This chapter also has a potentially interactive component. I was trying to come up with ways to measure the success of world building in the first film of each trilogy, and eventually decided to produce a kind of survey measure. That measure is contained in the chapter, but I only examined it against two different worlds: (A New Hope) Tatooine and (The Phantom Menace) Naboo. If you're interested in trying out the measure yourself on other worlds simply copy paste the raw questions and fill them out for a different world. If you do, feel free to toss up those examples in the comments!
Overall, feel free to use it on any other sci-fi/fantasy worlds, or suggest questions that I might have missed.
Hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 1.3: Star Wars and World Building
The first
movie in each of the Star Wars trilogies has a different opportunity to
establish and build the world in which that movie (and those that would follow
after) take place. World building is a
pretty standard concept, and it’s one of the pillars of establishing a good
story when you’re dealing with fictional works.
We don’t know anything about the Star Wars universe (it’s a long time
ago and far away), so we have to be told about it.
A narrator could just come out
and explain a lot of things about the world (or universe) in question. If it’s not done right, this can be
boring. The narrator usually has to be
woven into the story early or shoehorned in late. About the only story I can think of that not
only lends itself to narration but in fact begs for it is the Hitchiker’s Guide
to the Galaxy series. It works there,
but in most cases it usually won’t.
The problem is that telling the
audience things is boring (unless those things are themselves entertaining,
like Hitchiker’s Guide). ‘Tatooine is a
desert world, and many inhabitants work as moisture farmers to supply themselves
and nearby towns and cities with sources of water. Notable cities include Mos Eisley, Mos Espa,
and Anchorhead. The primary export of
Tatooine is crippling depression.’
The way around this is to simply
show your world through the natural dialogue and actions of your
characters. Showing what they do on a
normal day, what their jobs are, what they eat, what they wear, etc., all go a
long way to covertly building a believable world around them. A well-constructed world should be one that
is easy to portray and easy to pick up on.
It should feel natural, and things shouldn’t have to be explained that
often.
I’ll point again at Lord of the
Rings, as JRR Tolkien is arguably the best world builder, well, ever. I had to think a bit about that statement,
but it’s kind of hard to come up with anyone else to even round out a top
three. If you don’t believe me, read the
Silmarillion. Then, after that, read the
rest of his collected works. Then read
the unpublished works. Then we’ll
talk.
The point is that you don’t need
to have characters telling other characters that, say, Dwarves exist, because
they live in this world already and they know that they do. The reader or audience should know that
Dwarves exist because there are Dwarves all over the place. More than that, you should understand what
Dwarves are like by observing them carrying out normal actions.
The more you know about the
small aspects of characters’ lives the more you understand the things they’re
going through. This gives a great
opportunity to make characters more relatable, as you can show them with normal
lives and normal days just like any regular person.
There’s another way to think about this, to help put things more into
perspective. Imagine that you were
someone from the world in question (in this case one of the worlds in Star
Wars), and you showed up at a cocktail hour on some other world. You get into conversation with someone and
they start to make small talk. The
questions that they’re likely to ask of you are going to be based on the things
that they assume that you should know if you’re even vaguely familiar with your
world.
These are also the things that an active audience would probably ask if
they had a chance. They don’t get that
chance (at least during primary source), but the answers are the things that
should be put out there to answer those questions anyway. An audience member that’s been given a good
picture of the world in question should be able to stand in for a member of
that world in the small talk of an interplanetary cocktail hour. If they don’t know enough to maintain a
minute or two of small talk, then they probably don’t know that much about the
world.
So, you just got to an
interplanetary cocktail hour but no one you recognize is there yet. Instead of standing around looking awkward,
you decide to just start up some small talk with a stranger. You learn they’re from another planet that
you know nothing about (and they know nothing of yours). You can both make some big picture
assumptions about each other (you’re both standing in the same room, breathing
the same air, for instance), but most things wouldn’t be so obvious. I came up with some questions I’d probably
ask to keep things from spiraling into awkward silence.
Questions
for your next interplanetary cocktail hour:
1)
What are some common things that people eat?
2) What kind of living space does the average
person live in?
3)
What are some common things that people do for a
living?
4)
Are there many large cities? What are the differences between city and
non-city life?
5)
What are some of the main products or exports?
6)
What doesn’t the world have, or what does it
import?
7)
What do people do for fun?
8)
What do people dream of or aspire to?
9)
Are there different cultures in close
proximity? How does this impact daily
life?
