Saturday, July 4, 2015

"Light" in Star Wars: A New Hope

Last month I read Star Wars Storyboards: The Original Trilogy.  While reading it, it occurred to me that the name Luke probably comes from lux, the Latin word for light.  I looked this up in a name source book I have and confirmed it.  Incidentally, Lucas also comes from the same root.

As a name for the character, it's apt because he's one of the heroes of the original trilogy, and it's especially apt because he embodies the light side of the force.

But because I'd been reading this book of the storyboards, it occurred to me that Luke's manifestation of light is also represented visually.  One of the first scenes that he's in features the double sunset of Tatooine:


(I have only the full screen version.)

There are two suns, which in the immediate context tacitly illustrate Luke as light, but they're also an indication of the two twins - Luke and Leia.