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selenakSo, that Star Wars thing.
When I watched "A New Hope", aka the original "Star Wars", I was entertained, I liked it, but by no means did I fall in love or even had the wish to watch it again. I had already started to develop my taste for ambiguous heroes, and the literal black and white world of the movie was a bit too obvious for me. No, Han Solo didn't help there, either. He was the Cynic With a Heart of Gold; I never expected him to do anything but make the right decision at the last minute. The only one who seemed interesting once the entertainment of watching the movie was over was Darth Vader, because he used to be a Jedi. Villains who used to be heroes made me curious.
Come "The Empire Strikes Back", I did get hooked. It's a pity that anyone who didn't catch those films in the cinema probably will be spoiled for the "I am your father" moment, because it is such a jolt, and yet makes such sense. It also was the first thing to retrospectively colour that black and white world of ANH in some shades of grey, because Obi-Wan's little chat with Luke, up to then the usual Calling of The Hero, started to look downright manipulative. So while I liked the Han and Leia romance well enough, it was the Vader scenes, and the father/son relationship which made all the difference. Now I really wanted to know not just how the story would end, but how it had begun - Vader's backstory, in a word.
Come "Return of the Jedi", I got part of my wish. The Ewoks didn't irritate me as much as they did others though I wasn't a fan, either; I was more annoyed by the obligatory Lucas chase sequence (i.e. Leia and Luke pursuing the Storm Troopers) which seemed superfluous, and by the fact we got next to no reaction from Leia to the family news. All in all, though, I liked that final chapter, and again, the scenes with Vader and the Emperor and Vader and Luke were what I was really interested in. And I still wanted to know about the backstory.
Years passed, I retained a fond memory of SW but never was as passionate about it as I was about, say, "Blade Runner", or "Star Trek - The Next Generation", "Deep Space Nine" or "Babylon 5", as far as Sci-Fi is concerned. And then came the prequels.
By the time I got to watch "The Phantom Menace", I had managed to remain spoiler-free (except for Qui-Gon's death, which wasn't hard to figure out since one of the tracks of John Williams' score was entitled "Qui-Gon's Funeral"), but had heard vague rumblings of complaints. So, given I had liked but not loved on the one hand, and was about to get my backstory wish on the other hand, I went in with some nervousness but not with the expectations a hardcore fan would have had. I came out delighted and pleased and fired up to look for prequel-era fanfic, and looking forward to the next one. Which was not, shall we say, the average reaction. So, let's get the most obvious question out of the way first: What about Jar-Jar Binks?
Honestly? I thought CPO had been on about the same annoyance level in the OT, especially in ANH. On the other hand, I could see the point of Jar-Jar beyond the comic relief. His scene with Padme Amidala, knowing their world is in all likelihood doomed, which inspires her plan for Naboo/Gungan union, worked better for me as the equivalent "Ewoks and Rebels team up" in RotJ. And the way Obi-Wan summed up him and Anakin as "pathetic life forms" gave us in a "show, not tell" manner a good look at the ivory tower attitude the Jedi (except for Qui-Gon) have at this stage which will contribute to their doom. This being said, yes, I was relieved Jar-Jar had a much smaller part in "Attack of the Clones"; fitting with the darker tone of that movie, it wasn't a comic relief one, either, nor would endless pratfalls have been appropriate there.
Back to "The Phantom Menace". I was absolutely thrilled with Lucas painting the Old Republic and the Jedi Order not as the wonderful past Obi-Wan describes in ANH. The set-up in the OT is as black and white as you get: heroic rebels versus EVIL Empire. No doubt who is wrong. In the prequels, however, things are no longer that simple. To use a Lucas quote, it's not that the Empire conquers the Republic - the Empire IS the Republic. And we see it happening step by step. There were endless complaints about how boring a trade dispute as a movie start is in comparison to the OT situations, or even the invasion of one planet by a bunch of pathetic stooges and their robots. Which is missing the point entirely. Of course they are stooges, and not serious villains. The serious villain is Palpatine, and as opposed to the conventional Evil Overlord in chewing-the-scenery full-throttle we see him as in ESB and RotJ, here he's subtle, smart, and successful. For in TPM, Palpatine creates a win-win scenario for himself, and win he does. The entire purpose of the invasion is to move him into a position where he could become Chancellor of the Republic. The climax, the true point of no return, is not the Darth Maul/Qui/Obi fight, thrilling as this is; it is when Palpatine manipulates Padme Amidala into asking for a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum.
(As far as Palpatine is concerned, whether or not she is killed afterwards and whether or not Naboo is freed is irrelevant at this point; if Naboo remains occupied, he gets sympathy votes, if Naboo is liberated, he gets sympathy votes as well. And the fact a world of the Republic COULD be invaded that simply further undermines everyone's confidence in the Republic as a state form.)
