In Star Wars I, we meet Anakin as a child. It's fine that he's impetuous and impetuous with his raw talent--that's what children are like. But I'd like to see him start to hero-worship Qui Gon and Obi Wan, and strive to be like them in both manner and discipline. Anakin has no father, so these two men are his father figures. He would want to imitate them in all ways, because that element has so far been missing in his life.
That he leaves his mother at such a young age is of course rightfully important, as the series obviously shows. It's a loss that will stay with him and will affect his future decisions.
It concerns me that Qui Gon does nothing to free the slaves as both Anakin and Shmi hope, but I can see that it's important that he doesn't--if and only if the movie had done something with that fact, which it doesn't. And that is, in my opinion, a lack that contributes to Anakin not being a true tragic hero.
Because as Anakin grows older, he has no real noble goal. Othello at first wants to find the truth about an apparently adulterous wife and betraying friend so that he can have a just relationship to those he loves. Hamlet wants to find the truth and bring to justice his father's murderer--so much so that he won't take the word of his father's ghost at face value; he has to test it to find out for sure. All these are initially unselfish goals.
Anakin's goal...is to be a powerful Jedi. This is not really an unselfish and heroic goal.
What would have been a more noble goal? What if Anakin's desire to be a powerful Jedi had its roots in a deep desire to free not only his mother, but all of Tatooine's slaves? Who wouldn't root for a hero who wants that? What is more noble than a former slave who works hard not only to gain his mother's freedom but the freedom of all slaves?
That goal alone would have had me forgive a lot of Anakin's sins of impatience and arrogance, especially if he had harnessed his power with the discipline of both Qui Gon and Obi Wan. Yes, he was powerful, yes he had that power honed to a fine point, but it would not have been for the sheer lust for power, but for the deep love for his mother and the desire to give freedom to others. No doubt he would have not only been given a seat on the Jedi Council for this, but be a voting member as well--a high honor.
Who wouldn't have been as impatient as he would have been if the Jedi council had told him, "we sympathize with you, but now is not the time to free the slaves. You must wait"? Who wouldn't have felt compassion for him if he found he was too late to save his mother, and had failed in securing freedom for slaves? And who wouldn't have understood his motivation in turning to the Dark Side to make up for his failure, especially if the Jedi Council had said something to the effect of, "we told you so!"
That goal would have made his turn to the Dark Side and his enslavement to the Emperor in exchange for saving his mother and freeing the slaves painfully ironic, and terribly tragic. It would have made Padme's turning away from his now dark nature even more heart-rending. Anakin would have been the embodiment of the idea that "the end does not justify the means." And it would have made me even more eager to watch Star Wars IV, V, and VI in the hope that somehow Darth Vader would find some kind of redemption and eventual freedom himself.
But that didn't happen. Star Wars is not an epic opera on the scale of Wagner's Ring Cycle, or a classic tragedy on the scale of any of Shakespeare's tragic plays. And it's for this reason that I keep feeling disgruntled every time I watch Star Wars. It could so easily have been truly epic in theme and storyline instead of only in special effects, but just wasn't.
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Showing posts with label themes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label themes. Show all posts
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Star Wars Opera, Part I - the Tragic Hero
I was watching Star Wars II and III the other night and feeling quite disgruntled as I usually do when watching these movies. And yet, I cannot look away...
The reason is that because I am a writer, whenever a story irks me, I start taking it apart and figuring out how it could have worked. This may seem like arrogance on my part--who am I, after all, compared to George Lucas?--but writing and storytelling is my trade, and my education included analysis of great books and stories. It's not dissing Shakespeare if you analyze Romeo and Juliet to see how it works and why. Or even why it works for you and why it doesn't.
But I think that though the movies are fairly entertaining, if a few things had changed, Star Wars I, II, and III could have been a classic epic tragedy on a Shakespearean scale. It could even have been translated into a Wagnerian opera akin to the Ring Cycle. I mused briefly on this during my lunch hour on Facebook, and Emilie Storrs, an opera singer, mentioned the potentially Wagnerian aspect of the series. She is quite right.
