JoyOfEditing said:
Basically, in the Gospels, Jesusâ disciples think he is going to violently overthrow the oppressive Roman Empire and lead them to freedom. Instead, Jesus allows himself to be sacrificially killed in order to restore Mankindâs relationship with God, Nature, and other Human Beings by defeating Sin, Death, and Evil on the cross. In STAR WARS, the Jedi in the Prequels and the Rebel Alliance in the OT try to defeat evil politically and through warfare, but the real victory comes when Luke and Anakin both sacrifice themselves to defeat the Emperor.
Of course Star Wars is a myth, and therefore falls under very supernatural logic. Iâm very much in agreement that Star Wars needs to be treated more like a myth then pure sci-fi.
There are plenty of times in the Bible where good things happen violently. Thereâs more violence in the Bible then most stories. The Hebrew God is very violent, and itâs always portrayed as righteous.
Jesusâ sacrifice is entirely about giving people who have sinned a path to heaven, nothing to do with the fall of the Roman Empire.
The two demon space Nazis didnât stop being demon space Nazis because Luke preached love. He tries with Vader and fails.
Christian mythology isnât the only one Star Wars is based on. Thereâs also lots of classical mythology infused into it. And the Greek and Roman gods were anything but pacifists. Heracles (the demigod Son of Zeus, the King of the Gods) proved himself as a hero through violent trials.
Iâd even argue Star Warsâ equivalent to demigods (the Skywalkers) harkens a lot more to Heracles then Jesus, with the exception of the Chosen One thing.
The OT is still about restoring man and defeating sin (though replace relationship with God with the Force), but it doesnât wholesale reject violence. And violence can be committed out of loving sacrifice. Theyâre not mutually exclusive.
Luke wins when he defeats Vader, but refuses to give into the dark side.
The Rebellion ultimate wins when Anakin kills the Emperor. Itâs a loving self-sacrifice, but still a violent solution, and it saves the galaxy.
JoyOfEditing said:
Does Lukeâs decision to lay down his weapon make sense? No.
I wasnât criticizing the story, I was pointing out that Luke made a mistake. Which is good writing, itâs consistent with the portrayal of his character.
It wasnât smart of him to let his guard down in front of the Emperor. If it wasnât for what was practically a miracle (a genocidal tyrant deciding to be selfless for his son), the Rebellion wouldâve lost.
JoyOfEditing said:
Neither did his decision not to kill the Ewoks that captured him and Han a few scenes prior.
Because he knew he had to win the Ewoks to his side if they were to beat the Empire. He realized there was a higher purpose for them and gained their trust.
Starting a war with the Ewoks whilst already fighting the Empire would be terrible.
JoyOfEditing said:
Both of those irrational decisions lead to the Force being brought back into balance, whereas Anakinâs rational decision to try to save Padme from death, led him down a dark path.
That was not a rational decision. He made that decision out of power-hunger, a desire to cheat death.
And the way itâs portrayed in the Prequels makes him look like a moron. He trusts a guy who admits to lying to him his whole life based on some legend that he has no evidence of.
Meanwhile, when Vader tried to convert Luke, not only did he actually tell him the truth (that he can sense through the Force is true), but Luke actually has reason to believe Vader will hold up his end of the deal.
The way to solve this, I think, is to portray it as dark side addiction more broadly (like Luke), and emphasize that the Sith have always been searching for the secret to cheat death.
Anakin would find ancient Sith holocrons and scrolls describing their goal of immortality (for both himself and his loved ones). Intrigued, he starts experimenting with the dark side, and becomes addicted to it.
He knows the dark side is the only path to what he wants, itâs about subverting nature, while the light side is about respecting it (being a Force ghost isnât what they want, as they âreleaseâ themselves, essentially becoming pure agents of the Force).
Also, Palpatine would outright say, âI want the power as much as you do. Join me and weâll find it together.â
There several parallels to Frankenstein and the other Gothic monsters, as well as Doctor Faustus. The dark side is the Devilâs work.
Anakin is both Victor Frankenstein and his Creature: in becoming Darth Vader, he becomes his own monster out of his selfish ambition to cheat death. And like Victor, its done out of ego and greed.
Even Vaderâs âIf you only knew the power of the dark side!â line is a parallel to the Invisible Manâs power-hungry rant to Flora from the 1933 classic.
JoyOfEditing said:
In this way Obi-Wanâs destruction of Darth Maul wasnât wrong, but it didnât lead to the Force being brought back into balance, rather it continued the cycle of violence.
It didnât bring balance to the Force because Maul wasnât behind everything, Palpatine was.
It also didnât continue anything. Thereâs 10 years of peace after. It actually put a setback in Sidiousâ plans, only remedied because a Jedi with Separatist sentiments decided to become evil.
JoyOfEditing said:
The Biblical/Christian narrative logic is that the restoration of loving relationships between God, Man, and Nature, and the destruction of violent cycles doesnât come through victory in battle or politics, but through loving sacrifice. That is why the âvictoryâ in Lord of the Rings comes through Frodoâs sacrifice, not Aragornâs victory in battle.
Frodo beats Sauron because he pushes Gollum off a cliff. Nobody could resist the strength of the ring that close to the volcano. Gollum basically accidentally saved Middle Earth.
And Aragonâs violent solution was necessary, otherwise Sauronâs minions wouldâve murdered Frodo and Sam the second they entered Mordor. Just like the events of ROTJ couldnât have happened without the Battle of Yavin or Endor.
Aragorn was going into to battle knowing he could potentially die. He was, for all intents and purposes, lovingly sacrificing himself. He was fighting for love of the people of Middle Earth, for Frodo, not out of hatred for Sauron. Itâs honorable.