Obi-Wan & Personal Responsibility

I have had nothing to say on the live action Star Wars shows they have been making recently. Obi-Wan Kenobi, however, has been different. This show had that Star Wars feel in setting, characters, and theme. Yes, we like familiar characters--but more than that, we like them because we know their backstories and we know their struggles. And it's that inner story that allows us to connect with a story. From here on there will be some amount of spoilers.

So yes, this series was fun because we got to revisit the Organas and the Skywalkers. We see Luke stuck in the desert while Leia is getting dressed up in her royal garb. He is his father's son and she is her mother's daughter. And little Leia is adorable, yes. The bits of flashbacks to Obi-Wan and Anakin training are nostalgic. But the heart of it all is in how the various characters deal with the conflict within themselves and in reaction to others. Essentially this series is about personal responsibility. 

From the beginning, I thought that Reva had such an innocent-looking, almost childlike face that contrasted with her dark side baddie persona. I thought this was just fairest-of-them-all evil queen type casting. But it turns out, of course, that casting (and performance) was even more intentional than that. Reva is in her mind still a child who is hurt by the evil she saw done and how powerless she felt in the face of it all. So she responds to her powerlessness and pain by trying to be the most powerful and by seeking vengeance. But that is never the way to heal either one's self or the world; it only adds more pain. What Reva instead has to do is separate out what other people might choose to do from what she can choose to do. Instead of being like fallen Anakin and killing a child, she chooses to return the child unharmed. 

Likewise, Obi-Wan struggles with the aftermath of failure during the war. Encountering the figure who was once his apprentice, he feels all the guilt for having failed Anakin. This is why he struggles with feeling unable to rescue or protect Leia: he was unable to protect Anakin. But Leia is still a child, and Anakin made his choices as an adult. That moment in which Darth Vader himself releases Obi-Wan from his guilt and responsibility might just be one of the new best Star Wars moments. On its simplest level, it provides an explanation for why Obi-Wan later tells Luke that Darth Vader killed his father. But thematically, it's wonderful.

"I am not your failure, Obi-Wan. You didn't kill Anakin Skywalker. I did." The way in which the mask's vocoder staggers and allows Anakin's voice to falter in and out provides that link between the past and future, between the prequels and the originals, or the originals and the prequels depending on how you look at it. What his words say emphasizes the reality that Obi-Wan and Anakin each chose their own paths. We cannot choose other people's paths for them. We cannot control others' actions. We are not responsible for others' mistakes or failures. We can only control what we do and we are only responsible for what we ourselves do. Similar to Reva, Obi-Wan learns to let go of the pain of the past, of the actions he saw someone he cared about choosing. 

Star Wars is so much about choosing the good path. This series explored how to react when those around us do not choose that same path. It's hard and it's messy, but there is great freedom in being able to separate out our responsibilities from the responsibilities of others. 

Why Kylo Ren Is the New Darth Vader

Yes, Episode VII spoilers.

Months ago when the merch for The Force Awakens started showing up in stores, I was somewhat indignant that Kylo Ren was everywhere, trying to replace Darth Vader as the main villain. I didn't know who Kylo Ren was, so why would I be interested in seeing him everywhere (well, I did like Rey just because of her costume--but that's a different matter)?

And then we come to the character he establishes in the movie. When he first appears, it seems that he is an attempt at another dark, ruthless, evil character. So your first instinct is to compare him to Vader, to see how his mask's voice is different from Vader's, how (though tall) his figure is not as physically imposing as Vader's, how he walks about with such force and power and yet not somehow quite the same command that Vader had. And then at some point you realize that all of this is intentional; for me, the moment came when he takes off his mask while talking to Rey. In that moment, his character clicked into place.

As I've said before, I came to realize that Kylo Ren isn't just a character we call a wannabe--he is written as a wannabe. He wants to take the place of Darth Vader. He isn't wholly successful yet--but he's trying. And that's just as sinister, if not more sinister, than if he were a full, blown-out, flat baddie character (like Darth Maul, who always felt rather temporary and therefore not terribly powerful or important in the long run).

Back when I started thinking about Episode VII, I wondered how it was possible to continue the story, where the writers would take it. Both the OT and the PT are Vader's story, Anakin's story: it is his character arc that informs the most important part of both trilogies. He was Star Wars. So how do you make Star Wars without Vader? (And I realize that there are and have always been plenty of books and such that focus on other characters--but I'm focusing on the movies here.) Well, you have to create a new Vader. And what made Vader Vader not just as himself but also as an important feature of both trilogies was his character arc. That was where the value was, where the themes were, and where all my greatest interest was. So if you want to try and replace that, you can't just create a villain: you have to create someone with a significant and engaging character arc. And Kylo Ren is just that.

