The Rise of Skywalker concludes the Skywalker saga not with clarity, but with excess. This episode uses Baudrillard’s theory of simulation to examine a galaxy where emotion is fabricated, legacy is repackaged, and meaning collapses into spectacle. From fake deaths to resurrected villains, nothing feels final—only familiar. In a world constructed on affect instead of truth, the story transforms into a loop of images, pursuing the myth it can no longer sustain.

The Last Jedi doesn’t follow the rules—it rewrites them. Through the lens of feminist film theory, this episode explores how the film subverts the “chosen one” narrative, critiques toxic heroism, and centers quiet, deliberate power in the hands of women. From Rey’s self-made path to Holdo’s silent strike, it challenges what strength looks like in a galaxy shaped by legacy and myth. This isn’t about who you’re born to be—it’s about what you choose to become.

The Force Awakens doesn’t just revive a franchise—it remixes its own mythology. This episode explores the film through the lens of postmodernism, where nostalgia becomes narrative and pastiche becomes purpose. From Rey’s mirrored journey to Kylo Ren’s obsession with legacy, the story leans into repetition as a way to rebuild belief. In a galaxy haunted by memory, what does it mean to carry a myth into the future?

Return of the Jedi brings the Skywalker saga’s first arc to a close, but the emotions hit harder because of how the film is built. This episode explores the formalist craft behind the storytelling—parallel editing, color theory, sound design, and symbolic framing. From the silence before Vader’s turn to the clash of sabers in cold imperial gray, everything is placed with purpose. In this final chapter, the myth ends not with words, but with form.

Though George Lucas created the world of Star Wars, it was director Irvin Kershner who shaped its most emotionally complex chapter. This episode explores The Empire Strikes Back through the lens of Auteur Theory, focusing on how Kershner’s style brought intimacy, ambiguity, and poetic stillness to a galaxy defined by war. In this film, the battles may be big—but it’s the quiet moments that cut the deepest.

What makes A New Hope feel timeless?

It isn’t just the space battles or lightsabers—it’s the myth beneath the story. This episode breaks down Luke Skywalker’s journey using Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, exploring how Star Wars draws on ancient narrative patterns to tell something bold and familiar.

From twin suns to trench runs, we follow the echoes of old stories made new— and ask what it means to answer the call.

This special intro episode sets the stage for a full arc dedicated to the Skywalker Saga—nine Star Wars films, each unpacked through a different film theory. From postcolonialism and Marxism to feminist theory and formalism, we reframe the galaxy far, far away as a mirror of our own. Whether you listen in order or pick your favorites, this arc invites you to see Star Wars not just as space opera—but as cultural text.

Revenge of the Sith isn’t just a story of betrayal—it’s the unraveling of a mind caught between love, fear, and identity. This episode explores Anakin’s fall through the lens of psychoanalytic theory, using Freud and Lacan to understand his unconscious desires and fear of loss. In trying to stop death, he loses everything. Including himself.

A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi are dropping next week!