Meanwhile, the Jedi are living, literary, in an ivory tower. The Queen gets help from them not because her world has been invaded but because a Sith has shown up. They are well aware there is slavery and injustice a plenty in worlds outside of the Republic, but even Qui-Gon, the most open-minded Jedi we get presented with, doesn't think there's anything he can do about this. As an order, they are remarkably unflexible when faced with the unexpected: the first response to the news the Sith might still be around is denial. And apparently nobody has any alternate suggestions about what to do with nine-years-old Anakin; was Qui-Gon supposed to return him to Tattoine and slavery? Apart from all ethical considerations, again, they had just learned about the Sith. One would think it's not the best idea to leave force-sensitive youngsters who might bear a grudge around to be recruited. No, the Jedi, as the Republic itself, are set up as being ripe for a fall. Which is where the whole "balance of the force" thing comes in. It's not just that Anakin, near the end of his life, will kill Palpatine and before that will have genetically contributed to Leia and Luke who are driving forces for the Rebellion. It's also that he will contribute to both the Republic and the Order's fall to begin with, because both was necessary for renewal. In the OT, Obi-Wan goes for a Jekyll/Hyde approach when he finally explains things to Luke in RotJ. Vader is not Anakin, "the good man who was your father died", there is only a monster left, etc. The prequels, however, make it clear that just as the Republic is not conquered by the Empire as an alien institution but grows into it, Anakin does not suddenly turn into Vader; he becomes Vader.
One of the most often voiced complaints, after Jar-Jar Binks issues, was that Anakin was depicted in "The Phantom Menace" as a child. Usually followed by the complaint Jake Lloyd can't act. Both of which made me go "huh"? Jake L. is no Haley J. Osment, true, but he's utterly convincing as nine-years-old Anakin in TPM. Who is no miniature Vader, youthful psychopath, or even an angst-ridden kid. (And there is no reason why he should be. As Lucas pointed out in more than one interview, what makes Anakin's life a tragedy is that it wasn't inevitable.) He does have some issues, and Lloyd conveys this little flare-ups nicely; "I'm a person, and my name is Anakin" when Padme refers to him as a slave, his confrontation with Sebulba (and seriously, Lloyd is better with the blue screen than Ewan McGregor is in this movie; McGregor doesn't get comfortable with GCI-interaction until AoC), the interaction with his owner, the look on his face when Mace Windu dismisses him. Also, I bought his instant crush on Padme, which is crucial. By and large, though, Anakin is simply a spirited kid, and I, for one, found this much better than if we had gotten Damien from "The Omen". And can anyone tell me what's so objectionable about a child crying "Yippee"?
Pernilla August as Shmi had no more lines than Aunt Beru in ANH, and served much the same purpose, but I felt for her, obvious redshirt that she was. "Then we'll see each other again." Her chemistry with Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon was a nice additional touch. Fitting, too, that Lucas chose to make the mother figure crucial for Anakin (as opposed to Luke who is all about father figures).
Speaking of Liam Neeson, he managed to make Qui-Gon my favourite Jedi. Pace Alec Guinness, but in the "mentor who gets the axe" department, I felt for Qui-Gon more than for old Obi-Wan. Young Obi-Wan, otoh, was suddenly way more interesting than I had assumed. He gets saddled with an obligation he doesn't quite believe in, at a point where he's still very young and in grief, and thus it made perfect sense he and Anakin were off on a rocky path from the start.
So there I was, liking TPM and finding out this made me a distinct minority on the planet. There was fanfic, but mostly it was Qui/Obi slash, which, hand on the cheek and Ewan McGreggor's heart-rendering "Noooooo" not withstanding, I couldn't quite see. Lo and behold, though, I found some fabulous stories by a fanfic writer named Fernwithy, who, using TPM revelations as a backstory, came up with a great epic fanfic about Leia and Vader between trilogies. (She remains one of my favourite writers and has added several more prequel inspired stories to her resume, plus some Harry Potter stories which are equally good.)
For AotC last year, I happened to be in the US, which meant I got to see it before reading about everyone else's reaction. Saw it, loved it. Yes, the dialogue in the fireplace scene was cringe-worthy. But then, we get these gems in every single SW movie, even in ESB which had the great Leigh Brackett of classic film noir fame to polish it up. I almost have a nostalgic fondness for them. Also, with Anakin having zero experience with women, it wasn't ooc. (I shudder to think of my diary entries when I first crushed on somebody.)
