Just a quick random thought.
I’ve always had a tulmtous relationship with my Dad, who passed away a few years ago and who I believe to have had a case of high functioning autism. I have felt a great deal of immutable criticism from him and longed for affirmations or validations which were exceedingly rare. It’s been helpful for me to recognize some of the underlying factors and the limitations he was working with all along.
One reason I appreciate the original ‘old man’ ghost of Anakin at the end of ROTJ is because not only do we see Anakin redeemed in the unmasking scene, we even get to see him fully restored into the man he should have been all along. He doesn’t revert to a juvenile state, but is legitimately restored to become what he wasn’t able to be. I know it’s a bit silly, but the image of this sort of restored man smiling back at me speaks to this deep part of me. Able to say those things to me which perhaps he wasn’t before.
Awesome OT.com post of the week!™ 😃
That’s totally how I felt seeing Sebastian Shaw back in 1983. It’s the Anakin that could have/should have been. I couldn’t articulate it at the time, but it resonated. It’s a pity George overlooked the power of that image.