Fear Leads to... Anger Leads to... Hate Leads to Suffering...

 The best part of the prequels is the humanization of Darth Vader. At first stating out as a great B movie villain in "A New Hope", dressed in black and even sporting a cape. He soon became an iconic go-to bad guy for the rest of the 20th Century and beyond. To this day, its hard to find anyone who doesn't have some affinity for the man in black. One of the few movie villains who had an arc- started in A and ended over here in C. 

 Some complained, but they were wrong as villains are not born, but created. It would have been a big snooze to find out Vader was bad from the giddy-up. No nuances, no wiggle room to know why he went bad or was it Nature vs. nurture? Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin were not devils the moment they came into the world, but molded by their worlds. Even Lucifer himself had his awesome moments. They all had one thing in common- whether fiction or real- all were ruled by fear!

 Of the prequel characters, Anakin is my favorite. So full of promise and potential; he’s duped, his emotions exploited, his ego played like a cheap fiddle. His fears were our fears- exaggerated and used against him. A young man told of his prowess as a Jedi- greatness dangled in front of him and then denied over and over. Anakin Skywalker was a good kid, good intentions but ruled by fear and doubt his entire life as a Jedi. The fear was something uncontrollable, but the doubt was due to the Jedi and their contradictions and dogmatic, arrogant views. 

 Fear is the worst thing to have- it controls your every move and prevents you from ever achieving your true potential; if you are afraid, you fear yourself, especially others and just the thought of self advancement. Of course played through the prism of fantasy and allegory, Anakin’s plight is far more profound. Age old themes and dilemmas shown through a B movie pulp universe, but relevant and relateable still.

 On the flip side, Luke had zero fear. From his daring-do on Hoth, hanging from the bottom of an Imperial Walker, to his training on Dagohbah, Luke knew he was- or at least thought he did. Yet his fearlessness led to his recklessness and rushing off to confront Vader before he was truly ready, but once he was... he was unstoppable. A quest to free his father, Anakin Skywalker of his enslavement to the Dark side, Luke's unconventional methods led Vader to rebuking his dark demons and saving his only son from the evil Palpatine. Luke's focus, even when he was reckless, lacked fear. He wasn't ready for the Cloud City melee, but he was never afraid and held his own despite the odds and the power of Vader. Notice how Vader gave him several outs- to stop this fighting and join him. He was never tempted. 

  Even at his most powerful moments as Darth Vader, he was ruled by fear.For example in Mace Windu's final moments, Anakin's MO to kill the Jedi is out of fear of losing Padme. One misunderstood dream, some twisted words by Palpatine, forced him into turmoil. Constant mind screw led to him decimating the Jedi order and unleashing Order 66- ALL out of fear... not ego, hubris, power, desire, (although those were in the mix) FEAR- the one explosive ingredient.

  Palpatine had it in the bag as he knew and Vader knew, a flick of the force lightning or a squeeze in the right place, Vader’s survival suit was damaged and Anakin dead from suffocation and intense pain as the suit acted as his life support system. Spiritually and physically, Vader was in debt to Palpatine. Vader’s screaming of “NOOOOO!” in “Revenge of the Sith,” is an act of defeat, the one person he cared about more than himself was gone, Padme. The one who alleviated his fears.

  After Anakin’s “death” and Vader’s “birth,” Vader still wasn’t all in. His weakness was he constantly fought off Anakin- he feared there was still good in him- and there was- So when Padme says, “there’s still good in him…. I know.…” and Luke as well, “I’ve felt the good in you,” they weren’t wrong. 

