Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)

The Leitmotif for the Force

The Force is a plot component that wavers uncertainly between being religious or magical and metaphysical or physical. Because of this ambiguity, the leitmotif proves essential in helping the audience understand what the Force is and making it believable in the context of the film. The Force’s leitmotif is very fluid, often moving from its “signlike property” to blend into musical passages (Buhler 45). This helps the audience sense the pervasiveness of the Force in all parts of life and how it naturally exists and enhances all life. For example, the leitmotif for the Force first occurs when Luke pauses beneath the two suns on Tatooine even though the Force has not been explained yet. The audience understands that this music is signifying something important that moves beyond “immediate rational comprehension” (Buhler 44), and this mental preparation helps the Force seem believable when it is later introduced.

The audience understands that the Force is a natural, healthy path to follow, an idea musically created by a leitmotif that is tonal and strongly associated with the dominant (the scale degree which is the natural building point of melodies). In Western styles, music naturally gravitates towards the dominant, so its use helps the audience subconsciously feel that the Force takes into account “the natural state of things” (Buhler 48), and in doing so does not create extra tension or unnaturalness.

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