Which is the Dark Side?

23 May 2005



Lesson Learned in "Revenge of the Sith"

The latest (and likely last) installment in the “Star Wars” saga, “The Revenge of the Sith,” has shattered box office records, created a new generation of space opera fans and/or not lived up to its hype depending on what reviewer one is reading. What is truly interesting about the film, though, is its moral murkiness.

The popularity of “Star Wars” and the “Star Trek” franchises rests on what appears to be an innate human need for mythology. Joseph Campbell popularized this concept a few years ago with his PBS series on mythology, and no culture exists that does not have its myths (in the sense of grand stories about great deeds, and not in the sense of falsehoods). These sci-fi myths are little more, and nothing less, than a space-faring society’s answer to the Gods of Olympus or Aasgard.

But in those more ancient myths, black and white where mixed into varying shades of grey. “Star Wars” quite deliberately was more binary, carving the universal force into a light side and a dark side. At least, that was the case until this final installment.

Anakin Skywalker poses an interesting problem to the Jedi Council. He is “The Chosen One” who will bring balance to the force, according to prophecy. In Episode I, one learns that his “mediclorian” count is higher than Master Yoda’s, meaning apparently that he is potentially an even greater Jedi. But he is young and must be schooled in the ways of the Jedi. By Episode III, he has been schooled, and he has grown to the point where his teacher, Obi Wan Kenobi says that he is a greater Jedi than Obi Wan himself.

And yet, when he is appointed to the Council by the real baddie, Chancellor (soon Emperor) Palpatine, the Councillors accept him with ill-grace and deny him the rank of “Master,” which every Council member in history has had. Moreover, Mace Windu, second only to Yoda on the Council, says point blank that he doesn’t trust young Skywalker.

While this is clearly a minority point of view, the Jedi turned its back on Anakin, leaving an opening for the Sith to turn him into Darth Vader. This Nietzschean interpretation suggests that the Jedi were incapable of adapting to the presence of a truly great Jedi, and for political reasons, rejected him – sowing the seeds of their destruction. Which is darker, the side that should have protected and honored him for what he was, or the side that took advantage of his youthful inexperience after those who should have been in his corner rejected him?

Or maybe, this was just a fun movie with no real message.



© Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.
Produced using Fedora Linux.


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