Fireplace scene dialogue apart, I had no complaints. More politics (did I mention I love politics in Sci-Fi)? Check. Actually, it was downright frightening. Because while watching good old Palpatine engineering a war to get himself emergency powers I couldn't help but notice certain contemporary parallels.
Character development? Check. Apart from McGreggor having grown comfortable with the GCI, Obi-Wan had turned into an immensely likable guy whom nonetheless one would advise to get parent counselling ASAP. By his third "my (very) young padawan", I had no problem understanding why Anakin was not so secretly seething. Issues!Anakin in general made sense, after ten years of this, Jedi Order discipline and Palpatine manipulations, to say nothing of the problem that Anakin as opposed to all the other Jedi did remember his mother and his other life very well. Later, I found out people complained he was whining all the time. Me, I heard just one whine - the archetypical "it's not fair" in Padme's Coruscant apartments, which immediately brought son Luke and his famous "But I wanted to go to the Toshi Power Station!!!" to mind. Which makes both Skywalker boys realistic for their age.
Throughout the movie, Hayden Christensen did a great job incorporating both bits from David Prowse (body language) and James Earl Jones (voice) in the OT, and from Jake Lloyd in TPM. (For example, the way he says "this is a short cut… I think" is Young Anakin; the way he stands on the balcony in Naboo, trying to meditate, is a perfect echo from Vader standing at the end of ESB, looking after the Millennium Falcon. Of course, Lucas also frames the shot the same way.) He was believable both as the character the child Anakin grows into and the character from which OT Vader emerged. His most impressive acting, imo, was the Tattoine sequence, from the moment he saw his old owner (managing to convey that what was unsaid between them weighed so much more than what was said) to his mother's burial. The confession scene with Padme is my favourite scene in this movie, and together with "I am your father" the one which moved me most in the entire SW saga.
Speaking of chilling scenes: in a movie full of great visuals, Palpatine overlooking the troops at the end is one of the most striking, and frightening. He has his Empire now, and they have given it to him. Never mind blowing up Death Stars, or that embarrassing Nuremberg Rally of a Rebel Celebration at the end of ANH: that's what comes to my mind when I think of an SW film using special effects to get a visceral emotional reaction.
I could go on. About loving to see Christopher Lee again, about how Padme's "I truly, deeply love you" before the arena was Natalie Portman's finest hour in the SW saga so far, how I enjoyed the reverse Pieta symbolism when Anakin held his mother during her death scene, or, to my great surprise, watching Yoda fight. How Boba Fett whom I couldn't have cared less about (the Fett cult alwas mystified me, pace Andrew, Warren and Jonathan) in the OT suddenly became of interest via Jango. How I appreciated Lucas letting bad guys (apart from Vader) die on-screen and in pain, and with consequences - Zam the assassin early on; and again, Boba clutching his father's helmet near the end. No more anonymous Storm Troopers. How I have watched the DVD four or five times by now. But I think I've made my point.
In case anyone is as uncool as yours truly and also likes the prequels, here is a site about Anakin Skywalker with a very good message board for debates. This is a site about Anakin and Padme both, and here we have a Qui-Gon centric fanfic archive.
When I watched "A New Hope", aka the original "Star Wars", I was entertained, I liked it, but by no means did I fall in love or even had the wish to watch it again. I had already started to develop my taste for ambiguous heroes, and the literal black and white world of the movie was a bit too obvious for me. No, Han Solo didn't help there, either. He was the Cynic With a Heart of Gold; I never expected him to do anything but make the right decision at the last minute. The only one who seemed interesting once the entertainment of watching the movie was over was Darth Vader, because he used to be a Jedi. Villains who used to be heroes made me curious.
Come "The Empire Strikes Back", I did get hooked. It's a pity that anyone who didn't catch those films in the cinema probably will be spoiled for the "I am your father" moment, because it is such a jolt, and yet makes such sense. It also was the first thing to retrospectively colour that black and white world of ANH in some shades of grey, because Obi-Wan's little chat with Luke, up to then the usual Calling of The Hero, started to look downright manipulative. So while I liked the Han and Leia romance well enough, it was the Vader scenes, and the father/son relationship which made all the difference. Now I really wanted to know not just how the story would end, but how it had begun - Vader's backstory, in a word.
Come "Return of the Jedi", I got part of my wish. The Ewoks didn't irritate me as much as they did others though I wasn't a fan, either; I was more annoyed by the obligatory Lucas chase sequence (i.e. Leia and Luke pursuing the Storm Troopers) which seemed superfluous, and by the fact we got next to no reaction from Leia to the family news. All in all, though, I liked that final chapter, and again, the scenes with Vader and the Emperor and Vader and Luke were what I was really interested in. And I still wanted to know about the backstory.