I keep getting more obsessed with this character (Vader will always be Vader--liking a new character doesn't have to replace the old ones). I love the theory that he's secretly trying to take over the First Order from the inside; it's so easy to find evidence for this. But the reality is more complicated, isn't it?

I keep pausing on his conversation with Vader's melted helmet. "I will finish what you started . . . grandfather." We've been so focused on the first phrase that what about that last word? "Grandfather?" Does that seem a little odd to anyone else? Okay, it can just be a line in there to reveal who Kylo Ren is, but that isn't really necessary because Han and Leia (and even Snoke) talk about who he is. Think about it. If he's such a fan of Vader/his accomplishments, then wouldn't he feel the need to have a little more decorum? Wouldn't he have some other title, something else to call this powerful, dark figure? Grandfather? It's such a familiar term, so informal, and it hints so much of kindness. (This could also just back up the idea that Ren simply believes he is in the right and isn't "evil"--but I like to think otherwise.)

So perhaps people are right. When he says grandfather, it means that he is talking of Anakin, not to Vader (Anakin's Force Ghost for Episode VIII, anyone?). And when he fears that he will never be as strong as Darth Vader, it is that he fears he will never have the strength to turn away from the darkness in the end as Vader did. There is that line of his, where he talks of feeling the pull to the light again as if it's a bad thing--but maybe it's a bad thing just because the timing isn't right? Or just because he knows he needs to continue the farce for a little longer, in order to accomplish something.

Whenever I try and remind myself of how creepy and sinister Kylo Ren could be, I keep getting reminded of that constant duality that is in him. When he's talking creepily/threateningly to Rey, he also could seem almost reluctant to actually look in her mind for what he wants--it's like he's trying to put it off (which could also mean that there is something about his "mind power" that works at a cost to himself, even that it's simply unpleasant to do). When he kills Han Solo, he cries. He talks for the whole movie about hating his father but then he cries when he kills him. It's just the best thing ever. Is he trying to be dark or secretly trying to be good--and does he even know what he's trying to do?

There wasn't so much mystery around Darth Vader in Episode IV as this, was there? Kylo Ren, if you're just getting started, this is a good start and I can't wait to see what else is in store. . . . So many years of guessing and theories and imaginings, that's what. (This reminds me of the time before Episode III came out. There was a joke about how Darth Vader's face was burned when he was taking cookies out of the oven . . . it's so funny now to think that we once didn't know how Vader became the burnt, mostly-machine figure he is in the OT.)

(Oh, and what's with the face-slashing of Kylo Ren by Rey? Usually the bodily deformations [hands and arms getting chopped off] happen in the second episode of a trilogy. So why does he get them now? Will he have scars? And why do the slashes on his face look suspiciously like the scars on Snoke's face? Snoke must be him from the future [has anyone built up evidence for that theory yet?] Maybe the slashes are just a physical representation of the deterioration that took place within him when he killed his father. I could talk about this all day--but I've already filled up the space of two or three posts, haven't I?)

Darth Pan

This is a part of my wall right now:

Yes, I'm crazy; we all know this. While the copy of Peter Pan is meant to go along with my Disney crocodile that you can just see peeking up at the bottom of the picture, the book in fact looks like it is also pairing with my new Darth Vader. And in looking at the two together, I realized what a perfect pairing it is, after all.

You see, I consider Peter Pan one of the most tragic stories. Ever. It isn't just about the tragedy of having to grow up: there is also tragedy in Peter's ability to not grow up. In both sides, there is tragedy. It's tragic for Wendy to grow up in the end, and it's tragic for Peter never to grow up. Darth Vader's story is also almost entirely a tragedy. 

Like Peter, Anakin wanted to fight against the laws of nature. He sought eternal life because he was afraid of Padme dying, and he himself defied death when the Emperor made him part machine to keep him alive. In both cases, what was intended as a solution to tragedy became the tragedy itself--sort of like Peter's youth. 

Oh, yes, and both characters are hopelessly cocky and full of themselves. Anakin always sort of had that clash between youth and age, in a way. He was brilliant from a young age, which made him arrogant, which let him stay angry and fearful. Neither character exactly has a happy story. Ah, youth. The quest for imperishable youth and peace always seems to lead to evermore sorrow and chaos.

Darth Hamlet

I quite like Star Wars. I grew up with the original trilogy, so it was so familiar to me that it was a while before I could sit back and say, wait, I do like these movies simply for themselves not jut because I have watched them so much. One of my good related memories is from when my brother and I were in elementary school; we turned on Return of the Jedi and sat in front of the TV with legos out, building the scenes as they showed up on the screen. That two and a half hours passed by quickly, I can tell you. Can you imagine the creativity we must have had? There was no spare moment to think about what we were doing; we just had to keep going to not miss anything. Ah, the things children are capable of doing.

