Image Analysis: Mon Calamari outfitter

It’s been awhile since our last Image Analysis, and we’re looking again at the work of Langdon Foss, who consistently infuses his images with plenty of details that sell the galactic setting, and therefore are ripe for teasing out insights!

Although this picture is chock-full of details, there’s one in particular that I will focus on later, as it has the most potential for real-world usage.

First, let’s note that the outfitter appears to wear multiple layered tunics; each has fringed or jangle-y details on the bottom hems. In the films we’ve really only seen Mon Cals serving on Rebel Alliance warships, so is this indicative of a Mon Cal racial style? Also if you look closely he appears to be wearing shorts (with wave motifs at the hem)!

(Side note: it’s really weird to see a Mon Cal with such human-like hands as this fellow has, instead of the usual clawlike flipper-hands… After a quick bit of digging, it seems the species has not been depicted consistently. I think we are in need of a retcon to make the Mon Cals like the Aqualish, with different subspecies who have different appendages.

The explorer being outfitted appears to wear a thick vest with high collar.
His upper and lower arms are clad in different colors, which possibly indicates two layers (short sleeves over long sleeves); his gloves appear quilted.
His belt below the backpack has three items on it—note in particular the cylindrical device being carried at the center back, a common feature which creates pan-galactic aesthetic continuity throughout the eras:

While the explorer’s hard backpack is pretty neat (I especially like the three access doors on the right side–I would love to open them up and see what’s inside!!!), it’s nice to see the inclusion of the blanket/tarp roll on top—too often, depictions of ‘survival gear’ in pop media are far too small to be of any actual use. (I would really like to experiment  with a heavy aluminized blanket-and-tarp combo sometime.)

The most important detail in this scene which you may have overlooked, is the box carried beneath the explorer’s backpack—this is a medical kit! How do we know? Because Langdon Foss does his research, and this is, I believe, the fourth appearance of this model—more on it in a future post! 😉
Note that while a Real World first aid kit would bear a Red Cross, this one has a green cross! In the GFFA, green is the color associated with life: Qui-Gon Jinn, the Jedi with the most affinity for the Living Force, wields a green lightsabre; and Matthew Stover describes Yoda’s lightsabre as “a blade the color of life” (Revenge of the Sith, Chapter 20).
Therefore, a red cross would break the fourth wall by referring too much to a prominent Earth institution.
Is there anything important that I’ve missed in my analysis? What other details do you notice? Share your observation in the comments below, or join us on the SWLH facebook group!

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