Star Wars: The Force Awakens

In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, John Williams’ song “The Ways of The Force” plays during the final battle scene. In this scene, the dark and light sides of the force face off, represented by the characters Kylo Ren and Rey. The music of the scene is highly effective in relaying the emotions of the fight. Through his composition of film music, Williams has been able to greatly influence American culture for decades. In “The Ways of The Force,” Williams creatively incorporates references to his previous work in the Star Wars trilogies. These references to iconic songs are an effort to arouse feelings of hope in the listeners at specific moments. In “The Ways of The Force,” Williams takes advantage of musical elements to successfully match the
By doing so, they very effectively reflect the themes and plot of the scenes they correspond to. The final fight scene of The Force Awakens takes place in a snow-covered forest just outside of a First Order base on the planet Starkiller (a larger version of the Deathstar). Rey and her friend, Finn, are attempting to flee the planet when Kylo Ren intercepts them. Prior to the final battle scene, Kylo Ren severely wounds and knocks out Finn, provoking Rey to take action. The scene starts of with low rumbling drums, layered with dissonant harmonies from string instruments. The drums have a dark timbre, signifying the presence of the dark side of the force, as Kylo Ren attempts to pull the light saber out of the snow. The addition of the dissonant harmonies builds suspense as Ren visibly struggles. The song transitions to its first reference of “The Force Theme”, which reoccurs throughout the series, and is associated with scenes that give rise to a new hope. This reference is very applicable, as it occurs when Rey uses the force to take the light saber before Ren. As Rey gains the advantage in the fight, the music signifies the rise of the light side of the
Williams’ brilliant compositions elude to the themes of the previous movies, and those connections are in part what makes the pieces so effective in conveying their intended message – whether it be the hope of the force prevailing, or the impending doom when the dark side of the force advances. In tandem, the strength and effectiveness of the musical elements that these themes are made up of makes them so memorable and emotional for the