by Morgan Bell

Created on: March 08, 2007   Last Updated: May 09, 2007

Princess Leia - Hero or Damsel in Distress?

Princess Leia may be wilful, but is she still just a damsel in distress waiting for the hero? The portrayal of gender roles in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope deserves a closer look, as the Princess Leia is not the traditional naive girl from Alderon that we often take her for.

To appreciate Princess Leia as a groundbreaking female action hero, it is necessary for a modern day re-examination of the value of her role within this film. And to evaluate Leia in context we must take into to consideration:

a) Leia exists in a male dominated setting where she is one of only two female characters (the other one being a small appearance by Mrs Skywalker) and her actions can only be compared to those men

b) Leia exists also within George Lucas's world of comic strip style clipped dialogue where a feminist monologue may ruin continuity

In George Lucas's Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope Princess Leia is a reluctant damsel in distress. She is aware of her limitations and willing to play whatever role it takes to defeat the Empire, but it is largely the way the other characters treat Princess Leia that gives her outward appearance of a damsel in distress. By looking at her physicality, her mission, others' presumptions of her, and her as a representative of her world, it can be seen that Leia uses her knowledge of female stereotypes as a way to take advantage of the situation she is in.

It is a misconception by the marketing of Star Wars that Leia is the typical damsel in distress. The back cover blurb reads "Luke Skywalker and Captain Han Solo team together with the lovable droid duo R2-D2 and C-3PO, to rescue the beautiful princess and restore justice in the galaxy." This is not actually representative of the plot of the story. It makes a more romantic sound-byte but fools us into expecting a typical female character. Leia was not kidnapped and held ransom. The story is set in a Civil War where Leia works politically and actively for the Rebels whilst maintaining she is only on diplomatic and mercy missions. It is largely due to her wit and deception that the Rebels make their first victory of stealing the plans of the Empires new weapon, the Death Star.

Leia's rescue team never actually set out to rescue her. The recorded message that Leia leaves in R2-D2 is mostly remembered by audiences as the phrase repeated "Help me Obi Wan Kenobi, you are my only hope." This can be easily misinterpreted as a plea for her own rescue,

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