Years passed, I retained a fond memory of SW but never was as passionate about it as I was about, say, "Blade Runner", or "Star Trek - The Next Generation", "Deep Space Nine" or "Babylon 5", as far as Sci-Fi is concerned. And then came the prequels.
By the time I got to watch "The Phantom Menace", I had managed to remain spoiler-free (except for Qui-Gon's death, which wasn't hard to figure out since one of the tracks of John Williams' score was entitled "Qui-Gon's Funeral"), but had heard vague rumblings of complaints. So, given I had liked but not loved on the one hand, and was about to get my backstory wish on the other hand, I went in with some nervousness but not with the expectations a hardcore fan would have had. I came out delighted and pleased and fired up to look for prequel-era fanfic, and looking forward to the next one. Which was not, shall we say, the average reaction. So, let's get the most obvious question out of the way first: What about Jar-Jar Binks?
Honestly? I thought CPO had been on about the same annoyance level in the OT, especially in ANH. On the other hand, I could see the point of Jar-Jar beyond the comic relief. His scene with Padme Amidala, knowing their world is in all likelihood doomed, which inspires her plan for Naboo/Gungan union, worked better for me as the equivalent "Ewoks and Rebels team up" in RotJ. And the way Obi-Wan summed up him and Anakin as "pathetic life forms" gave us in a "show, not tell" manner a good look at the ivory tower attitude the Jedi (except for Qui-Gon) have at this stage which will contribute to their doom. This being said, yes, I was relieved Jar-Jar had a much smaller part in "Attack of the Clones"; fitting with the darker tone of that movie, it wasn't a comic relief one, either, nor would endless pratfalls have been appropriate there.
Back to "The Phantom Menace". I was absolutely thrilled with Lucas painting the Old Republic and the Jedi Order not as the wonderful past Obi-Wan describes in ANH. The set-up in the OT is as black and white as you get: heroic rebels versus EVIL Empire. No doubt who is wrong. In the prequels, however, things are no longer that simple. To use a Lucas quote, it's not that the Empire conquers the Republic - the Empire IS the Republic. And we see it happening step by step. There were endless complaints about how boring a trade dispute as a movie start is in comparison to the OT situations, or even the invasion of one planet by a bunch of pathetic stooges and their robots. Which is missing the point entirely. Of course they are stooges, and not serious villains. The serious villain is Palpatine, and as opposed to the conventional Evil Overlord in chewing-the-scenery full-throttle we see him as in ESB and RotJ, here he's subtle, smart, and successful. For in TPM, Palpatine creates a win-win scenario for himself, and win he does. The entire purpose of the invasion is to move him into a position where he could become Chancellor of the Republic. The climax, the true point of no return, is not the Darth Maul/Qui/Obi fight, thrilling as this is; it is when Palpatine manipulates Padme Amidala into asking for a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum.
(As far as Palpatine is concerned, whether or not she is killed afterwards and whether or not Naboo is freed is irrelevant at this point; if Naboo remains occupied, he gets sympathy votes, if Naboo is liberated, he gets sympathy votes as well. And the fact a world of the Republic COULD be invaded that simply further undermines everyone's confidence in the Republic as a state form.)
Meanwhile, the Jedi are living, literary, in an ivory tower. The Queen gets help from them not because her world has been invaded but because a Sith has shown up. They are well aware there is slavery and injustice a plenty in worlds outside of the Republic, but even Qui-Gon, the most open-minded Jedi we get presented with, doesn't think there's anything he can do about this. As an order, they are remarkably unflexible when faced with the unexpected: the first response to the news the Sith might still be around is denial. And apparently nobody has any alternate suggestions about what to do with nine-years-old Anakin; was Qui-Gon supposed to return him to Tattoine and slavery? Apart from all ethical considerations, again, they had just learned about the Sith. One would think it's not the best idea to leave force-sensitive youngsters who might bear a grudge around to be recruited. No, the Jedi, as the Republic itself, are set up as being ripe for a fall. Which is where the whole "balance of the force" thing comes in. It's not just that Anakin, near the end of his life, will kill Palpatine and before that will have genetically contributed to Leia and Luke who are driving forces for the Rebellion. It's also that he will contribute to both the Republic and the Order's fall to begin with, because both was necessary for renewal. In the OT, Obi-Wan goes for a Jekyll/Hyde approach when he finally explains things to Luke in RotJ. Vader is not Anakin, "the good man who was your father died", there is only a monster left, etc. The prequels, however, make it clear that just as the Republic is not conquered by the Empire as an alien institution but grows into it, Anakin does not suddenly turn into Vader; he becomes Vader.
