I was just reading the latest news from theforce.net and a real feeling of pitty came upon me regarding the character Anakin Skywalker.
George Lucas seems to be commited to giving him a real bad time, and by the comments made there, they mean a really bad time. I really can't remember another film character going for such an ordeal as SKywalker. He begins his life as a slave, a particularly well humored one but a slave nonetheless, he then gets separated from his mother at a particularly vulnerable age to become a Jedi. Before he becomes a Jedi he gets into a space fight, and sees the one who would become his master get killed. Good start right. He then goes with a new master who, despite being well intentioned, doesn't really want to teach him.
In the wake of it all he gets a crush for a Princess, a slave and a princess. Impossible love followed him thru his teenage years, a time when he learns he is "the chosen one". That must really screw uo anyone's head. Then his mother is killed, in a particularly cruel and painfull way followed suit by a batlle where he must have lost a lot of friends and fellow Jedis and loses an arm!
Next he will go against his masters and his wife, must confront his old master in a fight that will have him lose a leg and get burned to a crisp, needing an armor to survive. On top of that he loses his wife, his love and his mental sanity I suppose.
Men, talk about suffering. I'll never mention Darth Vader as a villain again. He is the ultimate victim in Star Wars. The one who must mentally and phisically carry the burden of an entire universe's evil and corruption and, ultimately, make the final sacrifice to end it all. Talk about JC.
Despite talks about how bad the new films are and all that something remains. This is definitely a great story, and despite fictional it has a lot of "real life" feel to it and references to a lot of Human religions to.
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I have serious doubts about that. He didn't chose to be bad, he was meant to be bad. Inevitably. His whole life is a series of bad experiences, you must feel what you would do and think in his shoes.
Remember he is not aware of all the things happening around him. He doesn't see the "big picture". He sees bad things happening to him again and again. It is easy for Yoda and Ob1 to say he must fight those feelings when they aren't going thru them. The kid is only human, and I suspect they didn't give him the necessary suport. Even Ob1 recognizes that THEY failed.
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That's a big assumption. I myself have no problem admiting that bad feelings have crossed my mind, and sometimes I feel like "if only I wasn't so soft". But it's not that I'm soft it's just that I am a good person.
But the line dividing justified conflict from evil conflict is very thin indeed.
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No-one can be forced or obligated to be a had person, Imhotep. Anakin has free will- he makes a choice and millions, or more, suffer for that choice. Nothing excuses the evil he will perpetrate.
It is actually very important for his character development and the story that he is morally culpable for his actions- as GL says, the if the original trilogy was about how a bad man is redeemed by his son, the new one is how an angelic boy turns into an evil man. And that must not be excused else that plot does not work.
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"We've got maybe seconds before Darth Rosenberg grinds everybody into Jawa burgers and not one of you buds has the midi-chlorians to stop her!"
I'm not trying to "excuse" him from anything. All I'm saying is that he is led to that "decision" by the events surrounding his life. And my question is, in light of those events, if it hapened to you, how would you react.
I agree however that after sucumbing to the dark side he became really evil, probably mad too. You can already "see" that madness in Ep.II in the aftermath of his vengeance on the Tusken Raiders.
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Registered: Jun 2003
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ush and finti are right...ones choices determines ones actions and ones future.....
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Registered: Aug 2003
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Although I too agree with finti, Ush & RJ about Anakin "choosing" to become evil, I do see where you're coming from Imhotep.
Anakin is the most tragic of all of the SW characters. He goes through so much and there is such an expectation of him in regards to him being the chosen one. And I did FEEL for him in Ep2, something I never expected. In all of his dealings with Padme, you can see the yearning, the confusion. He does love her even if he can't and just like any teen he's torn, between love and what his elders expect of him. Then when his mother died, my heart just cried out to him, I truly felt sorry for him, even though I know what he will become I now understand WHY he CHOSE to turn.
There were many many terrible things that drove him to the edge but ultimately, Anakin Skywalker made his own decision.
I still remember the first time I saw the Tusken Raiders revenge scene.
I felt like: "Cut those Mother....... heads off!!!"
I don't know about women and children, but you had to be there to feel it and to see how you would react in that situation.
But killing off my mom, using her as a slave, and God knows what else, if that didn't turn me evil, I can't think of anything else that would.
In my view, the Jedi Council, with all due respect, acted foolishly in sending Anakin alone on that mission... They should have known better even with Darth Sidious clouding their use of the force. It wasn't a matter of force, it was a matter of common sense.
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Registered: Aug 2003
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Yeah, Obi-Wan thought so too.
I felt so sorry for him when his mother died and that evil glare, *shudders* so very very evil, so very Darth Vader.
And that scene back on Tatooine when he's telling Padme about what he's done, that was so amazing!! [HC did a fantastic job] That was when I realised how much he had truly gone through before becoming evil, its so sad.
Registered: Jun 2003
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its about time that someone agrees with me that anakin wasnt ready for that mission...thanx....
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All the ways you wish you could be, that's me. I look like you wanna look, I **** like you wanna ****, I am smart, capable, and most importantly, I am free in all the ways that you are not.
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but certain precautions by the higher ups could aid in that decision...such as letting a more experienced master train him.....
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All the ways you wish you could be, that's me. I look like you wanna look, I **** like you wanna ****, I am smart, capable, and most importantly, I am free in all the ways that you are not.
Sep 4th, 2003 10:27 AM
