About Anakin Skywalker, love, and fear of death

[chameleon_irony]

Inspired by discussions with irnan

One of the things that become obvious when watching the two Star Wars trilogies in quick succession is the character development of Anakin Skywalker between the prequels and the original trilogy. Most of us saw the OT before the prequels, saw him save Luke before seeing him try to "save" Padmé, and so we analyze his

Comments

[irnan]

by defence lawyers ;) and expert witnesses)

Very very stupid defence lawyers who are killing off the criminal justice system bit by creeping bit every time they open their mouths ;) I remember a conversation I had once with some neurologists/neuroscientists at a criminology seminar which was basically about how the justice system can't work unless it assumes their entire discipline is irrelevant. If you can't be held responsible for your own actions, then what is society's justification for punishing them?

And, you know, the reason I insist on Anakin's free will in ROTS is sort of similar - because the saga as a whole has more meaning for me by assuming that. What point redeeming someone who was coerced every step of the way? It would make ROTJ a rescue, which is far less out of the ordinary and far less powerful storytelling. What Luke does can only be called redemption if you assume Anakin was responsible for getting himself into that particular mess in the first place.

nor is it a choice made with a clear and rational state of mind

Here, again, the argument for Anakin's having made his choice, not a fully informed one as you say, but nevertheless in a lucid moment, is the one I find more compelling because of ROTJ: Luke proves that you can't be forced to be a Sith. It makes sense to me that you can't "railroad" someone into Sithhood either, regardless of trauma. But it's clearly an element of saga that's just plain more suited to a fairy tale than to Anakin's actual characterisation; the OT gives him, fairy tale-like, responsibility for a decision which realistically he probably shouldn't be responsible for.

[chameleon_irony]

If you can't be held responsible for your own actions, then what is society's justification for punishing them?

Exactly.

It would make ROTJ a rescue

Which is kind of the way I see it, but there is an element of choice in it. I'm pretty sure Vader wouldn't have turned back to the light side without Luke as a catalyst. But Luke didn't save Vader. Luke gave him a reason to save himself.

Luke proves that you can't be forced to be a Sith

But Anakin/Vader proves that you can be manipulated into it with tricks out of my social psychology textbook's section on influence. ;)

I admit the fairy tale elements of the saga are the ones I tend to focus on the least. The psychology and the politics are what interests me the most and my interpretation of the movies is colored by that.

[irnan]

But Luke didn't save Vader. Luke gave him a reason to save himself.

*nods* I guess I feel that, if Vader was coerced into a position where he needed saving in the first place, the fact that he saves himself has... less impact, for me. If he of his own free will makes a deal with the devil and then repents of it/ comes to the truth... I just find that more powerful storytelling.

But of course, as you said, my interpretation of the movies is coloured by the fairy tale elements because they were closest to the other things I read and watched as a child (and still do), and so were far clearer to me when I watched the movies.