Gould on Natural Law and the "Resistance": A Normative Approach to the Skywalker Narrative in "The Last Jedi"

James Gould, University of Plymouth, School of Law, Criminology, and Government, has published Natural Law and the ‘Resistance’: A Normative Approach to the Skywalker Narrative in The Last Jedi, at 34 International Journal for the Semiotics of Law 357-375 (2021). Here is the abstract.

The motion picture The Last Jedi involves important decisions and actions taken by the protagonist of the original Star Wars trilogy, Luke Skywalker. It will be argued that Luke’s narrative in The Last Jedi can be explored through analysing new natural law thought. In particular it draws on Robert P. George’s discussion of the good (human flourishing) to consider whether the opposition provided by Luke Skywalker can been seen as a successful form of opposition to restore public morality. The contrast between Skywalker’s morality and the behaviour of the First Order will be established. It will be argued that the Skywalker narrative symbolises public morality against the politics of the First Order. It will be analysed whether Luke’s sacrifice in The Last Jedi can provide legal restraint to a militant invading force. This will further be shown to be helpful to legal philosophy in negotiating the boundaries over natural rights. As such, it will be shown that key features of George’s natural law reasoning can be usefully applied to examine Luke’s actions, and this will shed light upon concepts such as liberty, sacrifice and fear. Legal idealism in the form of natural law will provide further insight into the jurisprudence that pervades Luke’s narrative arch to demonstrate the film’s wider relevance.