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Safety railings in the Star Wars universe


Is there anything in the Star Wars canon that explains the alarming lack of safety railings on various structures in the Republic? An example from The Empire Strikes Back, a landing pad on Bespin:


Landing pad on Bespin


The ankle level curb might be considered a weak nod toward safety but I would not want to be on that platform if winds were high. Given that Bespin is a city in the clouds, winds would be high a lot of the time.


There are other examples, such as the open catwalks over an abyss in the first Death Star, the balconies on Coruscant, open staircases everywhere, and the catwalks on which Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Darth Maul fought on Naboo. There are some exceptions, too. The Ewoks believed in safety apparently and used railings on the catwalks between their tree dwellings. On Bespin in the lower level where Vader and Luke fought there is a railing on the gantry stretching over the abyss.


Vader and Luke fight on a gantry with railings


No note is made note of this situation in the movies, but there is much more Star Wars related material than I will ever see or read. Does any of it address the railings issue?



Answer




At least one example of this has been addressed in the Inside the Worlds of Star Wars: Episode I factbook. The tall observation tower at the Mos Espa Speedway has a ...



"Low-energy traction system"



... around the perimeter of the viewing platform, specifically in order to prevent people from throwing themselves off.


Given that this is a (relatively) low-tech world compared to the Core Worlds of the Republic/Empire, There's no good reason to assume that these sorts of invisible safety systems aren't in place other times that we see gantries with no railings.


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Out of universe, we're advised by the Production Designer for Rogue One, Doug Chiang that the decision not to include handrails was a conscious design choice by George Lucas to show that Health and Safety wasn't a big thing in the Empire. Sorry soldiers, life is cheap and you're disposable.




SWS: This is a very intimidating set, you cannot help but be aware of how precarious we are right now.


Chiang: In terms of no handrails, Right?


SWS: Exactly


Chiang: You know, that’s the funny thing. Its one of those iconic things that George wanted to establish in the Star Wars locale, that there’s no health and safety. It’s this crazy thing where the minute you take away handrails or anything like that, it really kind of puts it in the Star Wars world.


Why Are There No Handrails in Star Wars? How Rogue One Recreated Classic Sets.






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