First of all I should state for the record that I'm a pretty good Star Wars nerd, I loved the movies (especially the original trilogy) and I can do my fair share of nerdy quotes from them. However, one thing that I've always seen as obvious but that I discovered from discussions with other Star Wars nerds is that the gayness of these movies is completely overlooked. The movies are such an obvious tale of a confused young man's way to realizing he's gay and exploring that side that I'm actually stunned that people have not realized this before.
Now, you are probably one of those people who had never thought of this before and all I ask of you is a little patience and I will lay out my case and I am certain that by the time you've finished reading this post you will be as convinced as me. Once again, I would like to state that this does not detract from the movie in any way, quite the opposite, this dimension makes the movies even more enjoyable.
The movie is about a lonely young apple-cheeked farm boy living on his farm in a small town dreaming of "going to the stars" and be something more than just a farm boy (que the song "Smalltown boy"). However, by coming into contact with two droids (R2D2 and C3P0) who both appear to be masculine and in a long-term relationship he learns of an old "Jedi-master" whom he seeks out. He meets with Obi-Wan who has lived a different life than him on the farm and promises him to "show him the world" and teach him to "use the force" and "use his sabre".
Luke hooks up with this older man and the lovely droid couple in search of transportation and heads off to a gay club where Obi-Wan disciplines a few roughnecks who try to pick up his young friend. They find the two men Han Solo and Chewbacka that seem to be living in a free relationship which is hard for Chewbacka, but he loves Han Solo so much that he puts up with him playing around with people like Lando and Jaba. After all, the hate that Jaba shows for Han Solo is much more that of a scorned lover than a businessman... (I should also state that my own personal belief here is that Obi Wan and Luke never engage in a sexual relationship, just that of a mentor and apprentice, but that can be argued)
After some adventures in which Luke starts to get some competency in how to use his "saber" the merry team is confronted for the first time with the evil Lord Vader, clad in black rubber and a fiercesome looking saber of his own, red, as if it had been dipped in blood. Darth Vader represent the dark side of homosexuality; sex without feelings and self-satisfaction. Obi-Wan meets his fate and "fades away" but wishes Luke luck before he dissapears. Luke also meets the Princess Leia and is even more confused since he realizes that he has feelings for her as well which is confusing for him since he believed himself to be homosexual.
The movie ends with the climactic scene in which Luke needs to "shoot his load" directly into the "little hole" on the body of the entity they are attacking, but keeping Obi's great advise in mind he manages to unload in just the right time and there is an orgasmic explosion when he realizes that he has succeeded. For me, this is very clear; it is an elegant metaphor for Luke's homosexual sex debut in which he finds himself.
The second movie is very much a middle movie as it's about Luke finding out more about his sexuality and also the risks that he must be careful to avoid. He meets with Obi's old lover, Yoda, who is fading away in a terrible disease (very much colored by the '80s environment) who warns him to give in to his dark impulses but to seek love and happiness. Meanwhile Han Solo is hunted by his former lover and is in turn betrayed by an old lover at Cloud City, if you are observant you can notice how Chewbacka from the beginning is very cold towards Lando. It ends with Han Solo being frozen down in a suggestive pose for Jaba's entertainment.
In the third movie, it is a different Luke we meet, now safe and secure in his sexual identity, now himself a "master" of the "force", wielding his "saber" as an expert. Together with his gay band of friends they rescue Han Solo, even together with a Leia that has butched out as a special performance but later on play the role of a more traditional fag hag. The rest of the movie is a tour de force of the new secure Luke, with the help of a gang of furry dwarves he manages to reach and confront the dark side of his own sexuality and win over his dark urges by throwing it in the well.
I know that there are people who would accuse Lucas of misogyny since there are so few women in the movie and they play such insignificant roles, but I would argue that the trilogy is about "Men who loves men" and not about "men who hate women". For me, it is a touching tale of a farmboy growing up, discovering his sexuality, coming to terms with it and emerging as a secure and strong gay adult. You do not have to be gay to appreciate the message in this movie.
This is also just a brief scratch of the surface, there are so much more of these things to find in the original trilogy that I recommend you to see them again with new eyes if you haven't realized this before!
After a pretty intense and unfortunately pretty humour-free couple of weeks as we rushed to finish up the boob stuff things are now finally back in order. The stuff got done and the client was really really happy. My jet-lag is gone and I haven't seen a French person in at least one week so I'm starting to feel normal again.
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