Star Words: Episode IV, Part 39

[matril]

Artoo has been disabled, Luke is all alone, and Vader centers his sights on the lone X-wing with an ominous "I have you now." Yet the subsequent blast destroys not Luke's ship, but a neighboring TIE fighter. While Vader cries out in disbelief, those of us who share Luke's faith are not surprised to see Han returning for just a little bit of selfless heroism. Having cleared the way, he encourages Luke to finish what he came to do. After Luke fires the torpedoes, the moment is drawn out with a pounding urgency in the musical score, shots cutting from Tarkin to the battle station's control center to the exterior -- and then a tremendous explosion, as the music comes to a soft, joyful rest.

"Great shot, kid; that was one in a million!"

Han probably doesn't know the half of it. That "hokey religion" he recently derided has just given Luke the means to accomplish the near-impossible. Luke himself seems almost overwhelmed by the power that guided him to victory, like he is emerging from a trance, as Ben's voice continues to echo in his mind.

Consider Obi-Wan's earlier statement: "In my experience, there's no such thing as luck." (His old master voiced a similar thought with "Nothing happens by accident.") Think of how the Force could have nudged a few greedy Jawas to capture Artoo, so he would end up at the Lars farm and bring Luke into the adventure on his way to deliver Leia's message to Ben. How a smuggler down on his luck, desperate for money no matter how risky the job, would be at the cantina at just the right time (with a co-pilot who happens to have experience working with Jedi) -- and how that smuggler, for all his mercenary nature, had the capacity for heroics if only someone said the right words to prick his conscience. All these things, along with so many other circumstances, converge to bring about a victory that was anything but guaranteed. General Dodonna, your invocation was fully appropriate. The Force was truly with the Rebellion.

Next, we conclude this episode with a gleeful reunion....

Comments

[matril]

Yes, I don't see it as fatalism so much as opportunities that can be either taken or not. Luke could have chosen to ignore the call and stay on Tatooine. He could have decided not to rescue the princess. Han could have decided not to come back. There was nothing compelling them to be heroes, only a chance offered that they decided to accept. Conversely, Palpatine (not that he's the equivalent of the Force, but his manipulations do drive much of the prequel plotlines) and his machinations could have failed if the Jedi had been less arrogant and shortsighted; if the Republic's leaders had been more compassionate and less greedy and fear-driven; if Anakin had learned to manage his emotions and relationships in a healthy way....

People are praising the Disney movies for finally offering a hero who's not a destined Chosen One by virtue of lineage and/or prophecy, and I just have to laugh. The prequels already completely deconstructed that trope -- the Jedi were hanging all their hopes on this chosen one, but it seems clear to me that they completely misunderstood the prophecy. (I'd love to see the original wording of the vision, but I suppose it's left intentionally vague). They heard about someone conceived of midichlorians who would bring balance to the Force and immediately assumed, "Ah, we're going to have an incredibly powerful Jedi who will undo chaos and restore perfect equilibrium to the universe -- in other words, destroy the Sith." And it never would have occurred to them, for a second, that such a being could turn evil. But Anakin wasn't a mindless avatar acting out the will of the Force. He was a flawed mortal being like anyone else, and all the glorious potential in the world couldn't protect him from falling to temptation. Ultimately he did overcome Palpatine and restore balance, but not because he was compelled by destiny. He looked back on a lifetime of horrible choices and finally found the courage to do the right thing, because his son showed him the way.

As for Luke, he wasn't destined to save the galaxy by fate and heritage. He didn't overcome evil by incredible power. He overcome by love. By compassion. By throwing away his weapon -- an act of courage far transcending fighting prowess. His parentage is important not because it makes him exceptional in wielding the Force, but because it offers him a means to reach out to the good so long buried by Vader's darkness. And again, it's his choice, not his inevitable destiny. There's no message of exceptionalism in there at all.

Obviously I've been giving this a lot of thought lately....

[krpalmer]

I've seen some "really, 'the Chosen One' got subverted over the course of the prequels" suggestions before. When "the prophecy was misinterpreted" gets brought up, though, I'm afraid I remember proclamations "equal numbers of Sith and Jedi left equals 'balance.'" (I can get to thinking this interpretation lets "a concept that wasn't talked about in the movies I saw first and therefore can't be accepted" get jettisoned from the story halfway through...) There is, anyway, the matter of the Jedi arcing from "refusing to train Anakin" to "Mace casually mentioning Anakin's destined role to Obi-Wan" to "Mace and Yoda seeming skeptical of the prophecy" over the course of three movies.

My terrible ambiguity when it comes to "a hero who isn't destined!" is how little effort seems to have gone into establishing just where her powers are coming from. At first, I'd contemplated a matter of "programming," but then people started mentioning "she just sort of picks them up from the bad guy every time they're in contact," which still carries intimations of "the Force is driving all of it..." I can suppose some would inform me I'm missing the point and haven't watched the Disney Space Movies enough times to criticize them. "We should talk about the things we like and not get caught up in complaints about other things" does seem important enough to keep in mind.

[matril]

Yes, that equal number of Jedi and Sith interpretation always made me roll my eyes. The Sith are inherently about imbalance, chaos, anarchy, parasitism. On the other hand, I don't think balancing the Force is as simple a matter as destroying the Sith. The Jedi had fallen prey to a number of extremes and imbalances quite without the help of the Sith. I always figured that Luke will be able to create a more balanced Order having learned from the mistakes of his predecessors. Which is why I've tried not to give much thought to the Disney films, seeing as how it just fills me with burning rage...

(I wouldn't mind Rey's character so much if she wasn't presented with such an obvious, hamfisted QUESTION MARK on her forehead. Who is she?? Where does she come from?? Could she be related to Someone?? which means that if she's not connected to anything, it just feels like a cheap bait-and-switch where we're punished for assuming quite reasonable things based on all the narrative clues. Meanwhile, if you take away the mystery, there's just not much left to care about.)