Drivers and Passengers in

Star Wars

Archetypes in Star Wars (1977)

Most people would agree that Luke Skywalker is the Protagonist in Star Wars and Dramatica sees it the same way. The Empire itself, embodied in the Grand Moff Tarkin and his troops, is the force diametrically opposed to the story's goal of destroying the Death Star. It is the Antagonist. Obi-Wan Kenobi is the Guardian, protecting Luke and company and providing "moral" guidance. Darth Vader is the Contagonist, representing the temptation of the "Dark side of the Force" and hindering progress at every turn.

Han Solo functions as the Skeptic, arguing his disbelief in the Force as well as his opposition to just about every course of action anyone tries to take. R2-D2 and C-3PO jointly fill the role of Sidekick, forever faithful to whomever they attend. Princess Leia is Reason, coldly calculating (although the storytelling tempers this), calm-headed and the real planner of the group. Chewbacca, in contrast, responds often with little or no thought and acts solely based on his feelings. This clearly defines him as Emotion.

(Please note that R2-D2 and C-3PO have a well-developed subplot between them that is forefront as the movie opens. This gives them much more personality and versatility. It also spells out differences between them that would not occur if they both simply shared the sidekick function. Subplots are dealt with later in the Storyweaving section of this book.)

Drivers and Passengers in Star Wars

Having described our eight characters in Star Wars, let us organize them into Drivers and Passengers.

Star Wars Driver Quad

Star Wars Passenger Quad