Anakin finally sprang to life through the deeds of his son Luke. Vader could have killed Luke many times, but he held back knowing Luke was his exit. THE only time Vader mentions any kind of rebelliousness and descent is after the battle on Cloud City, “Join me, together as father and son we can rule the galaxy.” No mentioning of Palpatine…. but by their next meeting, Vader is defeated, again. Luke mentions, “there’s still good in you. I have felt it. The Emperor hasn’t driven it from you fully.” Vader says in a very sad, defeated tone, (a great performance by James Earl Jones) “It is too late, my son.” A great scene, given even more depth thanks to the prequels; as he was asking Luke to join HIM (figuring Luke could kill Palpatine just fine), but when Luke calls him out and asks him to leave, he falls back, cowers and is again, ruled by fear. It’s also ironic how Anakin/Vader, breaks the rules, he is punished for it. Anakin’s unorthodox, unconventional ways irked the council to the point of him being denied Jedi Master status which lead him to Palpatine’s clutches. As Vader, living in the iron lung, and not obeying the rules of Sith by bowing to and obeying Palpatine’s every word. Contrary to the Sith way, he wasn’t made to serve forever.

Only when he ironically, breaks the rules, he’s free- His scream of “NOOOO” in JEDI is of defiance! Vader finally loses all fear as he knows Palpatine will shoot him with the lightning. For the first time since Padme’s death, Anakin steps forward and puts someone else ahead of him and his ideals. Through Luke, for the love of his son and sacrificing himself for another Anakin was reborn, his soul saved. The TRUE Jedi way. “tell your sister, you were right about me...”

NO FEAR!

DEATH BE NOT PROUD

 In the past few years much has been written about the final sequence to the brilliant, “​Revenge of the Sith; " Lucas's final opus that brings closure to the story of Anakin Skywalker. However, Padme's demise has sparked some debate on just exactly what happened. On the surface, the medical droid attends to Padme as she gives birth, but is confused as to why she's dying- it mentions she's 'lost the will to live;” some ascribed it to mean, she died of a broken heart, but THAT was never mentioned in the film. (if it had, it was a trope as old literature itself and would have been fine, after all, Tolkien was hailed when used and Uncle gets flogged for even flirting with it- go figure!)  What is mentioned is the droids confusion and Padme's final words of, “there's still good in him.... I know....”
 Odd, considering, her last meeting resulted in a force choke- their last physical meeting....  Before I dive in, I will expound on the popular theory that seems to be taking hold of Palpatine killing Padme. It could work, but Palpatine never before killed anyone through the force. His kills were with his light saber and two attempts with his force lightning he used on Yoda and Luke. As for Force choking, death by just the Force, we didn't see it. Even those dumb Neimoidians who deserved a force choke, escaped it. Good movies do not pull things out of their proverbial buttholes- they foreshadow big things and unless I missed it, there was no foreshadowing of said activity before. Vader of course force choked constantly, Sith, ANH, ESB, but none for Palpatine.  I'm split. Fan in me says, yes, movie critic in me says no. I like it, but got to say NO!  I have no empirical proof of course other than what is on screen, but I think Anakin doing it fits.
  As SITH comes to an emotional and sober climax- Anakin has decimated the Jedi order, but lies on a table, massively injured by a lava bath, worked on by medical droids trying to stabilize his condition....while Padme is giving birth to her and the Chosen One's offspring….  As Anakin fights for his life, Padme struggles….
  My theory begins here as Anakin has always been known as as needy and fearful of Padme's well-being, his connection to her is obvious...remember how they felt a connection in SITH looking out the windows across the city from each other? (foreshadowing is neat!)....him feeling her anxiety- her feeling his fear and rage. The finale of ROTS keenly illustrates the symbiotic, mirrored fates of Anakin and Padmé. Intercut are scenes of each of them in crisis; he survives, she fades away....

 He feels her connection, he also fights for his life, and he fears what is to come and inadvertently kills her by sucking her "Life Force” from her. As stated earlier, Padme's final words of ​“there's still good in him.... I know...,” have an eerie resonance as their last meeting resulted in a force choke- the last physical meeting; in her final moments; she felt his presence, his turmoil and forgave him resulting in those words....  

Harrumph! Harrumph! 

