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Topic:
Who will be the hero of the 'StarWars' saga after ROTS?
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SHAD0W-JEDI
Registered:
May '02
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Date Posted:
1/24/06 5:34pm
Subject:
RE: Who will be the hero of the 'StarWars' saga after ROTS?
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It seems to me that what must be factored into this discussion is the nature of the question being asked... "Who will be the hero of the STAR WARS saga after ROTS"? In other words, how do you view the series now that the sixth and final movie is released?
If someone here wants to argue that if a person "just" watched ANH, they wouldn't see Vader as the central character - point granted. If...IF... that person JUST WATCHED THAT ONE MOVIE. But that one movie is simply one sixth of the whole. And what we are discussing here is the WHOLE.
Take that same person...and talk to them after seeing ANH and ESB. I daresay their view of a great many things would be different. Their view of Vader certainly would shift, and not simply because he is revealed to be Luke's father. The whole Luke-Vader dynamic shifts, becoming infinitely more personal. Vader is also revealed to be more complex than might have been thought simply from ANH... his offer to Luke to join him and "put an end to this destructive conflict" is intriguing and unusual, beyond a simple grab for power for power's sake.
NOW have that person watch ROTJ. Again, more layers, more complexity. I recall, at the time of its theatrical release, realizing that in the Emperor, we were seeing a character wholly evil through and through, that here, finally, was the TRUE source of evil int he Empire, far beyond the evil manifested in Vader. Sidious was truly, wonderfully AWFUL, his control over Vader terrible and sad to see. Again, the Luke/Vader dynamic was deepened and made more complex.
My point, which I am beating to death, I grant, is that if one watches the ENTIRE six film saga, either starting with TPM and moving through, OR watching in order of release, one's view of "what is going on here" changes... start with ANH and you start in one place...start with TPM and you start in another... but whatever the case, I still argue, respectfully, that you come to see the saga as the saga of "The Chosen One", his rise, his fall, his redemption, and his return to the Light. This is, indeed, THE story arc. No one watching ANH after having seen ROTS is going to see Vader's appearance in the way those of us watching in theaters in the late 70s did. To see the series in its entirety is to see things differently than one who has seen only one piece, or a few.
That doesn't mean that Luke isn't a hugely important character - he IS, and I have even argued on other threads that Luke is made, in many ways, to seem MORE like the Chosen One than Vader! It doesn't mean that Obi Wan, probably my overall favorite character, isn't crucial. Nor does it lessen the impact of Yoda. Or Leia. Or Sidious. BUT... that is the beauty and strength of STAR WARS in general... that this story is crowded with fantastic characters, each of which could well be "the star" of their OWN series. But, even so, that cannot transcend the centrality of Anakin/Vader.
SW is HIS story....
Shadow
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darth-sinister
Title: Manager Emeritus
Registered:
Jun '01
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Date Posted:
1/24/06 11:01pm
Subject:
RE: Who will be the hero of the 'StarWars' saga after ROTS?
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"It'll be a very different experience, because when Darth Vader walks into that spaceship with the princess, they're going to think, 'Oh my God, that's Anakin!' and they're gonna see Luke and think, 'Oh my God, that's his son!' And rather than a surprise when he says, 'I am your father,' it'll be like, 'Oh my God, finally he's told him!'"
--George Lucas
"If you see them in order it completely twists things about. A lot of the tricks of IV, V and VI no longer exist. The real struggle of the twins to save their father becomes apparent, whereas it didn't exist at all the first time [audiences saw Episodes IV, V and VI]. Now Darth Vader is a tragic character who's lost everything. He's basically a bitter old man in a suit.
'I am your father' was a real shock. Now it's a real reward. Finally, the son knows what we already know.
Its a really different suspense structure. Part of the fun for me was completely flipping upside down the dramatic track of the original movies. If you watch them the way it was released, IV, V, VI, I, II, III - you get one kind of movie. If you watch I through VI you get a completely different movie. One or two generations have seen it one way, and the next generations will see it in a completely different way.
It's an extremely modern, almost interactive moviemaking. You take blocks and move them around, and you come out with different emotional states."
--George Lucas, The Making Of Revenge Of The Sith.
-----signature-----
Stewie: "Oh, this is an even bigger jackpot than when the Emperor
came up with the formula for great Star Wars dialouge."
Palpatine: "Something, something, something. Dark side.
Something, something, something complete."
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Rossa83
Registered:
Sep '05
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Date Posted:
1/24/06 11:23pm
Subject:
RE: Who will be the hero of the 'StarWars' saga after ROTS?
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I think that the saga has many heroes. OBW is definetly a hero. He has his flaws, but no more than Luke has. Without OBW the galaxy would be in utter darkness. Yoda is a hero for the same reasons as OBW. Although, I wouldn't put him as high in the hero ranking as OBW - Yoda is more of the wise allknowing wizard. Anakin was kind of a hero, but an utterly flawed one. Luke is a hero, but not the ultimate. He is cocky and hasty. By the time of ROTJ, however, it seems that he has managed to become OBW and Anakin melted into one, which is a good thing. Through the entire saga, however, I would say that OBW is the hero. He is the relentless good guy who will never give up no matter what the odds are. He believes in the goodness of a society and is willing to die for them. He loves and cares, but he also knows what must be done. In the OT Luke is the hero, in the saga I see OBW as the hero. But that's just me 
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