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Originally posted by: MeBeJedi
I still don't get why people don't like the idea of the Force creating Anakin. Yoda even says that it's a component of life, yet for some reason, it's now allowed to create a life? *shakes head*
Lucas was bludgeoning the audience over the head when he had Palpatine tell Anakin that the dark side allows its masters to manipulate midichlorians in order to create life. The first thing I thought of when he said that was Anakin's virgin birth. If Lucas only meant to address the plot point of preventing Padme's death, he only needed to stress the capability of the dark side to prevent death and prolong life, not create it.
I watched ANH and ESB last night on laserdisc (THX "faces" editions). There are so many lines of dialog that contradict the prequels in subtle ways, I have a hard time taking Lucas' storytelling seriously. I share the same lack of faith in the so-called "canon" of the films. Either Lucas hates the OT so much that he didn't even bother to watch it before writing the prequel scripts, or the Jedi are such manipulative, self-serving liars that their whole way of life is bullshit heaped on top of more bullshit.
I find it telling that the "rebellious" Jedi whom the council held down due to his defiance was the first to achieve enlightenment and maintain consciousness after his death. To paraphrase Obi-Wan, "If you just did what you were told, you'd be on the Council." Maybe Qui-Gonn didn't give two shits about being on the Council. Perhaps he cared more about the Force and the Jedi way of life than he did about attaining power.
No offense to the Catholics on the board, but I look at the Jedi Order as a mirror of the Vatican: founded on good intentions, but seething with so much arrogance based on their own self-righteous view of the universe that they no longer enforce the ideals they claim to represent. The Jedi are a political faction on par with modern day Bible thumpers, and they play the political game as well as any of the politicians they detest--except for Palpatine, of course, who schools everyone in the art of politics and manipulation.
I have also long thought and totally agree with the idea that the prophecy of bringing balance to the force meant the eventual destruction of the Jedi order and the two vs. two scenario (Yoda/Ben vs. Palpatine/Vader). In the minds of the Jedi, bringing balance meant the destruction of the Sith, which is what made them so arrogant. That's not balance, and an objective observer would not see it as such. Again, Lucas bashed us over the head when he had Yoda mention the possibility that the prophecy may have been misread.
When Yoda and Obi-Wan admitted failure, I realized the prequels are just as much about the fall of the Jedi Order as they are about the fall of Anakin, and that gives them more meaning than I previously believed they possessed.
Thankfully, my ability to ignore plot holes and inconsistencies over a 40-year arc is strong. I don't take this as seriously as some fans, but it's fun to debate.