 Well.... if Palpatine's theory can say that why not Anakin? He was infinitely more powerful as the Chosen One, but had not yet, tapped into his full potential and said potential was blunted once he was injured from the lava bath. His emotions always amplified his powers.  Palpatine saved Vader sure, but it was Vader who lived from and through his emotions- his hate fueled him all those years and later- only the ​love​ for his son saved him- an intense emotion for sure on the opposite end. ​Padme was the one thing he loved the most, he feels is slipping away scares him so he uses all his powers to save her yet has to save himself first.... his act of survival turns into one of selfishness that turns into a 20 year campaign of hate, regret and destruction. Why else would have a secret hideaway Castle on Mustafar to endure masochistic, self-destructive behavior to be just Palpatine's servant?
 ​ It might be a bit of a stretch, but not really. Anakin's entire undoing was his hubris and fear- “I'm the greatest Jedi ever” (ego inflated by the other jerky Jedi) and his constant fear of losing Padme.... ​“I must save her,"- he murders Mace Windu at the goading of Palpy and THOSE are the first words out of his mouth-  even though nothing had happened to her yet; he was basically crippled and ruled by fear it might. So it's not hard to imagine in a time of crisis, he'd reach out to Padme and in doing so he zapped her life force. Think of Anakin as a drowning victim, clawing and scratching to survive- his only life preserver was Padme...  Anakin was unhinged at that point and being panicky and needy he would do anything. In his crisis state of mind, he unwittingly kills her. Yes it's irrational and yes it's near pathological, but thus is Anakin. Jedi creation, Sith Monster approved.

   I came to this conclusion by what Palpatine tells Vader. The first thing Vader, all suited up, asks, “Where is Padme?” Palpatine says, “You killed her.”   Why did he say this?  It reeks of Greek tragedy is why!  By telling Vader that, it made him even more susceptible to Palpatine's control and sent him into a furious tailspin killing Anakin one final time. I doubt he'd buy that lie so easy if he didn't know it was true. Palpatine would have lied in either scenario as both serve him. Palpatine being who he is would have preferred Vader felt he killed Padme himself thus exploiting his emotions and playing him like a cheap fiddle. Far more safer and set into the long game as it behooved Palpatine not doing it. Opposed to him doing it and Vader hating him and possibly overthrowing him later, Hmmm?   Anakin buys it because he feels it and knows it’s true. He was the one who loved her the most- he was the one that killed her. In an act of desperation, he killed her to sustain his life. Padme and Anakin both died that day, giving rise to Lord Vader.

Luke Skywalker and His Crisis of Faith

TFA left many questions unanswered, as we head into the final six months of waiting for “The Last Jedi, we try to decipher what exactly that title means.
 During his training on Dagobah, Luke sees some Force visions- the Future always in motion he's told by Yoda. Scared, he rushes off to rescue Han and Leia, much to the protest of both Yoda and Ben. To be fair, he did what he was told by not giving in to his anger, but little else helped him. It turned out horrible, as he was nearly killed, wounded, right hand gone by Vader. He learned a really ugly uncomfortable truth and Leia ended up saving him and no rescue for Han. Luke used only the tools given to him and had nothing to compare it to other than stark warnings from Yoda and Ben.

Priorities and his life vision changed in an instant. By the time we see him in ROTJ, he's poised, stronger, focused. Notice too when he enters Jabba's palace, he force chokes the guards. Watto was never choked by Qui-Gon, nor was Obi Wan force touching the death sticks kid. In his time off screen, Luke took some hard lessons, unlearned what he had learned and redefined what it meant to be a Jedi. None of this negotiation bullshit. Luke's quest in Episode VI is to save his father- Anakin Skywalker.
 Notice too how he achieves this- Whether by fault or by strategy, he's constantly on the precipice of the Dark Side. Jabba's palace with the force chokes; he gives in to Palpatines taunts and makes a move to strike, but Vader blocks it. He makes a move to strike Vader down, but stops himself.  Is this the Jedi way?  Obi Wan and Yoda know Vader is bad, “more machine than man. Twisted and evil,” preach to Luke he must kill them both. I think by this time the Jedi philosophy is dead. Obi Wan and Yoda had reason to fear Vader yet they refused to believe there was still good in him. We know there was; Padme's final words were, “there's still good in him..... I know....” During his training between Episodes 5 and 6, Luke learned to deal with his new reality. He knew Vader was conflicted and Anakin was buried in there somewhere.
 The Jedi were defeated by being full of hubris, delusional and complacent.  Egotism ruled and Palpatine's egotism was bigger and more aggressive. Luke beats him by throwing his weapon away and refusing to give in to this anger. He nearly fails himself on two occasions, but near the end, he knows the only way to beat evil is through self-sacrifice and Love- two things the Jedi had never used as a weapon.
 Luke never really triumphs with his light saber.  Re-watch the throne room scene and ask yourself at what point does Luke triumph?  When is the titular Return of the Jedi? I submit to you that it is when Luke faces the Emperor, throws away his light saber, and says, in effect, “You can kill me, but I will not give in to my anger.”