One of the most often voiced complaints, after Jar-Jar Binks issues, was that Anakin was depicted in "The Phantom Menace" as a child. Usually followed by the complaint Jake Lloyd can't act. Both of which made me go "huh"? Jake L. is no Haley J. Osment, true, but he's utterly convincing as nine-years-old Anakin in TPM. Who is no miniature Vader, youthful psychopath, or even an angst-ridden kid. (And there is no reason why he should be. As Lucas pointed out in more than one interview, what makes Anakin's life a tragedy is that it wasn't inevitable.) He does have some issues, and Lloyd conveys this little flare-ups nicely; "I'm a person, and my name is Anakin" when Padme refers to him as a slave, his confrontation with Sebulba (and seriously, Lloyd is better with the blue screen than Ewan McGregor is in this movie; McGregor doesn't get comfortable with GCI-interaction until AoC), the interaction with his owner, the look on his face when Mace Windu dismisses him. Also, I bought his instant crush on Padme, which is crucial. By and large, though, Anakin is simply a spirited kid, and I, for one, found this much better than if we had gotten Damien from "The Omen". And can anyone tell me what's so objectionable about a child crying "Yippee"?
Pernilla August as Shmi had no more lines than Aunt Beru in ANH, and served much the same purpose, but I felt for her, obvious redshirt that she was. "Then we'll see each other again." Her chemistry with Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon was a nice additional touch. Fitting, too, that Lucas chose to make the mother figure crucial for Anakin (as opposed to Luke who is all about father figures).
Speaking of Liam Neeson, he managed to make Qui-Gon my favourite Jedi. Pace Alec Guinness, but in the "mentor who gets the axe" department, I felt for Qui-Gon more than for old Obi-Wan. Young Obi-Wan, otoh, was suddenly way more interesting than I had assumed. He gets saddled with an obligation he doesn't quite believe in, at a point where he's still very young and in grief, and thus it made perfect sense he and Anakin were off on a rocky path from the start.
So there I was, liking TPM and finding out this made me a distinct minority on the planet. There was fanfic, but mostly it was Qui/Obi slash, which, hand on the cheek and Ewan McGreggor's heart-rendering "Noooooo" not withstanding, I couldn't quite see. Lo and behold, though, I found some fabulous stories by a fanfic writer named Fernwithy, who, using TPM revelations as a backstory, came up with a great epic fanfic about Leia and Vader between trilogies. (She remains one of my favourite writers and has added several more prequel inspired stories to her resume, plus some Harry Potter stories which are equally good.)
For AotC last year, I happened to be in the US, which meant I got to see it before reading about everyone else's reaction. Saw it, loved it. Yes, the dialogue in the fireplace scene was cringe-worthy. But then, we get these gems in every single SW movie, even in ESB which had the great Leigh Brackett of classic film noir fame to polish it up. I almost have a nostalgic fondness for them. Also, with Anakin having zero experience with women, it wasn't ooc. (I shudder to think of my diary entries when I first crushed on somebody.)
Fireplace scene dialogue apart, I had no complaints. More politics (did I mention I love politics in Sci-Fi)? Check. Actually, it was downright frightening. Because while watching good old Palpatine engineering a war to get himself emergency powers I couldn't help but notice certain contemporary parallels.
Character development? Check. Apart from McGreggor having grown comfortable with the GCI, Obi-Wan had turned into an immensely likable guy whom nonetheless one would advise to get parent counselling ASAP. By his third "my (very) young padawan", I had no problem understanding why Anakin was not so secretly seething. Issues!Anakin in general made sense, after ten years of this, Jedi Order discipline and Palpatine manipulations, to say nothing of the problem that Anakin as opposed to all the other Jedi did remember his mother and his other life very well. Later, I found out people complained he was whining all the time. Me, I heard just one whine - the archetypical "it's not fair" in Padme's Coruscant apartments, which immediately brought son Luke and his famous "But I wanted to go to the Toshi Power Station!!!" to mind. Which makes both Skywalker boys realistic for their age.
Throughout the movie, Hayden Christensen did a great job incorporating both bits from David Prowse (body language) and James Earl Jones (voice) in the OT, and from Jake Lloyd in TPM. (For example, the way he says "this is a short cut… I think" is Young Anakin; the way he stands on the balcony in Naboo, trying to meditate, is a perfect echo from Vader standing at the end of ESB, looking after the Millennium Falcon. Of course, Lucas also frames the shot the same way.) He was believable both as the character the child Anakin grows into and the character from which OT Vader emerged. His most impressive acting, imo, was the Tattoine sequence, from the moment he saw his old owner (managing to convey that what was unsaid between them weighed so much more than what was said) to his mother's burial. The confession scene with Padme is my favourite scene in this movie, and together with "I am your father" the one which moved me most in the entire SW saga.