10)
What language do people speak? Do different cultures/races/species have
different languages, and if so how do they communicate across this gap?
11)
What is the climate like? What are some problems/benefits created by
this climate?
12)
Why do people live there? How long have people lived there?
13)
What sort of power hierarchy or government exists?
14)
How do those in power get and/or keep power?
15)
What does the military look like? Is there mandatory service?
16)
Are people generally happy with status quo? Is there any unrest? Open conflict?
17)
What would it take to disturb the status
quo? Why?
18)
What’s the level of technology? What technology shapes everyday life? What technology is unique to this world?
19)
Is there any technology so advanced that it’s
basically magic? Is there just straight
up magic?
This chapter
is actually a bit different from others, as what I've (accidentally) done is
created a sort of survey that you can give yourself. You could pretend that you’re standing in for
an inhabitant of any given world and see if you can answer these questions
accurately with only your knowledge of source material. This means you don’t get to pull things from
secondary source, only from the things you’re looking to examine (in this case
the Star Wars movies).
Give it a try. Write these questions down (or copy paste them into a different document). The simple
idea is such: the better you can answer these questions in a satisfactory way,
the better those questions were answered by your experience with primary
source. The better these questions were
answered, the better job of world building was done in that primary
source.
I really do think this would be
a good exercise for you as the reader to do on your own, but I also figure it’s
worth giving it a go on my part, at least for a few worlds. If you’re going to try it, copy these into a separate document right now and don’t let my answers spoil yours, but if you just want
to be spoon fed what I’m selling then read on.
Let’s start with Tatooine from A
New Hope.
1)
What are some common things that people eat?
-
Things like salad that can be grown at the home
in fairly harsh conditions.
2)
What kind of living space does the average
person live in?
-
In the cities people live in small stone
buildings that more or less all look the same, outside of the cities people
tend to live in isolated locations or even underground.
3)
What are some common things that people do for a
living?
-
Due to the desert climate, water is a
scarcity. People can operate moisture
farms to capture back some of this valuable water. In the cities, people have a wide range of
possibilities, though many of them relate to scum and villainy.
4)
Are there many large cities? What are the differences between city and
non-city life?
-
The closest cities are Mos Eisley and
Anchorhead, but they’re a trip from out in the desert. Life outside the cities is much more
independent but also much more isolated.
5)
What are some of the main products or exports?
-
There’s not much here that’s unique and not
present on other worlds - if there’s a bright center of the universe this is
the planet that it’s farthest from. The
most valuable resource is probably human capital, and in terms of people
leaving that’s probably the largest export.
6)
What doesn’t the world have, or what does it
import?
-
Pretty much everything. Moisture farms provide the basic needs of
life, but beyond that things are pretty lacking.
7)
What do people do for fun?
-
Go into town with friends, drive around or race
through canyons, ‘bullseye’ things.
8)
What do people dream of or aspire to?
-
To someday leave and find a better life
elsewhere.
9)
Are there different cultures in close
proximity? How does this impact daily
life?
-
There are both Jawas and sand people (Tusken
Raiders) that make their homes out in the desert leading nomadic lives. The sand people are somewhat hostile, but the
Jawas are friendly. They’re also
scavengers of technology and good in the repair of it, and make a living
selling tech that they’ve found and repaired.
In daily life one has to be cautious of venturing too far out into sand
people territory, but can also rely on the Jawas for technological needs when
they travel close. They seem to almost
be traveling salesmen.
-
In the cities, especially the spaceports, there
is a much greater blending of cultures.
Races from all over the galaxy might find themselves in the same
location, so it’s important to be alert to that.
10)
What language do people speak? Do different cultures/races/species have
different languages, and if so how do they communicate across this gap?
-
There are many different languages, though
people are usually fluent in at least those they encounter on a frequent basis. Droids are employed in many cases to
translate across these different languages.
Some races seem unable to produce, vocally, the sounds required for
certain languages, but can still learn the language and understand it in
listening. In these cases translators or
partnerships with those who can speak different languages is all the more
important.
11)
What is the climate like? What are some problems/benefits created by
this climate?
-
The climate is a desert, and it is pretty
harsh. It doesn’t have any benefits, and
we’ve already talked about a bunch of the problems. Temperature swings are also problematic, as
going out at night is often more dangerous than going out during the day.
12)
Why do people live there? How long have people lived there?
