Star Words: Episode VI, Part 15
Mar. 4th, 2021 10:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
matrilBereft and uncertain, Luke confides in Artoo that he doesn't believe he can do this alone. It's then that Obi-Wan's visage appears for the third time since his death (at least onscreen -- maybe he popped up all the time during Luke's training) to offer comfort. Of course, Luke isn't much in the mood for comfort from the guy who lied to him about his father.
Obi-Wan then offers a waffle-y sort of explanation that Vader destroyed the good man who was Luke's father, so his words were true....from a certain point of view. Luke repeats this phrase with pitch-perfect disbelief. Quite justified, right? Yet Obi-Wan responds with a peculiar bit of counsel.
"Luke, you're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view."
Well, let's acknowledge the out-of-universe stuff first of all. George Lucas's story went through dozens of iterations before he hammered out the final script for the first Star Wars, with lots of ideas discarded or re-worked. This includes some notions of evil fathers and surprising parentage. But Darth Vader as Luke's father wasn't officially sewn into his backstory until after the resounding success of the first film allowed Lucas to continue the story. Put simply, he had to retcon. And Obi-Wan/Alec Guinness is given the unenviable task of twisting himself into knots over the straight-up lie he told Luke two films ago.
Still, it doesn't bother me that much, because I'd rather explore in-universe reasons. I think Yoda's words say it best. It's not unfortunate that Luke learned the truth...but it is unfortunate that he wasn't ready for the burden yet, that he rushed in and was confronted with the awful knowledge at the worst possible moment. When is the appropriate time to tell your protégé that he's actually the son of one of the most evil beings in the galaxy? When can you be sure he's ready? Tell him too late, and you'll risk just the sort of disaster that happens to Luke. Tell him too early, though, and he won't have the maturity to process it.
I can also easily imagine that old Ben is still rather traumatized by all those memories and prefers not to relive them most of the time. Imagine having to face your former friend, brother and padawan in lethal combat. Imagine having to maim him and leave him to die. Wouldn't you fabricate a sort of version of reality wherein that beloved friend is actually dead, destroyed and replaced by his Sith counterpart? How else could you bring yourself to harm him?
Remember how Yoda convinces him to confront Anakin. The boy you trained, gone he is. Consumed... by Darth Vader.
Welp, we can all agree on Obi-Wan's trauma. But is there any wisdom in this clinging to "our own point of view"? Is it more than just self-delusion? I think so. Let me offer an example from fandom. I've seen many, many discussions about Luke's choice toward the end of this film to throw away his lightsaber and refuse to fight, resulting in a vicious lightning-bolt attack from the Emperor. Particularly after the prequels revealed that his weapon could have deflected the lightning, they wonder why in the world Luke was so stupid as to toss it aside. Why is he giving up and allowing himself to be defeated?
That's because their point of view is centered on "dying=defeat" and "surviving/killing the bad guy=victory." But they're missing the core message of this moment. There is a victory that transcends mortal things. That even death cannot touch. The battle was never for Luke's life. It was for his soul. And Luke has already won.
I'll be examining that scene in greater length when we arrive there in this series (particularly in what this moment then means for Anakin), but for now let's just consider what a difference it makes to shift our point of view from physical triumph to spiritual triumph. Is Luke defeated? Only if you cling to the physical point of view. That is why I'm already cheering in that moment, before Anakin steps forward to save him. I'm already filled with joy at the eucatastrophe, "joy beyond the walls of the world, poignant as grief." (Tolkien's perfect description of the truly transcendent happy ending.)
Can alternative points of view be delusional, even dangerous? Of course. We need to examine our biases closely and not be so myopic that we miss the bigger picture. However, there are certain truths I will cling to with all of my might.
Also, I managed to work this phrase into the version of "Who Am I?" that I wrote for Les Starwarbles: "I know Ben wouldn't lie; it's Vader who is wrong/I won't deny the truths I've clung to for so long." I had so much fun writing those lyrics.
Next time, more explanations from Ben...
Obi-Wan then offers a waffle-y sort of explanation that Vader destroyed the good man who was Luke's father, so his words were true....from a certain point of view. Luke repeats this phrase with pitch-perfect disbelief. Quite justified, right? Yet Obi-Wan responds with a peculiar bit of counsel.
