Folklore in Star Wars, Planet of the Apes, and Alice in Wonderland :: Movies Film TV Television Essays

Folklore in Star Wars, Planet of the Apes, and Alice in Wonderland Folklore in the movies usually focuses around a hero or heroine, that hero or heroine is in a situation that they have to overcome. The hero or heroine can come in many different forms; it could be a teenage boy a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, or an over the hill astronaught lost in space, or a little girl who falls down a hole. I am going to show how three movies contain folklore, Star Wars IV: A New Hope, Planet of the Apes one, and Alice in Wonderland. But first I need to define what folklore in the movies is. Folklore in the movies has five main points which the hero or heroine goes through. The call to adventure: something has to happen to the hero or heroine in order to get them involved in some situation which concerns them greatly. Refusal of the call: the hero or heroine has to disobey something or someone. Supernatural aid: the hero or heroine gets help from an outside force, someone wiser than the hero or heroine, and someone who understands the situation better. The crossing of the first threshold: once involved with the situation before them, the hero or heroine has a conflict which causes them to get caught in the belly of the whale. The belly of the whale: the hero or heroine gets caught in some place, of which they try to escape. Star Wars is one of the best movies to use as an example for folklore in the movies. The call to adventure: fate would have it that R2D2 would land into the hands of Luke Skywalker. The only thing keeping Luke from joining the Rebel Alliance is his uncle Owen Lars, aunt Beru Lars, and the harvest; but when the empire comes looking for R2 they come to Luke's house and kill his aunt and uncle. Refusal of the call: at first Luke says no to Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi. Han Solo doesn't want to help the Rebel Alliance at first, but at the end he does and saves Luke's life. Supernatural aid: Obi Wan is the old man in Star Wars who understands the force and who teaches Luke the ways of the force. The crossing of the first threshold: when Alderaan gets blown up, the Millennium Falcon gets caught in the Death Star's tractor beam, leaving them stuck inside the largest, most deadly battle-station ever created.