In The Empire Strikes Back, Lando Calrissian has an aide named Lobot, who helps him run Cloud City. The name "Lobot" suggests two words: "robot" and "lobe" (or "lobotomy").
"Robot" is apt, because Lobot is a cyborg: he has a robotic implant built into his head. "Lobe" is also apt: a "lobe" is a part of the brain, and a "lobotomy" is a kind of brain surgery that severs the frontal lobe from other parts of the brain. Lobot's name points to the fact that he has a brain that has been robotically enhanced (presumably by some kind of surgical operation).
As Lando's sidekick, Lobot is a foil to Chewbacca, Han Solo's sidekick. Both scoundrels have a counterpart who does not speak in normal words, though Han Solo understands Chewbacca's growls and Lando communicates with Lobot through hand signals and robotic devices.
The difference between the two sidekicks points to the difference between the two scoundrels. Chewbacca (whose name includes the word "chew") is symbolically associated with the belly and the appetites. He is also an animal, connected to nature. Lobot is symbolically associated with the head and the intellect. His neat, clean, orderly appearance and robotic implant link him to the artificial environment of Cloud City. Han is a smuggler who goes with his gut and is comfortable operating in the galaxy's rough and tumble underworld. Lando, in contrast, has become a respectable and responsible businessman, an administrator whose job is to think things through and organize those under his authority. From Han's perspective, Lando might seem to have his head in the clouds.
EXPLORE FURTHER…
Characters: Chewbacca / Han Solo / Lando Calrissian / Lobot
GO DEEPER INTO THE ARCHIVES…
Concepts: animals / brains / names / nature and technology
READ MORE ABOUT…
Follow The Jedi Archives on…