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Storytelling Elements in Star Wars: A New Hope

May the force of storytelling be with us.

Cover photo: @jerrysilfwer

Here are the storytelling ele­ments in Star Wars: A New Hope.

What bet­ter story could I’ve used? The Star Wars char­ac­ters immerse them­selves in astro­nom­ic­al dra­mas quite literally. 

The storytelling les­sons from Star Wars are epic!

Here we go:

Storytelling Elements in Star Wars

Storytelling for Jedi Master - Star Wars—A New Hope
The clas­sic poster from Star Wars: A New Hope.
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Storytelling Elements in Star Wars

I was born in 1979, two years after Star Wars was released, so Star Wars: A New Hope was essen­tial to my upbringing.

I wanted to apply these clas­sic­al ele­ments to a well-known story to see how well they would work. I’ve out­lined the storytelling ele­ments found in almost all great stories.

Here’s how I struc­tured the storytelling ele­ments fir this story:

1. The Contract

At the begin­ning of Star Wars: A New Hope, you see Star Destroyers in space shoot­ing lasers and Darth Vader tak­ing Princess Leia Organa host­age. At the same time, they nego­ti­ate the whole dra­mat­ic setup before Leia’s taken to her cell.

Darth Vader and Princess Leia - Star Wars - A New Hope - Storytelling Element
No one tells Princess Leia what to do — not even Darth Vader. We learn about her com­mit­ment to the cause, but it will only worsen, espe­cially for her home plan­et, Alderaan.

2. The Pull

The Empire uses a tract­or beam, but we’re drawn into the story by two droids, R2-D2 and C3PO. R2-D2 knows some­thing but can only beep and blip, so C3PO has to ask many ques­tions and repeat the answers to pull the view­er into the story.

C3PO and R2-D2 - Star Wars - A New Hope - Storytelling Element
Two droids on the mis­sion of their lives. We learn that deliv­er­ing Princess Leia’s mes­sage to Obi-Wan Kenobi is more import­ant than any­thing else.

3. The Incident

After fight­ing with his foster par­ents, Luke Skywalker runs away from home and gets attacked by Sand People. However, he is then saved by his mys­ter­i­ous pro­tect­or, Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Luke Skywalker is attacked by the Sand People on Tattoine - Star Wars - A New Hope - Storytelling Element
First knocked out, then he finds his home des­troyed and his fam­ily dead. Luke Skywalker is hav­ing a rough day, and he’s forced to make a choice and take up the fight against the mighty Empire.

4. The Reveal

R2-D2 shows his mes­sage from Princess Leia, thus open­ing up a whole new world for Luke Skywalker, and then Obi-Wan Kenobi explains about the Jedi.

Obi-Wan Kenobi gets the message from Princess Leia via R2-D2 - Star Wars - A New Hope - Storytelling Element
Princess Leia’s mes­sage func­tions as a cata­lyst, and through the eyes of Luke Skywalker, we get to exper­i­ence how a whole new world opens up for him. 

5. Point of No Return

Luke Skywalker real­izes his life will nev­er be the same as he rushes home to find his fam­ily butchered. He decides to fol­low Obi-Wan Kenobi and the droids to save Princess Leia. 1The Incident, The Reveal, and the Point of No Return are often quite close to each oth­er in most nar­rat­ives, and they might even be bundled togeth­er in the same scene or sequence. Together, they lead … Continue read­ing

The Millennium Falcon escapes Mos Eisley on Tattoine - Star Wars - A New Hope - Storytelling Element
In flee­ing from Mos Eisely, Luke Skywalker has no turn­ing back. He and his new com­pan­ions are now in the fight against the Empire.

6. Anti-Climax

Together with new com­pan­ions Han Solo and Chewbacca, Luke Skywalker man­ages to save Princess Leia, but at the same time, Obi-Wan Kenobi is struck down by Darth Vader.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is struck down by Darth Vader - Star Wars - A New Hope - Storytelling Element
What was sup­posed to be a brave and glor­i­ous res­cue ends in the sac­ri­fice of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke’s ment­or and Jedi master? 

7. All is Lost

As the rebels mobil­ise to strike against the Death Star, they suf­fer heavy losses against a super­i­or mil­it­ary force. But the rebels are picked off indi­vidu­ally, and Luke Skywalker is left with the almost impossible task of blow­ing up the Death Star without a func­tion­ing aim­ing system.