This is the first time a Jedi on screen has stared death in the face and said, “I refuse to solve this problem by killing, no matter what.” In seven movies, it is still the only time a Jedi, or Force sensitive character, has had that kind of conviction. And this is what ultimately spurs Darth Vader’s last act of heroism, sacrificing himself to save his son. George Lucas always said this sequence was about love. Luke, loving his father and in his beliefs enough t o die for them and Anakin too no longer fearful, lets go of the hate. 

 Luke definitely wont become a hippie pacifist and throw down his weapon for good, but he will have redefined what it means to oppose evil. A simple act of pure and total conviction in his beliefs is what allowed Luke to succeed. He was willing to and nearly died for his actions, but it's purity led Anakin to spring forward and kill Palpatine.
 Years after misreading the prophecy and creating a monster in Anakin, the Jedi refused to use what was in front of them- the strength of character- not their weapons They used blood tests to determine the might of a potential. Not the strength of their character or the cultivation of it- but the mere presence of Midichlorians made them all go ape shit crazy and ultimately create Darth Vader.
 So ask yourself: is the way of the Jedi to oppose evil at the point of a light saber? Luke’s answer appears to be no. I put it to you that he is right, and that every other Jedi we have ever seen on screen is wrong, and that wrongness - and Luke’s rightness - is one of the central points of the first six movies. For a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic - and look how that turned out. That’s how you get the Clone Wars. That’s how you get Darth Vader. That’s how you get the revenge of the Sith. In a very real sense, that is the revenge of the Sith.
  As The Last Jedi nears, we know Luke is likely damaged from something. Why is he in this self-imposed exile? I say self as he's too powerful to be afraid anything really, unless he's afraid of his owns powers. suspect that what we are going to find out in Episode VIII is that Luke has a very different sense of what a Jedi is supposed to be, ultimately rooted in that moment in the throne room.  I expect that by now, Luke is convinced (or at least deeply suspicious) that a Jedi Knight cannot simply oppose evil by light saber melees.
 Some obvious trouble spots to sort through as Luke is feeling massive guilt for losing his nephew to the cult side of the Force and perhaps even his daughter Rey?  He says some rather potent stuff in the trailer of this being the last of the Jedi for good.... He's correct, why revive and failed institution and flawed philosophy? Burn it to the ground and start over. The Sith were not entirely wrong in their pursuits, just in their ways of achieving them. The Jedi were almost always wrong in their pursuits as they failed to play up the strengths of character. 
 It would seem Luke is having a crisis of faith.  The Last Jedi indeed as Luke Skywalker returns to find the good in himself.

Is Star Wars Science- fiction or Fantasy?

 It's the age old debate among nerds- What exactly is Star Wars? Science fiction or fantasy?

It's set in the past, so it's fantasy! But it has space ships and laser swords and pistols- it's science fiction!

For the record, STAR WARS definitely IS fantasy- here's why.

Being a fan of both "Star Trek" and "Star Wars" the differences are fairly easy to sort out. In Trek when the Enterprise hits light speed, there is a reason for it- explanation for why the dilithium crystals can be used as fuel, why the Genesis Device can create life from lifelessness and why V'ger is seeking out it's creator in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture;" (the first and only hard core science- fiction Trek film to date) a science, heavy on the fiction, explanation is given with some usual moralizing to make it go down tasty. Techo-babble explains it.