The thing about classic operatic tragedies, however, is that like classic stage plays, the characters must be bigger than life, and it must be clear that they encapsulate some very noble characteristics as well as some serious tragic flaws. They must have tragic heroes/heroines.
In classic tragedy, the hero of the piece is generally a good person, but has a fatal flaw that propels him to eventual destruction of body, mind, and/or soul.
If you look at Shakespeare's Othello, for example, Othello is basically a good man. He is courageous and has integrity. You know he is because he is admired for those characteristics even amongst people who are not of his own race or country, so much so that he is given a position of great responsibility, which causes the villainous Iago to become envious and plot his destruction. However, Othello's fatal flaw is jealousy, so that it overwhelms his good sense and and propels him to destroy, ultimately, all that he loves, including himself. Yet, Othello is clearly a man in charge, who knows how to command respect until his fatal flaw overcomes him. In the end, you grieve that such a man is destroyed; he was noble and good once, a man of honor, until he let his jealousy get the best of him.
I wish I could say the same of Anakin Skywalker. It's clear to me that his impatience arises out of an extreme need to prove himself, which is the essence of arrogance. That, in turn evolves into Anakin creating a shield of invulnerability around him, a shield made of a need to protect himself from any idea that he may be weak or unable to control his environment. And if, in the end, it means accusing those who love him as being his enemies, so be it.
All along, it's pointed out that he has the talent, but not the discipline or the patience to become, for example, a full member of the Jedi council. He is, in essence, immature and remains so until we see him as Darth Vader in Star Wars IV. He can love, it's true. But it's a childish love, not a fully adult love.
Even as the adult Darth Vader, it's clear he's as impetuous and easily manipulated as a child; he is a slave to the Emperor Palpatine until the very end of Star Wars VI. Darth Vader is clearly powerful, more powerful than Palpatine. Why doesn't he ever strike out on his own? Even become an Emperor himself? He could. He has the natural power.
The immaturity persists. In essence, Anakin never really grows up. His death in the end is the death of a stunted child in a broken man's body.
What would Anakin Skywalker as a true tragic hero look like? What would make a noble and fully-adult Anakin turn against the Jedi?
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The reason is that because I am a writer, whenever a story irks me, I start taking it apart and figuring out how it could have worked. This may seem like arrogance on my part--who am I, after all, compared to George Lucas?--but writing and storytelling is my trade, and my education included analysis of great books and stories. It's not dissing Shakespeare if you analyze Romeo and Juliet to see how it works and why. Or even why it works for you and why it doesn't.
But I think that though the movies are fairly entertaining, if a few things had changed, Star Wars I, II, and III could have been a classic epic tragedy on a Shakespearean scale. It could even have been translated into a Wagnerian opera akin to the Ring Cycle. I mused briefly on this during my lunch hour on Facebook, and Emilie Storrs, an opera singer, mentioned the potentially Wagnerian aspect of the series. She is quite right.
The thing about classic operatic tragedies, however, is that like classic stage plays, the characters must be bigger than life, and it must be clear that they encapsulate some very noble characteristics as well as some serious tragic flaws. They must have tragic heroes/heroines.
In classic tragedy, the hero of the piece is generally a good person, but has a fatal flaw that propels him to eventual destruction of body, mind, and/or soul.
If you look at Shakespeare's Othello, for example, Othello is basically a good man. He is courageous and has integrity. You know he is because he is admired for those characteristics even amongst people who are not of his own race or country, so much so that he is given a position of great responsibility, which causes the villainous Iago to become envious and plot his destruction. However, Othello's fatal flaw is jealousy, so that it overwhelms his good sense and and propels him to destroy, ultimately, all that he loves, including himself. Yet, Othello is clearly a man in charge, who knows how to command respect until his fatal flaw overcomes him. In the end, you grieve that such a man is destroyed; he was noble and good once, a man of honor, until he let his jealousy get the best of him.