Luke Skywalker as the pilot ready to destroy the Death Star - Star Wars - A New Hope - Storytelling Element
It soon falls on Luke Skywalker to do the impossible. But he’s only begun to learn about the Force. And every­one dying around him.

8. News of Hope

Luke Skywalker gets sur­pris­ing help from Han Solo, who returns with the might of the Millennium Falcon — and the rest of the rebel fleet.

Millennium Falcon Returns with the Rebel Fleet - Star Wars - A New Hope - Storytelling Element
Han Solo plays the role of the ulti­mate sidekick who saves the day when our hero needs him the most.

9. The Climax

Luke Skywalker com­pletes his char­ac­ter arc for this movie by sum­mon­ing the spir­it of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Using the Force, Luke suc­ceeds in blow­ing up the Death Star and, more import­antly, takes an import­ant step towards ful­filling his des­tiny to become a true Jedi Knight.

Luke Skywalker Torpedoes the Death Star - Star Wars - A New Hope - Storytelling Element
Luke Skywalker taps into the Force and — bull’s eye!

10. The Pay-Off

Team Skywalker get medals, but more import­antly — their com­pan­ion­ship is forever forged, and they’re now ready to face the Empire yet again. 2Since the audi­ence has act­ively taken part in the story, shared decisions and exper­i­enced struggles emo­tion­ally, they want to be rewar­ded through the main char­ac­ters. They also want to feel that they … Continue read­ing

The medal ceremony - Star Wars - A New Hope - Storytelling Element
Heroes should get medals, right?

Learn more: Storytelling Elements in Star Wars: A New Hope

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Corporate Storytelling Script

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Storytelling Technique: Corporate Storytelling Script

Enhance your PR mes­sage with a tailored cor­por­ate storytelling script. Craft com­pel­ling pub­lic rela­tions nar­rat­ives with this simple storytelling technique.

For cor­por­ate storytelling pur­poses, I often use this sim­pli­fied script:

Promise. Why should any­one read your post? A sig­ni­fic­ant com­mit­ment ensures your read­ers know what to expect from this story. Of course, you also need to deliv­er on your contract.

Conflict. You need to explain that you under­stand the frus­tra­tion. I’ve been there your­self. Why should any­one trust your story oth­er­wise? Most writers rush this to get to the solu­tion, but all good stor­ies focus more on hard­ships than any­thing else.

Discovery. When, how and why did you decide to find a solu­tion to your prob­lem? A “point-of-no-return” is needed to engage the read­ers in your story. Tell them when, how and why.

Solution. As for the solu­tion, keep it brief and to the point.

Call-to-action. And finally, since you’re cre­at­ing a blog post, you should leave the read­er with a clear notion of what to do next!

Example 1: B2B Dental Equipment Reseller

Promise: In this post, we prom­ise to share a com­pel­ling story about the chal­lenges faced by dent­al prac­ti­tion­ers in acquir­ing high-qual­ity equip­ment and how our com­pany strives to reli­ably meet their needs.

Conflict: Dentists world­wide face a com­mon dilemma – the per­petu­al chal­lenge of sourcing reli­able, state-of-the-art equip­ment for their prac­tices. Trust is para­mount in this industry, and many prac­ti­tion­ers are uncer­tain when choos­ing sup­pli­ers. We under­stand this frus­tra­tion intimately.

Discovery: Our jour­ney began when our founder, a former dent­al pro­fes­sion­al, wit­nessed firsthand col­leagues’ struggles in acquir­ing trust­worthy equip­ment. Determined to make a dif­fer­ence, he embarked on a quest to revo­lu­tion­ize the dent­al equip­ment procurement.

Solution: Our solu­tion is simple yet pro­found. We lever­age cut­ting-edge tech­no­logy and industry expert­ise to cur­ate a com­pre­hens­ive invent­ory of top-tier dent­al equip­ment, ensur­ing prac­ti­tion­ers can access the tools they need with con­fid­ence and ease.

Call-to-action: Are you tired of nav­ig­at­ing the com­plex­it­ies of dent­al equip­ment pro­cure­ment? Visit our web­site today to explore our cur­ated selec­tion and exper­i­ence a new stand­ard of reli­ab­il­ity and excel­lence in dent­al equip­ment sourcing.

