FORCE AWAKENS CONTEXT FLASHCARDS
Who was the director? – JJ Abrams
When was it released? – 2015
What was the certification? – 12A
What number is it in the franchise? – 7th
When did the last Star Wars film come out before it? – 10 years
What was the budget? - $306 million
Who was the composer? – John Williams
How does it fit with blockbuster conventions? – Futuristic technology, impressive SFX, theme tune,
legacy characters, good vs evil, homages, simple narrative and diversity in the characters
What were Abram’s intentions? – He aimed to recapture the spirit and tone of the original trilogy,
wanted to honour the legacy of George Lucas’s original films, to evoke nostalgia while delivering a
high-energy, emotionally resonant experience, wanted it to have its own self-contained beginning,
middle, and end, pass the torch from legacy characters to new characters
How did Abrams design the film to pass the torch from legacy characters to the new ones? – Each
new character has echoes of the originals but was meant to reflect more modern or diverse
sensibilities
What are Abrams’ film signatures? – Stories driven by mystery, fast paced narrative, character
driven emotional arcs, use of kinetic camera work, visual interest in long shots, childlike wonder
and nostalgia
How did Abrams create a story driven by mystery? – Rey’s parentage, Supreme Leader Snoke’s
identity
How did Abrams create character-driven emotional arcs? – Kylo is a conflicted villain, Finn’s arc as
a stormtrooper-turned-rebel is grounded in personal morality, Rey’s loneliness and longing are
front and centre
How did Abrams use kinetic camera work? – Dramatic lighting, lens flares in light sabre scenes,
shaky cameras and whip pans in fights, canted angles in high action scenes, sweeping crane and
dolly shots add emotional intensity
How did Abrams evoke childlike wonder and nostalgia? – Rey discovering the Millennium Falcon or
igniting Luke’s lightsabre for the first time evokes a wide-eyed, almost sacred feeling
What are conventions of the sci-fi genre? – Advanced technology and futuristic settings, non-
human species/AI, space as a frontier, scientific explanations and rationalism, dystopian or utopian
worlds, hero’s journey
How does it conform to advanced tech? – Lightsabres, hyperspace travel, droids (BB-8, C-3PO),
Starkiller Base (a planet-sized superweapon), space combat and interplanetary politics are central
to the plot
How does it conform to non-human species? - A galaxy with aliens/droids, BB-8/R2-D2 as
emotional companions
How does it conform to space as a frontier? – The Resistance and First Order fight over control of
different parts of the galaxy, planets like Jakku and Ahch-To reflect both desolation and spiritual
isolation
How does it conform to scientific explanations? – Technologies like hyperspace and Starkiller Base
are lightly explained
How does it conform to dystopian worlds? – The First Order is a fascist regime with Nazi imagery;
the Resistance is an underdog rebellion, echoes of real-world tyranny, oppression, and war are
present
How does it conform to the hero’s journey? – Rey follows the classic Hero's Journey: orphaned,
called to adventure, reluctant, gains power, and faces darkness
How does it subvert advanced tech? – The tech is more “used” than shiny and new, Abrams
leaned into the original trilogy’s "lived-in" aesthetic
How does it subvert non-human species? – Alien cultures aren’t deeply explored, aliens often
function as background colour rather than central plot elements
How does it subvert space as a frontier? – The focus is less on scientific discovery and more on a
mythic/spiritual journey (Rey’s Force awakening), making this more space opera than hard sci-fi
How does it subvert scientific explanations? – The Force is mystical, not scientific, it’s more aligned
with fantasy or spiritual allegory, there’s little effort to ground the science in realism (e.g., sound
in space, physics-defying ships)
How does it subvert dystopian worlds? – The socio-political world-building is thinner than in The
Empire Strikes Back or more grounded sci-fi like Blade Runner. The story is driven by personal
stakes over ideological ones
Who was the director? – JJ Abrams
When was it released? – 2015
What was the certification? – 12A
What number is it in the franchise? – 7th
When did the last Star Wars film come out before it? – 10 years
What was the budget? - $306 million
Who was the composer? – John Williams
How does it fit with blockbuster conventions? – Futuristic technology, impressive SFX, theme tune,
legacy characters, good vs evil, homages, simple narrative and diversity in the characters
What were Abram’s intentions? – He aimed to recapture the spirit and tone of the original trilogy,
wanted to honour the legacy of George Lucas’s original films, to evoke nostalgia while delivering a
high-energy, emotionally resonant experience, wanted it to have its own self-contained beginning,
middle, and end, pass the torch from legacy characters to new characters
How did Abrams design the film to pass the torch from legacy characters to the new ones? – Each
new character has echoes of the originals but was meant to reflect more modern or diverse
sensibilities
What are Abrams’ film signatures? – Stories driven by mystery, fast paced narrative, character
driven emotional arcs, use of kinetic camera work, visual interest in long shots, childlike wonder
and nostalgia
How did Abrams create a story driven by mystery? – Rey’s parentage, Supreme Leader Snoke’s
identity
How did Abrams create character-driven emotional arcs? – Kylo is a conflicted villain, Finn’s arc as
a stormtrooper-turned-rebel is grounded in personal morality, Rey’s loneliness and longing are
front and centre
How did Abrams use kinetic camera work? – Dramatic lighting, lens flares in light sabre scenes,
shaky cameras and whip pans in fights, canted angles in high action scenes, sweeping crane and
dolly shots add emotional intensity
How did Abrams evoke childlike wonder and nostalgia? – Rey discovering the Millennium Falcon or
igniting Luke’s lightsabre for the first time evokes a wide-eyed, almost sacred feeling
What are conventions of the sci-fi genre? – Advanced technology and futuristic settings, non-
human species/AI, space as a frontier, scientific explanations and rationalism, dystopian or utopian
worlds, hero’s journey
How does it conform to advanced tech? – Lightsabres, hyperspace travel, droids (BB-8, C-3PO),
Starkiller Base (a planet-sized superweapon), space combat and interplanetary politics are central
to the plot
How does it conform to non-human species? - A galaxy with aliens/droids, BB-8/R2-D2 as
emotional companions
How does it conform to space as a frontier? – The Resistance and First Order fight over control of
different parts of the galaxy, planets like Jakku and Ahch-To reflect both desolation and spiritual
isolation
How does it conform to scientific explanations? – Technologies like hyperspace and Starkiller Base
are lightly explained
How does it conform to dystopian worlds? – The First Order is a fascist regime with Nazi imagery;
the Resistance is an underdog rebellion, echoes of real-world tyranny, oppression, and war are
present
How does it conform to the hero’s journey? – Rey follows the classic Hero's Journey: orphaned,
called to adventure, reluctant, gains power, and faces darkness
How does it subvert advanced tech? – The tech is more “used” than shiny and new, Abrams
leaned into the original trilogy’s "lived-in" aesthetic
How does it subvert non-human species? – Alien cultures aren’t deeply explored, aliens often
function as background colour rather than central plot elements
How does it subvert space as a frontier? – The focus is less on scientific discovery and more on a
mythic/spiritual journey (Rey’s Force awakening), making this more space opera than hard sci-fi
How does it subvert scientific explanations? – The Force is mystical, not scientific, it’s more aligned
with fantasy or spiritual allegory, there’s little effort to ground the science in realism (e.g., sound
in space, physics-defying ships)
How does it subvert dystopian worlds? – The socio-political world-building is thinner than in The
Empire Strikes Back or more grounded sci-fi like Blade Runner. The story is driven by personal
stakes over ideological ones
