Below is my diegetic sound analysis of the final confrontation in ‘Return of The Jedi(1983)Marquand’
-This is important as it helps us understand the different Foley sound features and introduces us to the space genre.
| Context – What’s Happening?
This is the final confrontation between the hero (Luke) and the villains (Darth Vader & The Emperor). The two villains are intent on winning a victory for the evil ‘Dark Side’ by showing Luke that to triumph he has to use his rage & hate. |
Overall Tone / Mood
The overall tone and mood is sinister and powerful, there is lot of anger and frustration & corruption -Threat -Jeopardy -Challenge -Epiphany -Hope |
Star Wars & Genre & Narrative
It is the combination across 3 films and is the biggest challenge for Luke as he is trying to avoid temptation of turning to the dark SPACE OPERA- a sub-genre of sci-fi which focuses on melodrama and battles etc. There is a simplistic fairy-tale narrative here |
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| Topics / Focus | Key examples from the text | What meaning (impact) is made? | Significance for Genre or Narrative | ||
| Diagetic | Dialogue / Vocal
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“You underestimate the power of the dark side.”
“I will not fight you.” “I will never turn to the dark side” “I feel the good in you father” “Let the hate flow through you.” Palpetines voice |
It creates suspense, emphasizes the dark sides evil
Shows Luke’s morality Shows that the dark side are unsuccessful There is a politeness from Luke emphasizing his morality Demonstrates the manipulation of the emperor It is like a snake in the grass- his delivery is monstrous |
It is simplistic, it has the morality of a fairy tale | |
Ambient Sound
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-Vader’s breathing
-The light-sabers touching back and forth (with scraping together) Luke’s grunts with his light-saber when he snaps NOOO Zzz with the light-sabers (electronic hiss) Darth Vader’s footsteps |
Helps create a presence when he is near or there. It creates suspense. When he is not fighting it’s metallic
The light-sabers make the fight seem more powerful, it demonstrates Luke and Vader’s anger. They are static. – It emphasizes the fact Luke is in danger Shows his frustration towards his father, makes the audience see the darker side toward Luke, he is tempted. Vader’s footsteps demonstrate the approaching threat |
The light-sabers demonstrate a sense of chivalry which is part of the genre of space opera. |
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