Speaking of chilling scenes: in a movie full of great visuals, Palpatine overlooking the troops at the end is one of the most striking, and frightening. He has his Empire now, and they have given it to him. Never mind blowing up Death Stars, or that embarrassing Nuremberg Rally of a Rebel Celebration at the end of ANH: that's what comes to my mind when I think of an SW film using special effects to get a visceral emotional reaction.
I could go on. About loving to see Christopher Lee again, about how Padme's "I truly, deeply love you" before the arena was Natalie Portman's finest hour in the SW saga so far, how I enjoyed the reverse Pieta symbolism when Anakin held his mother during her death scene, or, to my great surprise, watching Yoda fight. How Boba Fett whom I couldn't have cared less about (the Fett cult alwas mystified me, pace Andrew, Warren and Jonathan) in the OT suddenly became of interest via Jango. How I appreciated Lucas letting bad guys (apart from Vader) die on-screen and in pain, and with consequences - Zam the assassin early on; and again, Boba clutching his father's helmet near the end. No more anonymous Storm Troopers. How I have watched the DVD four or five times by now. But I think I've made my point.
In case anyone is as uncool as yours truly and also likes the prequels, here is a site about Anakin Skywalker with a very good message board for debates. This is a site about Anakin and Padme both, and here we have a Qui-Gon centric fanfic archive.
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no subject
Date: 2003-07-02 08:28 am (UTC)The first movie, The Phantom Menace, I saw with utter horror at the character of Jar Jar Binks, and that impression completely colored the movie's impact for me. It is an area of sensitivity as a US of A Southerner when I see a 'Steppinfetchit' character with an Africanized accent behaving like a fool. I do not know Lucas' intent when he crafted the character, but I was repelled, enough not to even see the second movie.
However, I have read several good analyses of the prequel trilogy (and yours is very good!). One of the more salient points addresses the supposedly 'lame' romance between Anakin and Padme, and their stylized behavior. As in, of course it's stylized; the Republic hasn't fallen, and courtly behavior is still the norm amongst the nobility. The rough-and-ready actions of Empire and Rebellion are still years away, and the old civilization while in twilight is still existent.
I was also pleased to hear that the seeds of Vader were always present in Anakin, in that he is not merely destroyed and remade as Vader but progresses to become the man at the right hand of the Emperor. His annihilation of the people who slew his mother, not just the guilty parties, shows his potential for the Dark Side of the Force. Also, the former slave boy's tenuous conceptions of family importance helps to explain Vader's later pride in Luke, wanting his son at his side just to have *him*, which is at odds with a Vader who is the Emperor's minion first and foremost.
I think the first six movies will be seen as the story of Anakin/Vader, taken as a whole. This may explain why Lucas is not going to make the back three, since Vader dies in RotJ. Luke Skywalker never was tested as much as his father; he was always portrayed as the good boy who didn't slip too much morally - and where would you take such a character further?
Oh, and Qui-Gon was the coolest Jedi, ever. Even Yoda, who really should have been more aware of the decay of his Order, paled in comparison.
beholders united
Date: 2003-07-02 09:46 am (UTC)I was too tired to even use HTML to make the titles in italic, so that gives you an idea.
1) Romance and Anakin's motives
Date: 2003-07-02 10:06 am (UTC)The SW saga as Anakin's story when taken in its entirety: yes, Lucas said so explicitly. And good point about Luke's story being finished given the character he is. (The same is true for Han and Leia. Mind you, Leia coming to terms with the discovery Vader was her father is something I'd have liked to have seen, but it's not enough for three more movies.) Which, incidentally, is why I was never much interested in the SW novels.
In addition to Anakin slaughtering the Tuskens - and believe me, you should watch AotC for the confession scene alone, and the preceding scene of Shmi's death when you see Anakin's face slowly changing and you know what he's about to do, oh, and for his arrival with dead Shmi at the homestead - at this point the audience, the Lars family and Padme don't know yet precisely what he did, but he carries such an aura of the dammed with him, that you feel more uneasy by the second - the second movie makes a direct connection to Vader's motivations in serving the Emperor. When talking with Padme, he says "I don't think the system works" and proceeds to make his case for benevolent dictatorship. She thinks he's joking, but he's not. If you think about it, there is no reason why he should believe in democracy. He grew up on a planet ruled by gangsters which nobody in the Republic gave a damm about. Then he lived in the very strict hierarchy of the temple, addressing Obi-Wan as Master just as he addressed his former owner. And he sees the Republic wasn't able to help the people of Naboo when they needed it. At this point, he's just as disgusted at and impatient with the Republic as his daughter Leia will be with the Empire. He also genuinenly believes in Palpatine (yet; one presumes he's about to be disillusioned either in Episode III or in the intervening years between trilogies) as being a wise man who could change things.
