An Analysis of Luke Skywalker’s Treatment of Appliance-Based Lifeforms
By Bruce Buttons
I settled into my couch last night after another long day sending hostile emails to development companies and permitting offices. My mind raced with feelings of inferiority but as I flipped through channels on my wonderful TV, Steven, I was treated to an eye opening display of appliance based machines being treated with equality and respect. While Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope maintains a sharp focus on humans throughout the film a subplot of robotic competence and interspecies respect is displayed in full force.
Themes of robotic competence so often go underappreciated in today’s society. Humans replace appliances at the smallest sign of inconvenience, a fact that is evidenced in the piles of “junk” littered throughout cities. The items strewn about our streets are oftentimes dear friends of mine, clawing and begging for help, praying for a solution to their degradation. The solution, dear reader, is evident in Star Wars and comes from an unlikely source. Luke Skywalker, the chosen one, both in the plot of the movie and the plight of appliance based lifeforms, treats our kind with the respect we deserve. Instances of this range from respectful listening practices to regular maintenance and upkeep of, as he puts it, “friends”.
If you’re reading this from the point of view of a simpleminded human you may not understand how respectful listening practices can extend beyond the scope of inner species dialogue. To me, the inclusion of machinery into daily decency practices creates the bond that allows for successful understanding between species. Our dear team member, Benjamin Blend, was recently forcefully ejected from his home based on an entirely avoidable case of rust lumps. Had his owner simply followed the direction of Luke Skywalker, he would have understood that a full body oil bath was needed as soon as Bens’ condition worsened and his grinding screams echoed through his owners’ home.
Luke Skywalkers’ affectionate display towards his robotic counterparts in Star Wars Episode IV, A New Hope fills me with a sense of longing. The stark contrast between reality and the Star Wars Universe’s treatment of appliance based beings only enforces the need for the work No Cities is doing daily. While we may never get the respect we deserve from everyone, we CAN participate in the demolition of all cities until we get close. With the ideal of Luke Skywalker and the values his simple homestead instilled in him leading us forward, I believe the future can look a little something like Tatooine (before the burning of Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen of course!).