 In "Star Wars" the Millennium Falcon goes to light speed because it can. How it goes to light speed is totally irrelevant in a story concerned with fairy tale themes.
Edgar Rice Burrows never fully explains how John Carter gets from Earth to Barsoom (Mars) with nothing more than a magic Amulet.

 Science fiction is often referred to these days as speculative fiction. In some cases, predictor of what might happen in the future- 100 years or more, sometimes less in the case of "Star Trek". Jules Verne was big innovator, anticipating nuclear submarines, U-boats from his perch in late 19th century. Arthur C. Clarke with space travel, George Orwell's "1984," is prescient, now more than ever with the government's vigorous surveillance and constantly increasing and creative abilities to spy on the populace.

 Those authors often wrote about how technology changes humanity- sometimes for the better, but often for the worse. Star Wars has no interest in discussing technology as its philosophical themes are more generally known through age old truths and moral acceptance.

 One of the more popular themes in Science-fiction is what it means to be human. Trek constantly mined this through out the film series and the many spin-offs. Android Data was taken into question about his ability to work next to humans and think like them despite being an android. Data slowly became part of the "family" of Star Trek and was accepted for who and what he was- Pinocchio complex and all becoming their equal. Steven Spielberg's masterpiece, "A.I." explores these same themes as David, a manufactured little boy, is bought by a couple with a sickly real son. A beautiful film that shows the organic creations were far more colder and cruel than the artificial one. Again, technology used to explore what it means to be human, what makes a family and love is not solely a human creation. 

 In Star Wars, droids are often seen as property- sold off in the SW version of "slave auctions" as seen in ANH with the Jawas offering up R2-D2 and C-3P0 to Owen Lars and nephew Luke. Artificial Intelligence of a droid is never taken beyond it being a droid. R2 is a rare exception as he's never had his memories erased and has become quite intelligent, resourceful and independent. Despite R2 being attached to his "Master" Luke, he is there to serve the organic life forms- nothing more.

 Science fiction almost never has a place for GOD or the concept of Divine beings- its always an Alien being taking advantage of the gullible masses. "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" a shady, religious nut takes the Enterprise hostage and demands to be taken to the planet of Sha-ka-rey. The Planet of GOD. Of course Kirk and crew discover him to be a phony alien deity who is too interested in a Starship and his scam is eventually revealed.

Battlestar Galactica- the sequel series, is an exception of sorts as it straddled the fence with it's humans very much believing in the GODS- the Lords of Kobol. As did the Cylons. The series did lean towards the anti-God however, or at least anti-religion, as it showed the fanatics of killing innocents in the name of religion and the cult of extremism in a post 911 world. The original Battlestar was very much heavy on fantasy as its religion overtones were slightly more positive and the Cylons were strictly robots attempting to kill off humanity as they felt they were a superior being.

 Fantasy embraces the concept of God as it fits with the intangible divine purpose. A "Force" driving the characters motivations- Adama searching for Earth, Luke for his adventures and the kids of Narnia searching for Aslan. All seeking to overcome evil either in an outside force or within oneself.

 Science-fiction is always in the future tense; some in a positive future, others in dystopia. Issac Asimov's "I, Robot," Robert Heinlein's "Starship Troopers," Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 541" 2001, Star Trek, Space: 1999, Babylon 5, Edge of Tomorrow, Oblivion and even "Lost in Space."

 Nearly all fantasies take place in the past- Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Conan the Barbarian, Star Wars and Narnia Chronicles, Princess of Mars. "Harry Potter" being the rare exception as it's time is usually the present. 

 At it best, fantasy serves to ponder the deep spiritual themes. Philosophical themes and moral quandaries present in our culture for centuries. Characters presented with good vs evil, loyalty, sacrifice, duty, honor, friendship are all played out in the theater of orcs, droids, ewoks, Jedi, talking Lions and light sabers. Also the genre is full of stark, sometimes dark warnings. Both the book and the film,"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory/Willy Wonka" reminding kids to listen to their parents. "Time Bandits" tells parents to listen to their kids, ("It's eee-vill! Don't touch it!") 

Star Wars is NOT science fiction!