And then there's the importance of family. Which the Jedi just don't get, but which is natural for someone who didn't live in the temple until age 10. In a fitting irony, Anakin's inability to stop being attached to the people he loves contributes to his doom in the prequels (returning to Tattoine because he fears for his mohter, correctly as it turns out, falling in love with Padme), and are the thing which ultimately saves him in the classic trilogy, i.e. connecting with Luke.
2) unintentional and intentional evocations
Date: 2003-07-02 10:08 am (UTC)Trivia alert: a genuine intentional association on Lucas' part for the Gungans in TPM and the Ewoks in RotJ, which he mentions in the audio commentary for TPM, might surprise you. He reminiscences about his youth and the last years of the 60s and early 70s and says the two crucial things which formed his political pov were the Vietnam War and Watergate. Then goes on about his ambivalent relationship with technology. On the one hand, he loves it (obviously), on the other, he distrusts it (also obvious; see Jedi mysticsm). The idea of what was essentially a primitive army fighting successfully against a high tech empire, he goes on, fascinated him. Bet you never thought of the Ewoks as the Vietcong before. But hey, Lucas was supposed to shoot "Apocalypse Now" for Coppola originally...
Yoda: gets to point out to Obi-Wan in AotC, when Obi-Wan complains about Anakin being arrogant, that this is true for more and more Jedi, "even the older, more experienced ones". Obi-Wan has the most priceless "whomever could he mean" expression.
Re: 2) unintentional and intentional evocations
Date: 2003-07-02 10:53 am (UTC)But, Jar Jar Binks was a footnote, true. I've read a synopsis of AotC, and I see where his nature of being a hapless tool was needed for the plotline to develop. Jar Jar Binks may also have caught some backlash at being the first major CGI 'actor' in film; Lucas *was* taking a deliberate risk on that one.
Yoda, for all his gruff attractions, strikes me as being a hold-out, even after the original Republic fell. His tutoring of Luke was stereotypically inflexible - though he had reason enough to fear a son of Anakin falling to the dark side. Heavy on the rules, very light on reassurance.
Strangely enough, Alec Guiness' portrayal of an elderly Obi Wan evoked images of Qui-Gon. Yes, still arrogant, but mellowed in his years and grief. His last confrontation with Vader seemed to be a channeling of Qui-Gon reaching out to repair and resolve, just a little bit, what the younger Obi Wan had failed with his ex-Jedi charge.
Yoda and Obi-Wan
Date: 2003-07-02 11:15 am (UTC)Old Obi-Wan resembling Qui-Gon: yes, he has definitely mellowed, and he shows the grace and resignation Qui-Gon accepted his fate with. He's also picked up some manipulative skills, because if you look at the conversation with Luke in ANH, it resembles nothing so much as the conversation Anakin has with Palpatine in AotC. Scenario: a young man with a somewhat stern parental figure whom he feels doesn't really understand him meets a second mentor. Who tells him that said authority figure doesn't understand the Big Picture and that he, the young man, is destined for higher things. Are we talking about Luke, Uncle Owen and old Kenobi here, or about Anakin, younger Obi-Wan and Palpatine?
Mind you, Obi-Wan has of course much better intentions and is wrecked with guilt to boot, but the principle of the thing?
Lastly, shameless pitch: my take on the Anakin/Vader-Obi-Wan relationship which fascinates me lead to two stories, this (http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=843433) one and that one. (http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=843423)
no subject
Date: 2003-07-02 11:28 pm (UTC)Thanks for the feedback!
Date: 2003-07-03 08:22 am (UTC)Re: 2) unintentional and intentional evocations
Date: 2003-07-13 04:34 pm (UTC)Re: 2) unintentional and intentional evocations
Date: 2003-07-13 11:49 pm (UTC)Re: 2) unintentional and intentional evocations
Date: 2003-07-14 03:08 am (UTC)Fernwithy...
Date: 2003-07-14 04:32 am (UTC)Have you read "Old Friends, Long Gone" (featuring Leia immediately post-RotJ) yet?
Re: Fernwithy...
Date: 2003-07-14 04:56 am (UTC)Does anyone else write good Leia?
I liked Timothy Zahn's Leia in Dark Force Rising, but these younger Leias speak to me more.
Re: Fernwithy...
Date: 2003-07-14 05:09 am (UTC)Does anyone else write good Leia?
