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Star Words: Episode III, Part 7
Jun. 7th, 2018 01:24 pmAfter Anakin's return and before his nightmares begin, he and Padmé are able to share an all-too-brief happy scene together. They are unabashedly schmaltzy with each other, and I love it. Padmé is full of dreams and hopes about their baby (and it will become truly heartbreaking how her dream of going home to Naboo is realized) but Anakin is just watching her with hearts in his eyes. They have a teasing exchange -- "I'm so in love" "No, I'm so in love with you!" that's just about enough to make your teeth fall out, but let's consider (and overanalyze) the line that follows from Padmé.
"So love has blinded you?"
No, no, he assures her, that's not what he meant. But it's probably true, she smiles. While there's no doubt that Padmé is objectively beautiful, through Anakin's love-goggles she becomes the most beautiful creature in the universe, a veritable angel. That's the literal meaning of their silly exchange, (which probably ends in the bedroom, let's be honest).
But how about the symbolic meaning. Does love, in fact, blind Anakin? Considering that his attachment to Padmé will provide the driving force behind his fall to the Dark Side, yeah, I would say that love has made him short-sighted in the very least. He's so determined to prevent her from dying, he plunges blindly off a metaphorical cliff. The fact that his fall will ultimately lead to her death is just another ironic twist of the knife.
Does this mean that the Jedi knew what they were doing with all their non-attachment rules? Don't form connections with anyone, and you'll never be tempted. Right? In my opinion, that's like someone who's afraid of overeating and decides not to touch food ever again. Attachments are a normal, healthy, essential part of existence. We need to be connected. Otherwise our emotional selves wither up and die as surely as the body dies without physical sustenance. Most of the Jedi, I would argue, become emotionally stunted thanks to their extremist approach. And Anakin ends up taking the other extreme because he's already formed attachments to his mother and others; there's no way he's going to cast them aside, and no one is able to teach him how to manage those attachments in a healthy manner. There has to be a better way.
And I think Anakin's son Luke will discover it. He shows his father the way to form a healthy bond with someone -- selfless, outwardly-motivated, without any conditions. It's not possessive. It's not controlling. And it's not about what the relationship does for him. It's about what he can do for others. He mourns his father's loss, but not to the point of despair. He rejoices in the good that remained within him, the good that overcame evil in the end. Anakin's flawed love might have blinded him, but pure, unconditional love will do the very opposite by illuminating his path back to the good side.
Next post, some more ambiguous words from Anakin...
"So love has blinded you?"
No, no, he assures her, that's not what he meant. But it's probably true, she smiles. While there's no doubt that Padmé is objectively beautiful, through Anakin's love-goggles she becomes the most beautiful creature in the universe, a veritable angel. That's the literal meaning of their silly exchange, (which probably ends in the bedroom, let's be honest).
But how about the symbolic meaning. Does love, in fact, blind Anakin? Considering that his attachment to Padmé will provide the driving force behind his fall to the Dark Side, yeah, I would say that love has made him short-sighted in the very least. He's so determined to prevent her from dying, he plunges blindly off a metaphorical cliff. The fact that his fall will ultimately lead to her death is just another ironic twist of the knife.
Does this mean that the Jedi knew what they were doing with all their non-attachment rules? Don't form connections with anyone, and you'll never be tempted. Right? In my opinion, that's like someone who's afraid of overeating and decides not to touch food ever again. Attachments are a normal, healthy, essential part of existence. We need to be connected. Otherwise our emotional selves wither up and die as surely as the body dies without physical sustenance. Most of the Jedi, I would argue, become emotionally stunted thanks to their extremist approach. And Anakin ends up taking the other extreme because he's already formed attachments to his mother and others; there's no way he's going to cast them aside, and no one is able to teach him how to manage those attachments in a healthy manner. There has to be a better way.
And I think Anakin's son Luke will discover it. He shows his father the way to form a healthy bond with someone -- selfless, outwardly-motivated, without any conditions. It's not possessive. It's not controlling. And it's not about what the relationship does for him. It's about what he can do for others. He mourns his father's loss, but not to the point of despair. He rejoices in the good that remained within him, the good that overcame evil in the end. Anakin's flawed love might have blinded him, but pure, unconditional love will do the very opposite by illuminating his path back to the good side.
Next post, some more ambiguous words from Anakin...
