Sound, Spectator, and Psychoanalysis in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope

Abstract

Roughly 46 minutes into Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, C-3P0, and R2-D2 enter a Cantina noteworthy for the variety of its denizens and the seediness of their dealings. The fictional space punctuated by the first and only diegetic music of the film: it is bright, it is lively, yet it signifies the criminality and dangerousness of the space in which it sounds. But why do I hear steel pan? Why are Arp Synthesizer, and a horns section playing swing music? Why are aliens with beady eyes and bald, pink scalps the ones playing?

To answer these queries, I examine the scene so to give a phenomenology of audio-visual alterity, as it appears therein. Using semiotics, theory of spectatorship, and visual allegory, I'll explain why elements of the scene mean differently for different people (subjects), according to their unique set of qualities and experiences.