Example 2: B2C Brand Selling Injury Prevention Products for Athletes

Promise: This post prom­ises an enga­ging nar­rat­ive about the jour­ney of ath­letes in search of effect­ive injury pre­ven­tion solu­tions and how our brand stands out as their trus­ted ally in this pursuit.

Conflict: Athletes invest their hearts and souls into their craft, yet the spectre of injur­ies looms large, threat­en­ing to derail their dreams. Many products flood the mar­ket, but few offer the assur­ance ath­letes need to push their lim­its fear­lessly. We under­stand this struggle deeply.

Discovery: Our story unfolds at the inter­sec­tion of pas­sion and per­sever­ance. Driven by a shared com­mit­ment to empower ath­letes, our team embarked on a relent­less quest to devel­op innov­at­ive injury pre­ven­tion solu­tions that truly make a dif­fer­ence. The tip­ping point came when we wit­nessed firsthand our products’ trans­form­at­ive impact on ath­letes’ lives.

Solution: Our solu­tion is born from a fusion of cut­ting-edge tech­no­logy and sci­entif­ic rigour. Through tire­less research and devel­op­ment, we’ve craf­ted a range of products that mit­ig­ate injury risk and enhance ath­let­ic per­form­ance, allow­ing ath­letes to unleash their full poten­tial safely.

Call-to-action: Are you ready to take your ath­let­ic jour­ney to new heights while safe­guard­ing against injur­ies? Join the ranks of élite ath­letes who trust our products to power their per­form­ance. Visit our web­site now to dis­cov­er a world of innov­a­tion and pos­sib­il­ity in injury prevention.

Learn more: The Corporate Storytelling Script (to be published)

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Storytelling Resources

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To learn more about storytelling, I’ve found these books immensely helpful:

To hone my storytelling writ­ing skills, these are my go-to books on per­suas­ive writing…

… and last but not least, my favour­ite apps (MacOS) for dra­mat­ic writ­ing and structuring:

Learn more: Storytelling Books

💡 Subscribe and get a free ebook on how to get bet­ter PR ideas.

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One more thing. As I’m writ­ing this, we’re expect­ing a baby boy, and my wife is five days past her due date. If all goes well (and I think it will!) — I hope to have many years of storytelling before me. 3Silfwer, J. (2014, September 20). Welcome to Our World, Jack. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​j​a​c​k​-​s​i​l​f​w​er/

May the Force be with all of us!


Consider shar­ing my pub­lic rela­tions blog with oth­er com­mu­nic­a­tion and mar­ket­ing pro­fes­sion­als. If you have ques­tions (or want to retain my PR ser­vices), please con­tact me via jerry@​spinfactory.​com.

PR Resource: Free Storytelling PR Course

Free Storytelling PR Course - Doctor Spin - Public Relations Blog
Free storytelling PR course.
Spin Academy | Online PR Courses

Doctor Spin’s PR School: Free Storytelling PR Course

Elevate your pub­lic rela­tions game with this free Storytelling PR Course. Learn essen­tial and time­less storytelling tech­niques for effect­ive communication.

Learn more: All Free PR Courses

💡 Subscribe and get a free ebook on how to get bet­ter PR ideas.

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ANNOTATIONS
ANNOTATIONS
1 The Incident, The Reveal, and the Point of No Return are often quite close to each oth­er in most nar­rat­ives, and they might even be bundled togeth­er in the same scene or sequence. Together, they lead up to this: the audi­ence must want Luke to go on this adven­ture before he decides to go. Audience buy-in is crucial.
2 Since the audi­ence has act­ively taken part in the story, shared decisions and exper­i­enced struggles emo­tion­ally, they want to be rewar­ded through the main char­ac­ters. They also want to feel that they have grown from this story and are now bet­ter equipped to face any chal­lenges in their own lives.
3 Silfwer, J. (2014, September 20). Welcome to Our World, Jack. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​j​a​c​k​-​s​i​l​f​w​er/
Jerry Silfwer
Jerry Silfwerhttps://doctorspin.net/
Jerry Silfwer, alias Doctor Spin, is an awarded senior adviser specialising in public relations and digital strategy. Currently CEO at Spin Factory and KIX Communication Index. Before that, he worked at Kaufmann, Whispr Group, Springtime PR, and Spotlight PR. Based in Stockholm, Sweden.

The Cover Photo

The cover photo isn't related to public relations; it's just a photo of mine. Think of it as a 'decorative diversion', a subtle reminder that there is more to life than strategic communication.

The cover photo has

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