Very disjointed, un-related, unorganized thoughts on Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith

I soooooo loved this movie. I saw it with my family on Sunday, and I have literally, spent a week “unpacking” it out of my mind. I need to see it a lot more, but given the price of movies, time and space continuum with family obligations, the likelihood of that happening before it comes on DVD is about the same as Anakin leaving the Dark Side before Episode IV. Yeah, not happening.

Every time I start thinking about the movie, well, all I can say is “damn”…….

I have to admit first, I am a much bigger Star Trek fan, probably because it’s been around a lot more. (For the past 18 years, you could catch a relatively new episode every week.) But I always loved Star Wars.

This film put everything together. EVERYTHING!

First of what is the deal with characters loosing limbs?

Ep 1: Dart Maul: Cut in half by Obi Wan Kenobi (maybe that doesn’t count?)
Ep 2: Anakin: Loosing Right hand to Count Dooku (gets a shiny new one :)
Ep 3: Anakin: Looses Lt hand, both legs by Obi Wan Kenobi (gets shiny new Darth Vader suit:)
Count Dooku: Looses both hands and head against Anakin
(I’m sure there’s more, but I only saw this once……)
Ep 4: Obi Wan Kenobi: cut in half by Darth Vader: psych!
Ep 5: Luke Skywalker: Looses right hand to Darth Vader
Ep 6: Darth Vader: Looses right hand (again!) to Luke Skywalker

I’m sure there’s some psychologist that could earn a Masters or Doctorate on George Lucas having some sort of psychological pathology exhibited through all this mutilation……

Sith makes Ep 1 and 2 better.

They make sense now.

Intro: the Phantom Menace (i.e. the Sith). The Sith were thought to be extinct. Now they were present? The Jedi couldn’t believe it until they actually had a body to look at. That finally made them realize that a Sith exists and NO ONE NOTICED! (Their reliance on the Force to tell them such things, failed!)

Intro: Anakin, boy wonder. I know a lot of sci fi aficionados HATE child “wonders”. But in this universe, it happens because of the Force. Anakin was a smart, gifted child. He was bubbly and emotional. He loved his mother. But, and here’s the big BUT, he was a SLAVE. (Do you remember when he told Padme he was a slave? Padme made some comment that she thought that couldn’t be because slavery was outlawed. That hurt his feelings….. it would have hurt mine! I would have wanted to jump up and grab her and say, “Well what am I then? A figment of your imagination!”) As gifted and wonderful as this kid was in controlling events around him (via the Force), he did not control his own destiny because some one else OWNED him. I don’t know about you, but that would make me a tad bit on the BITTER side.

Intro: War without meaning. The Trade Federation starts a blockade of the peaceful world of Naboo. The Trade Federation leaders were in constant contact with some mysterious leader that would tell them what to do. That leader was “Senator” Palpitine (who then became Chancellor Palpatine, then Emperor Palpatine, .all while really being the Sith Lord, Darth Sidious!)

Intro: Political Intrigue and corruption. Where to begin? I don’t see this the way a lot of other people have been reporting that the story is a mirror as to what is going on in the Bush administration. (I think the biggest argument in these circles is Bush or Carl Rove Darth Sideous?) I don’t see it that way.

I was watching Episode 2 the other night with the commentary on. There is one scene where Mace Windu and Yoda are observing the Senate machinations. Lucas mentioned that this part of the story was formed by his understanding of history in that a Democracy eventually fails or falls. It does so through a crisis where the people are willing to give up some of their rights to preserve the safety that is being threatened. He named off as examples Rome, Greece and the Weimar Republic (Germany turning over its democratic government to Hitler.) Lucas wrote most of this during the early 70’s, way before there was any George Bush. I think several things are going on by Lucas. One is, he, like most Hollywood Liberals, hate George Bush and feel very threatened by him.(so if his summer blockbuster has some corresponding “similarities” to George Bush, what a happy coincidence.) The second thing is that we (individuals and society) read into things that we see. Is the glass half full or half empty? One reason that these sets of movies are so popular is because it “speaks” to so many people.


How do you become freer: through evil or good?

One of the major themes running through Anakin’s life is the desire to control. He was born a slave; his freedom was won by the Jedi and then he became a “Padawan” (or learner) to another more experienced Jedi (Obi Wan) and then he became a Sith Apprentice to the Sith Master (Emperior Palpitine/Darth Sidious). In every episode, Anakin/Darth Vader was always calling someone MASTER. Anytime he tried to do something his way, he got chided or belittled by superiors. In Episode 3, his desire to control his destiny and the world around him becomes very obvious at the end when he asks Padme to join him and rule the universe.

In the end, by locking in with the Dark Side, he become more of a slave, literally and figuratively (now he has to wear a suit just to survive).

I have so much more to say....... I will later!