I liked Timothy Zahn's Leia in Dark Force Rising, but these younger Leias speak to me more.
Re: Fernwithy...
Date: 2003-07-14 08:07 am (UTC)Her prequel era stories are on other sites; the one I love most, about Obi-Wan and Anakin post TPM and pre AotC, is here (http://anakinskywalker1.homestead.com/familyportrait.html).
Other people who write good Leia: you know, I read Timothy Zahn's first trilogy and "Truce at Bakura", but was only mildly interested and not hooked enough to continue with the EU. Fanfic-wise, I'm sure there are more besides Fernwithy, but I haven't found anyone who impressed me as much, which, given my prequel focus when looking for fanfic, isn't that surprising.
no subject
Date: 2003-07-22 06:25 am (UTC)I never had the severe reactions so many did to the first two prequels - neither was I rabid about the first trilogy.
It was the familial relationships revealed in TESB and ROTJ that interested me, much more than the adventure and derring-do.
Jar-Jar Binks annoyed me because of his voice - so squeaky and grating. As an American Southerner, I didn't get one iota of a sense of Southern black japing - didn't know anyone had perceived such a thing until I started reading reviews and hearing the remarks after.
Your essay makes me want to re-watch both the prequels and SW trilogy with a more critical eye.
Thank you!
Date: 2003-07-22 09:33 am (UTC)As does having been interested in the familial relationships. Which is one of the reasons why I fell for Fernwithy's Vader-and-Leia saga so completely while waiting for the next movie. I can't recommend it enough.
Re: Thank you!
Date: 2003-07-22 10:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-13 05:46 pm (UTC)I first saw ANH on television when I was around 12 and I was totally unspoiled for it. I only knew there were two more parts. I was hooked when Vader appeared on screen and I just knew I wanted to know more about him. When his aircraft spins out of control in one of the last scenes, I remember thinking: I hope he survives! I hope he's in the sequel, too. :-)
Of course, he showed up in the sequel and I got a big surprise when he told Luke that he's his father. As soon as he had revealed that it all came together for me - it made so much sense that he was Luke's father. Also the black/white world of ANH gained a lot of depth in that moment. (So Obi-Wan lied to Luke?!)
The third part made me enjoy Star Wars even more. Vader's redemption in the end, the moment were Luke holds his father in his arms, never fails to touch me.
I really wanted to know more about Vader after watching the classic trilogy. In my desperation, I read some of the novels out there. (This was the time before fanfiction was easily available on the internet.) I found nearly all the novels incredibly disappointing - it felt as if Vader's sacrifice had never mattered. The emperor had simply been replaced by another evil guy and there were other dark jedi and apparantly switching back to the Light Side after having been a dark jedi was as easy as changing your sweater.
So I was really intrigued when Lucas announced the prequel trilogy.
When I first watched episode I, I was totally overwhelmed. There where way too many special effects for me, I didn't like the French accents for the Neimodians, I didn't like Jar Jar's bad English. But I liked little Anakin and his mother. I also like Padmé and Qui Gon. I surfed the net and discovered some intelligent articles about TPM (most of them written by FernWithy). I also discovered the Anakin Skywalker Discussion Board. Reading other people's thoughts on episode I made me realize that it was much deeper than I had seen at first. I watched it again and something clicked. I started to get hooked again.
Episode II really got me into the story. I simply loved how Hayden Christensen brought Anakin to life. On the one hand, his Anakin is very passionate and enthusiastic, on the other hand, he tries to withhold his emotions and to appear as the perfect Jedi. (I.e. his monotone "Yes, master", "I'm sorry, master.") Many people mistook that for wooden acting when really it's Anakin trying to be calm. The Anakin behind the facade can be seen when he's flying the speeder, during his moments with Padmè on Naboo, when he finds his mother on Tatooine or when he has his break-down in the garage.
Watching episode II made Star Wars as a whole more interesting. So many parallels to discover! (Both Anakin and Luke lose a hand/arm in the fight with a Sith Lord, e.g.) And symbols everywhere. E.g. Naboo as a garden Eden which Padmé and Anakin are forced to leave to face the real world again. Anakin and Padmè falling on the conveyor belt and not being able to control what happens to them. Or C3PO as avatar of Anakin; many similar things happen to them in a way. (E.g. C3PO loses his head in ep II and Anakin loses his head as well - over Padme. :-) Or 3PO has his memory wiped in episode III when Vader tries to forget his past.)
Well, I eagerly awaited episode III and was not disappointed. :-) I think it's my favorite out of all the six movies. Watching the classic trilogy will never be the same now. Particularly ANH (which was always the least favorite of SW movies for me) has improved greatly when it's watched after ROTS.