I'm now at my parents' house for the holidays, and Star Wars was playing on TV. Even though we own all but Episodes II and III, I had to watch an hour or two just because of the crispness of the image quality. The TV is new (they just bought it this summer), and the difference between VHS quality and HD quality is, well, like the difference between not wearing my glasses and wearing them. As I was watching and gloating over how wonderfully literary Darth Vader's character is (which I certainly didn't notice when I was in elementary school), another of my comparisons occurred to me.

I was thinking about how Anakin made his decision to kill the Emperor a couple decades late. If he had killed him years ago, Padme wouldn't have died and the Republic wouldn't have fallen. But, no, it is only years later that he finally pulls himself together enough to make the right choice (and realize what "right choices" are). That sounds a lot like Hamlet to me.

Hamlet also delays action. He wants to gather all the information first, he tells himself, so he plays with all the characters and doesn't kill his uncle until the very end when it is almost too late. Like Anakin, he loses Ophelia and his own life in the entire process. Both of them have trouble knowing how to deal with relationships and how to jump into the right actions (since Anakin certainly acts, though not in the right ways).

How utterly tragic these two are.

Darth Snape

So I was one of those people who had neither read nor watched Harry Potter (unless you count my fourth grade teacher reading the first book to the class). This year, I felt finally that I wanted to be able to have an opinion on the series. So I watched the first six movies. And I realized I was only getting part of the story. So I read all the books in three weeks (quite a feat considering it was in the middle of the spring semester). Then I watched the movies again, finishing with the seventh. That enabled me, two months later, to actually see the final one in theatres.

My opinion of these books is complicated and I won’t go into it here (for now) since I have been over it in my head and in conversation so much already. But I will say this: I enjoyed a few months’ immersion in the series, but I’m definitely not one of the huge fans—even still, I do find interest, like so many other readers before me, in one particular character’s plotline. Naturally, I am referring to Snape. Now, I was also watching Star Wars again this summer, when I found someone with a ridiculous similarity to Snape.


So here is my case for the Darth Vader and Severus Snape comparison.


1) Storyline: George Lucas said that he had envisioned the original series as Darth Vader's story. This is not unlike how many readers consider the book series Snape's story, more so than Harry's.


2) Background: We are first introduced to both characters in a "present" time, before we launch backwards to learn about their real motives. 


3) Love: Enter those real motives. Vader/Anakin, of course, loved Padme, and Snape loved Lily. Both characters could not ever really move past these first, early loves. In fact, both relationships took place at about the same time--ages ten-ish on. The tragic difference is that while Padme did choose Anakin, Lily did not choose Snape. Which leads us to . . . 


4) Power: As a Slytherin, we know Snape has interest in power. Anakin has serious issues with power and control, which ultimately cause him to be taken in by the Emperor; he essentially sacrifices Padme in his very attempt to keep her safe. After this, it seems like he loses his will to maintain any goodness in himself. Now Snape is a little different. His interest in power also led to his interest in a dark force, Voldemort, but at an earlier stage than for Anakin. Snape's choice to follow Voldemort was, it seems, what led Lily not to choose him. So when Snape's actions lead to Lily's death, he, too, is in that awful position of despair. Only he takes quicker action than Vader does.


5) Overthrowing the Evil Guy: It turns out that Darth Vader's character arc really is kind of cool: in the end, he is convinced by his son's unwavering belief in the Good to turn from the life he has been leading and finally overthrow the Emperor. One does wish he could have had this glorious revelation, say, twenty years earlier, but, hey, better late than never. Snape, however, turned to Dumbledore as soon as he knew Lily was in danger, which put him on the "good side" from much earlier on. I will admit that you can argue that this is exactly what Anakin did when he listened to the Emperor's words and did as he instructed just to keep Padme safe, but, no, I still think that Anakin was more unstable than Snape. Neither one has the best concept of Good/Evil, it is true, but Anakin's a little more scatterbrained and less focused than Snape, I think.


6) Visually: We can't leave out the fact that both these characters wander around in black robes/capes that billow out behind them. Both make imposing figures, in their own way. And you might just be able to say that the literal mask Vader wears is akin to the figurative mask Snape wears when he goes about his day as a double agent.


7) The Others: Let's not forget to match up the characters that surround them. I've already said that Padme is to Lily and the Emperor is to Voldemort. You can add in Obi Wan to Dumbledore, as well. And don't forget Luke to Harry--although Harry is not actually Snape's son, there is just as much of a connection there (if not more) as between Luke and Anakin. James Potter gets left out entirely, unless you say that he shares traits with Obi Wan (think Anakin's jealousy of him). The trio of Luke, Leia, and Han Solo is not entirely different from that of Harry, Hermione, and Ron--at least you can say that both trios include the hero and the two buddies who end up "together." Let's see, then there's Jabba the Hut to Mundungus Fletcher and R2D2 to Dobby and Chewbacca to Lavender Brown . . . maybe I should stop now, eh?