-
People live here because people will live
anywhere. The solitary life outside the
cities is more likely to attract those who enjoy independence or are looking to
go unnoticed. People have been here a
while; no one talks about living anywhere else in the past, and the cities look
old.
13)
What sort of power hierarchy or government
exists?
-
Well, there’s the Empire, right? This far out they’re somewhat hands off, and
as long as you’re not causing trouble you’re likely to be ignored. The emperor runs things from a far off
planet, and with the recent dissolution of the senate local governors are
tasked with keeping order.
14)
How do those in power get and/or keep power?
-
Power seems to be won through shows of force,
and command of the military establishment.
Power is kept through fear of this same force. Deadly force is authorized in almost all
cases, so the best strategy seems to lay low and off their radar.
15)
What does the military look like? Is there mandatory service?
-
Military service involves putting on a suit of
white armor and serving as the keepers of order - however those in power define order. Service doesn’t appear to be mandatory, but
must offer reasonable incentives. As you
work up the ranks you get out of the suit of armor and serve in more
administrative roles.
16)
Are people generally happy with status quo? Is there any unrest? Open conflict?
-
It is a period of civil war. Most people don’t really seem to care for the
Empire, but the risk in acting out against them is too great and simply drives
them to do nothing. There is a small
rebellion which has won small victories against the Empire, but these
skirmishes tend to be small due to the small size of the rebellion.
17)
What would it take to disturb the status
quo? Why?
-
This would probably vary from person to person,
but for most people it would probably take a lot. If it was easy to disturb the normal order,
there would be more people in the rebellion.
18)
What’s the level of technology? What technology shapes everyday life? What technology is unique to this world?
-
Technology has produced artificial consciousness
in the form of droids, and ships that can travel between planets are available
but not cheap. The technology from a
daily standpoint is that which keeps water flowing, and it might also be fairly
unique to this world due to the unique climate.
19)
Is there any technology so advanced that it’s
basically magic? Is there just straight
up magic?
-
Have you seen a lightsaber? They’re not really a new technology, but I
have no idea how they work. Magic to me. Oh, some people can also use their
understanding of the world around them to heighten their reflexes and feel
things before they happen or at a great distance.
Pretty decent, it would seem. We
only see Tatooine for the first 50 minutes or so, and that’s also interspersed
with scenes of the Death Star and Imperial Fleet. In 50 minutes you can get a pretty great feel
for what it would be like to live on Tatooine.
About the only question that I might have struggled with a bit would be
the first one, as while you see people eat in A New Hope it’s pretty easy to
forget what they’re eating. I think it
was salad, and that would also make a lot of sense in the context.
The picture painted is pretty clear.
It kind of sucks to live on Tatooine.
It’s pretty easy to relate to Luke wishing he was somewhere else.
How about the primary planet of The Phantom Menace? Oh, you’re not sure which planet I mean? Well, not a good sign.
Since the movie starts on, relates to the struggle of, and finishes with
a battle on Naboo, the movie really does seem to be about Naboo. We could certainly do the same exercise for
Tatooine from an Episode I perspective, but I will leave that to the reader.
1)
What are some common things that people eat?
-
Uh, hmmm.
Fruit?
2)
What kind of living space does the average
person live in?
-
Average person, eh? The average person on Naboo. And an example of an average person on Naboo
would be… They, they live in
palaces. Everyone.
3)
What are some common things that people do for a
living?
-
Government.
Planetary government. General
administration. Security. That pretty much covers it. Oh, pilots.
4)
Are there many large cities? What are the differences between city and
non-city life?
-
Well, there’s one city of humans, and one city
of Gungans. The Gungan one is underwater
on the opposite side of the planet from the human one. I don’t think anyone lives outside of those
two cities, though.
5)
What are some of the main products or exports?
-
Well, the Gungans produce these blue glowing
balls that destroy machines with electricity, but they also live underwater and
are fairly xenophobic, so I don’t think they export them. The humans, uh, I’m not sure they engage in
production or trade.
6)
What doesn’t the world have, or what does it
import?
-
It’s a pretty nice world, so there probably
isn’t any shortage of the essentials of life.
They have some pretty nice architecture, but they also presumably mine
what they need for that. There are
swamps and forests and plains and lakes and rivers and oceans. The planet is teeming with life. Maybe they import scum and villainy?
7)
What do people do for fun?
-
Yeah, fun.
Fun. *awkward silence*
8)
What do people dream of or aspire to?
-
People.
