit to the Joseph Campbell Foundation

Image credit to The Heroine Journeys Project