Star Words: Episode VI, Part 37
Aug. 5th, 2021 12:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
matrilAt last the Emperor lays out his devious plan in all its details. Everything that seemed such a fortuitous circumstance for the Rebels was, in fact, part of his trap. He deliberately leaked the location of the shield generator. He fully expected the Rebellion to launch an assault, both on the moon and against the Death Star, and he's ready and waiting for it.
"Oh...I'm afraid the deflector shield will be quite operational when your friends arrive."
The cruel relish with which he delivers this line -- the snide sarcasm of I'm afraid when he's actually delighted -- ooo, it's pure hammy evil. I had so much fun playing Palpatine in these scenes for my One-Woman video. Try speaking any ordinary words spoken with this intonation. Fun times!
And this, for me, fully explains why Lucas brought back a Death Star for the third movie. People blather about it being a rehash, uncreative, blah blah blah, but it works perfectly as far as I can see. Palpatine deliberately re-created the circumstances of the first film, knowing the Rebels couldn't resist. Nothing would draw them out more effectively than a superweapon projected to be more powerful than the first -- but much, much, more vulnerable because it's still under construction, not yet operational. He dropped tantalizing crumbs: the location of the Death Star and its shield, the old Imperial shuttle and its code, the fact that he was personally overseeing construction. And sure enough, the Rebels came.
Why? To destroy the Rebellion once and for all, sure. But more importantly to the Emperor, to put Luke in such a perfect situation of devastation and despair that he must inevitably succumb to the Dark Side. That is his aim, first and foremost. That is what flips the familiar tropes on their head, so that we as an audience are required to shift our perspective completely. This is no longer just about blowing up a Death Star and flying home to a glorious hero's welcome. This is about Luke's soul.
This is the difference between a lazy rehash and a transformative reimagining. We want new stories, but we also crave the familiar, the resonant. So what we really need is something that takes the familiar and does something new and revelatory with it, granting us an astonishing new view. The ancient battle between good and evil, but with altered stakes. We still need to defeat the dragon, but what if the dragon is inside yourself? What if the only way to defeat the dragon is by reclaiming it as your father? What if, at the moment of greatest despair and hopelessness, the most courageous action is to throw away your weapon?
Next, the trap begins to spring....
"Oh...I'm afraid the deflector shield will be quite operational when your friends arrive."
The cruel relish with which he delivers this line -- the snide sarcasm of I'm afraid when he's actually delighted -- ooo, it's pure hammy evil. I had so much fun playing Palpatine in these scenes for my One-Woman video. Try speaking any ordinary words spoken with this intonation. Fun times!
And this, for me, fully explains why Lucas brought back a Death Star for the third movie. People blather about it being a rehash, uncreative, blah blah blah, but it works perfectly as far as I can see. Palpatine deliberately re-created the circumstances of the first film, knowing the Rebels couldn't resist. Nothing would draw them out more effectively than a superweapon projected to be more powerful than the first -- but much, much, more vulnerable because it's still under construction, not yet operational. He dropped tantalizing crumbs: the location of the Death Star and its shield, the old Imperial shuttle and its code, the fact that he was personally overseeing construction. And sure enough, the Rebels came.
Why? To destroy the Rebellion once and for all, sure. But more importantly to the Emperor, to put Luke in such a perfect situation of devastation and despair that he must inevitably succumb to the Dark Side. That is his aim, first and foremost. That is what flips the familiar tropes on their head, so that we as an audience are required to shift our perspective completely. This is no longer just about blowing up a Death Star and flying home to a glorious hero's welcome. This is about Luke's soul.
This is the difference between a lazy rehash and a transformative reimagining. We want new stories, but we also crave the familiar, the resonant. So what we really need is something that takes the familiar and does something new and revelatory with it, granting us an astonishing new view. The ancient battle between good and evil, but with altered stakes. We still need to defeat the dragon, but what if the dragon is inside yourself? What if the only way to defeat the dragon is by reclaiming it as your father? What if, at the moment of greatest despair and hopelessness, the most courageous action is to throw away your weapon?
Next, the trap begins to spring....
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Date: 2021-08-06 12:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-06 02:47 pm (UTC)