And their dreams? Things are
pretty good, so who would really want more?
9)
Are there different cultures in close
proximity? How does this impact daily
life?
-
Well, there are the humans and the Gungans, but
they’re hardly in close proximity. They
also keep to themselves almost entirely, so no, there really aren’t any
cultures in close proximity.
10)
What language do people speak? Do different cultures/races/species have
different languages, and if so how do they communicate across this gap?
-
Everyone speaks the same language on Naboo. If you want to live on Naboo you learn the
language or you go back to where you came from.
11)
What is the climate like? What are some problems/benefits created by
this climate?
-
It’s pretty nice. No complaints. Problems with the climate? Well, sometimes it just seems a little too
perfect. Does that count?
12)
Why do people live there? How long have people lived there?
-
Why would people not live here? Am I
right? This place is great. I bet people have been here since the minute
they discovered it. I guess the Gungans
came around the same time? All the
buildings seem kind of new, but maybe they just have a rapidly refreshing
architectural movement.
13)
What sort of power hierarchy or government
exists?
-
Well, we have a queen. She’s…14.
She has pretty much final word on the human side of things. We also have a senator in the galactic senate,
but he doesn’t visit very often. I guess
he’s a citizen of our world? Hard to say
if he was born here, who really checks on that sort of thing? He certainly has a lot of holes in his past,
though, to be fair. But hey, what
politician doesn’t? The Gungans also
have a series of Bosses who seem to be in control, but they don’t seem to have
representation in the galactic senate.
There’s also a congress of the republic, but I don’t think we have
representation beyond our one senator.
The supreme chancellor seems to be in control or at least supervision of
the senate, but there is only one of him, and so many worlds.
14)
How do those in power get and/or keep power?
-
You mean the queen? Well, in what I know of monarchy, I guess her
parents were probably king and queen and then they died. No one really asks that, you know? Oh, you mean the senators? Uh, well.
I guess maybe he was elected? Or
appointed by the queen? To a term
of…life? Oh, you mean the
chancellor? Seems like the senators
would probably vote him in. And boy,
keeping power in that job is near impossible – you can be voted out on a whim
at any moment. The others, I guess they
just keep power because no one tries to take it from them.
15)
What does the military look like? Is there mandatory service?
-
We are a peaceful people, so we don’t have a military. We do have some blasters, but that’s just for
self-defense. We also have a few
squadrons of space fighters with a design unique to our planet, and trained
pilots to fly them, but it’s mostly just for show.
16)
Are people generally happy with status quo? Is there any unrest? Open conflict?
-
People seem pretty happy with things as they
are, though the Trade Federation seems to have some problem. The only problems stem from them, but people
don’t really seem too concerned. There’s
no open conflict yet, but we also don’t have a military at all, so yeah. Oh yeah, the Gungans do, though. They have a fully formed military and weapons
and things like that. They’re vaguely
hostile to the humans, but living on the same planet as them we don’t really
see them as any sort of threat that we’d put together any sort of military
against.
17)
What would it take to disturb the status
quo? Why?
-
It would have to be pretty extreme, like
rounding people up and putting them in camps for some reason. You know, denying them access to their normal
lives on this awesome planet. Kind of
hard to see a reason why anyone would do that, though.
18)
What’s the level of technology? What technology shapes everyday life? What technology is unique to this world?
-
Well, like I said we have blasters and
spaceships. We also have some droids,
though they don’t really do much except work on our spaceships. The Trade Federation has a whole army of
droids, but they’re kind of stupid. Also
they need a ship in orbit to give them commands and stuff, or they just turn
off. We have a room that has a whole
bunch of these big beams of energy from floor to ceiling, and the ceiling and
floor are really far apart so it looks pretty cool. Would you like to hear more about that? Oh, well I guess that’s about all I actually
know about that, sorry.
19)
Is there any technology so advanced that it’s
basically magic? Is there just straight
up magic?
-
We are a civilized people. We do not believe in such charlatan’s tricks. There were some Jedi here a while ago, but they didn't really do anything noticeable.
So, I didn’t
think it was going to be quite so much of a contrast, but there you go. There are some questions for Naboo that I
just have no idea how to answer. Some of
them, the answers are so awkward that if you really put yourself in the shoes
of someone in that situation you can just feel the panic. Anyway, like I said, try this yourself. Do Episode I Tatooine, or Hoth, or Coruscant,
or Camino, or Cloud City, etc.
