Dr Becca Harrison

From its inception to the present day, Star Wars has told stories about environmental change and planetary collapse. In A New Hope (1977), a human-made weapon obliterates the world of Alderaan. The Phantom Menace (1999) addresses and critiques the effects of colonisation on different species. And, in the most recent cycle of films, characters notice the effects of war on different eco-systems (Solo, 2018, The Rise of Skywalker, 2019). Emerging alongside the first mainstream public debates in the 1970s about climate change and other environmental issues, the Star Wars franchise has provided fascinating insights into discourses about humans’ impact on the natural world over the past five decades. But planetary exploitation is not limited to onscreen narratives. It can also be evidenced in the production, circulation, and commoditising of Star Wars media, which include films, TV shows, video games, theme parks, toys, and comics. For Star Wars objects, whether they appear onscreen or in stores, are all made of raw materials: Stormtrooper helmets rely on thermoplastics derived from oil; the prequel films (1999-2005) used silicon for computer chips that stored digital characters. Through its extractive, manufacturing, and waste processes, the franchise harms ecosystems and contributes to global climate change by emitting carbon, among other pollutants. Responding to the urgency of international activist movements and inter-governmental talks to prevent catastrophic climate change, screen media practitioners are seeking solutions to the environmental harms caused by film and television productions like Star Wars. For example, events run by the British Film Institute (London Film Festival industry panel, 2019) and Creative Scotland (Developing a Climate Emergency & Sustainability Plan, 2021) have invited industry experts to consider how the sector will adapt to climate change. However, as attested by leading sustainability consultants and project partner Albert (part of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, or BAFTA), most screen industry initiatives to date have focused on carbon-offsetting for location and studio shoots. This project, then, turns attention to the harms caused by creating and disposing of props and costumes. By focusing on recognisable UK co-produced films, and exploring the creation of objects crucial to the Star Wars franchise in terms of world-building and merchandising strategies, the project will demonstrate the importance of embedding sustainable design beyond the shoot. To do so, the project will collaborate with Albert to 1. provide industry practitioners with tools that reveal the hidden environmental impacts of prop and costume processes and 2. help them identify sustainable practices by which to make future productions greener. The tools will consist of sustainability calculators that measure the likely carbon emissions created by props and costumes through their manufacture and disposal processes. The project will focus on four case studies: 1. Analogue and digital versions of Artoo Detoo 2. A Queen Amidala costume 3. Stormtrooper helmets 4. An animatronic porg. On an open access project website, practitioners will be able to input data relevant to their own props and costumes to test their productions’ green credentials, as well as read about alternative materials and processes. Focus groups sessions with practitioners will contribute to designing useful tools and relevant website resources, and provide feedback so that the project team can measure the impact of research. Given the ubiquity of Star Wars props and costumes in the public imagination – films, characters, and visual iconography are referenced in British culture from footwear to Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK – the project is designed to interest the general public, too. Amid ongoing debates about how different industries contribute to harming the natural environment, it is important that screen media’s role is recognised and discussed. The project will therefore aim to transform public perceptions of screen media like Star Wars through a variety of engagement activities, including an industry workshop and public lecture hosted by the National Science and Media Museum, and social media accounts on Twitter and Instagram. Thus, The Environmental Impact of Star Wars Project will demonstrate how the design, manufacture and disposal of props and costumes are vital to industry efforts to make screen media more sustainable. By inspiring public conversations about industry practices, and equipping practitioners with tools to adopt greener processes, the project will have a lasting and positive impact on film and television production.