- Carrie Fisher wore a famous gold bikini in "Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi," released 40 years ago Thursday.
- The hero was forced to wear it when she was captured by space gangster Jabba the Hutt.
When moviegoers first sat down to watch $4 40 years ago, they were likely eager to find out what would happen after the devastating cliffhanger to 1980's $4
Little did they know that the first 20 minutes of the sequel would deliver something nearly as iconic as $4.
In the opening moments, Princess Leia — played by the late $4 — and Luke Skywalker ($4) mount a mission to save Han Solo (Harrison Ford) from sluglike gangster Jabba the Hutt. Leia masquerades as a bounty hunter to free Han, but it turns out Jabba has laid a trap for her — imprisoning the princess as his slave in a gold bikini. And so, a piece of cinema history was born.
Until this point in the original "Star Wars" trilogy, Leia had largely been depicted as headstrong, and a gutsy fighter. Here, we see her stripped of her agency, as $4, a lecturer in film and media at the UK's Open University and author of the 2020 book $4 points out.
"It's a world away from her typical conservative costuming," Harrison tells Insider. "It's designed to sexualize and expose her, and to make her more physically vulnerable in a dangerous space. And, lest we forget, it's not just a bikini that she's wearing — she's in chains."
In true Leia style, however, the resourceful heroine turns the tables, killing Jabba with the very chains he had shackled her in.
In doing so, Leia quickly re-established herself as the capable character we had always known her to be, and sent a message to women and girls around the world that still reverberates today.
"This is such an iconic power move — literally using the chains that oppress you to overcome your oppressor," says Harrison.
According to Harrison, the scene, from a "broader, feminist perspective," symbolizes that "men's attempts to demean a woman based on her clothing fail."
That sentiment is echoed by $4, the author of $4
"Jabba chose the outfit to sexualize and demean her, and Leia shows her strength once again by not being thrown off or slowed down by it. She's racing around in the film as the heroes are escaping as if she's wearing a comfy yoga outfit," says Richau.
The takeaway, then, at least for some viewers, is empowerment.
"You can wear a gold bikini and not be undermined as a leader providing it's your choice," adds Harrison.
How the gold bikini took over the world
While "Return of the Jedi" raked in over $4 upon release, the impact of Leia's gold bikini was felt beyond just the box office.
Around the time the movie was released, Fisher graced the cover and pages of Rolling Stone magazine wearing the outfit in a now-infamous beach photo shoot. This sealed the bikini as indeed a defining moment in pop culture history.
And in the 40 years since, the iconic image has been reproduced on posters, cardboard cutouts, and fridge magnets; parodied in shows like $4 and $4 and even copied by $4. All this continues to contribute to its enduring legacy.
The gold bikini is also a $4 the world over, as popular with convention-goers as Darth Vader's helmet, and Chewbacca.
Cosplayer Tabitha Lyons — who goes by the handle "artyfakes" on Instagram, where she has over 140,000 followers — tells Insider the look has come to represent a person's self-confidence and agency.
"To see Leia defeat the bad guys and looking feminine whilst doing so always meant something to me. It personally taught me that I don't have to be a stereotype," she says.
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