I wish I could say the same of Anakin Skywalker. It's clear to me that his impatience arises out of an extreme need to prove himself, which is the essence of arrogance. That, in turn evolves into Anakin creating a shield of invulnerability around him, a shield made of a need to protect himself from any idea that he may be weak or unable to control his environment. And if, in the end, it means accusing those who love him as being his enemies, so be it.
All along, it's pointed out that he has the talent, but not the discipline or the patience to become, for example, a full member of the Jedi council. He is, in essence, immature and remains so until we see him as Darth Vader in Star Wars IV. He can love, it's true. But it's a childish love, not a fully adult love.
Even as the adult Darth Vader, it's clear he's as impetuous and easily manipulated as a child; he is a slave to the Emperor Palpatine until the very end of Star Wars VI. Darth Vader is clearly powerful, more powerful than Palpatine. Why doesn't he ever strike out on his own? Even become an Emperor himself? He could. He has the natural power.
The immaturity persists. In essence, Anakin never really grows up. His death in the end is the death of a stunted child in a broken man's body.
What would Anakin Skywalker as a true tragic hero look like? What would make a noble and fully-adult Anakin turn against the Jedi?
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Emerald City Conference at the Bellevue Hilton, WA
I'm attending the Emerald City conference this weekend, which I always attend if I can. I'm having a blast connecting with friends and fellow writers again, talking about writing and the writing process. I also do tarot readings for them as well, just for fun, and it's a great brainstorming tool. :-)
I'm one of the workshop speakers, and I'll be talking about themes in stories. I frankly didn't get the whole thing written until last week, but just being around other writers--I don't know, the energy, whatever--has brought fresh realizations about the topic, so that I'm going to have to deviate a bit from my outline. But that's okay, as I don't think it'll deviate much from the Powerpoint presentation I've set up. Weird, because I didn't talk about themes with anyone tonight (actually, last night, as it's now in the wee hours of the morning. I'm going to be very tired tomorrow).
And, come to think of it, I think I left my conference bag at the hotel room of one of my friends, dang it.
But I think there's something in the air in writers conferences that just energizes the thought processes so that one's thoughts on story and writing and the rest gain a special clarity and focus, somewhat like the effect of getting a huge hit of pure oxygen to the brain. So now I have all this really clear way of expressing and illustrating the idea of themes in stories in my brain that I hope will last until after my workshop. :-D
After I'm done with the workshop, I'll see about posting my notes here and/or on my web site. But, they're just the notes, not the full workshop, so if I ever give this workshop again, you'll just have to attend. Anyway, I'm just so freakin' excited about what I'm going to talk about, I had to blog about it right away, even though it's freakin' 1:38 A.M.
Goodnight! Morning! Whatever!
I'm one of the workshop speakers, and I'll be talking about themes in stories. I frankly didn't get the whole thing written until last week, but just being around other writers--I don't know, the energy, whatever--has brought fresh realizations about the topic, so that I'm going to have to deviate a bit from my outline. But that's okay, as I don't think it'll deviate much from the Powerpoint presentation I've set up. Weird, because I didn't talk about themes with anyone tonight (actually, last night, as it's now in the wee hours of the morning. I'm going to be very tired tomorrow).
And, come to think of it, I think I left my conference bag at the hotel room of one of my friends, dang it.
But I think there's something in the air in writers conferences that just energizes the thought processes so that one's thoughts on story and writing and the rest gain a special clarity and focus, somewhat like the effect of getting a huge hit of pure oxygen to the brain. So now I have all this really clear way of expressing and illustrating the idea of themes in stories in my brain that I hope will last until after my workshop. :-D
After I'm done with the workshop, I'll see about posting my notes here and/or on my web site. But, they're just the notes, not the full workshop, so if I ever give this workshop again, you'll just have to attend. Anyway, I'm just so freakin' excited about what I'm going to talk about, I had to blog about it right away, even though it's freakin' 1:38 A.M.
Goodnight! Morning! Whatever!
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