"Luke, you're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view."
Well, let's acknowledge the out-of-universe stuff first of all. George Lucas's story went through dozens of iterations before he hammered out the final script for the first Star Wars, with lots of ideas discarded or re-worked. This includes some notions of evil fathers and surprising parentage. But Darth Vader as Luke's father wasn't officially sewn into his backstory until after the resounding success of the first film allowed Lucas to continue the story. Put simply, he had to retcon. And Obi-Wan/Alec Guinness is given the unenviable task of twisting himself into knots over the straight-up lie he told Luke two films ago.
Still, it doesn't bother me that much, because I'd rather explore in-universe reasons. I think Yoda's words say it best. It's not unfortunate that Luke learned the truth...but it is unfortunate that he wasn't ready for the burden yet, that he rushed in and was confronted with the awful knowledge at the worst possible moment. When is the appropriate time to tell your protégé that he's actually the son of one of the most evil beings in the galaxy? When can you be sure he's ready? Tell him too late, and you'll risk just the sort of disaster that happens to Luke. Tell him too early, though, and he won't have the maturity to process it.
I can also easily imagine that old Ben is still rather traumatized by all those memories and prefers not to relive them most of the time. Imagine having to face your former friend, brother and padawan in lethal combat. Imagine having to maim him and leave him to die. Wouldn't you fabricate a sort of version of reality wherein that beloved friend is actually dead, destroyed and replaced by his Sith counterpart? How else could you bring yourself to harm him?
Remember how Yoda convinces him to confront Anakin. The boy you trained, gone he is. Consumed... by Darth Vader.
Welp, we can all agree on Obi-Wan's trauma. But is there any wisdom in this clinging to "our own point of view"? Is it more than just self-delusion? I think so. Let me offer an example from fandom. I've seen many, many discussions about Luke's choice toward the end of this film to throw away his lightsaber and refuse to fight, resulting in a vicious lightning-bolt attack from the Emperor. Particularly after the prequels revealed that his weapon could have deflected the lightning, they wonder why in the world Luke was so stupid as to toss it aside. Why is he giving up and allowing himself to be defeated?
That's because their point of view is centered on "dying=defeat" and "surviving/killing the bad guy=victory." But they're missing the core message of this moment. There is a victory that transcends mortal things. That even death cannot touch. The battle was never for Luke's life. It was for his soul. And Luke has already won.
I'll be examining that scene in greater length when we arrive there in this series (particularly in what this moment then means for Anakin), but for now let's just consider what a difference it makes to shift our point of view from physical triumph to spiritual triumph. Is Luke defeated? Only if you cling to the physical point of view. That is why I'm already cheering in that moment, before Anakin steps forward to save him. I'm already filled with joy at the eucatastrophe, "joy beyond the walls of the world, poignant as grief." (Tolkien's perfect description of the truly transcendent happy ending.)
Can alternative points of view be delusional, even dangerous? Of course. We need to examine our biases closely and not be so myopic that we miss the bigger picture. However, there are certain truths I will cling to with all of my might.
Also, I managed to work this phrase into the version of "Who Am I?" that I wrote for Les Starwarbles: "I know Ben wouldn't lie; it's Vader who is wrong/I won't deny the truths I've clung to for so long." I had so much fun writing those lyrics.
Next time, more explanations from Ben...
no subject
Date: 2021-03-05 01:30 am (UTC)This might be a little tangential to "having to retcon," but not that long ago I came across a (scanned) copy of a science fiction/fact magazine from the people who published "Starlog" from 1978, with a news item about "Star Wars II" that said there'd either be "a young, handsome Darth turning rogue Jedi, killing Luke Skywalker's father and being pushed into a pool of molten lava by avenging angel Ben Kenobi," or "Darth as being, in reality, Luke Skywalker's father"... I suppose "shocking revelations" didn't spread quite so far and fast back then. In some ways, revealing "the wise old mentor" to be not quite as honest as first expected seems more interesting to me than "setting him from the beginning to avoid having to explain something away later."
Your take on the later scene is a good one to consider, although I'm stuck imagining accusations that "things have to work on the most basic inside-the-story level before we'll permit deeper interpretations." Still, there'll be another chance to discuss that later.