The Planets of Star Wars: Tatooine

This is the second in a series about the planets of Star Wars and their meaning. In the last post, we discussed Naboo, Padme’s home planet. Tatooine is Anakin’s home planet, and the contrast between the two worlds is striking.

Life on the Planet

Tatooine is dry and hot. It’s a desert planet, and the only legitimate living to be made here is through moisture farming. Slavery is legal, and the gangster Hutts run pretty much everything, including the monetary system. Republic credits (dollars) are no good out here. Tatooine was controlled by the Sith for thousands of years before the Hutts took over. Its remote location in the outer rim makes it a great place for “scum and villany” to hide. Sandstorms here are very dangerous.

What Happens Here

Anakin Skywalker was born into slavery on Tatooine. Obi Wan and Qui Gon Ginn discovered Anakin here when their ship was forced to land on the way to Coruscant after a dispute on Naboo with the Trade Federation. Anakin helps the stranded Jedi by racing in the Boonta Eve Classic in Mos Espa, a race sponsored by Jabba the Hutt. Later, Anakin found his mother had been kidnapped by Tuscan Raiders, and he killed the entire village. Luke was raised by Owen and Beru Lars on Tatooine so that Vader would not find him.

What the Planet Could Symbolize

If water represents life, Tatooine is completely parched. It’s not simply that people literally die on Tatooine, or that getting caught in a sand storm here can be deadly. All the activities on Tatooine are devoid of life, from slavery to gambling & gangsters. The few good people on Tatooine are struggling to survive.  Mos Eisley space port is a great example. Obi Wan calls it “a wretched hive of scum and villany.” Anakin also took his first major step toward the Dark Side on Tatooine, having left Naboo against orders from his Jedi master.

So, Tatooine embodies many forms of death in the story. When Anakin left Naboo, a planet full of life, to come to Tatooine, it marked the beginning of the death of the good in Anakin.