Darth Vader's Legacy in Mankind. (spontanious essay)

Note: I wanted to write an essay, But I could not submit this as it did not fit the topics offered in the competition. But I really felt like writing this, feedback would be great, wether positive or negative. Now without further ado, To the essay.

Darth Vader's Legacy in Mankind.
By: T800 December 30th 2004

Darth Vader, the dark lord of sith is perhaps the most memorable villain ever conceived. Why has he made such an impact on people? What differenciates him from say Dr.Doom or the Terminator? It's reasons are many and actually quite simple, infact too simple and this is why most do not fully grasp the appeal of Darth Vader and his story.

What strikes us most when we first look upon Darth Vader is his intimidating appearence. He towers most of the characters seen with him, his cloak seems to add even more to his already substantial mass. He is completely colored black from head to toe, and the metallic mask he wears has a very demonic quality to it's shape. He seems to be the dark side in it's most physical form, intimidating, cold and powerful. Ironically this crude aspect of Darth Vader is the least relevant as to what contributes to interest Darth Vader has bestowed upon him. What most tend to forget is that Darth Vader wears this unique attire out of necessesity and not as a fashion statement for evil.

One of Darth Vader's most sinister characteristics is the the continuous, uniform, relentless and metallic breathing that can be heard whenever he is present. This is the single and biggest clue as to the true nature of Darth Vader, he is a very damaged person, a cripple who's unable to breath under his own power. He depends completely on the equipment and attire he wears for his very survival as well as artificial limbs that he needs in order to be mobile and to function. This makes Darth Vader a paradox onto himself, an extreamly powerful being who is crippled beyond repair who every moment of his life needs what he dons in order to live. The most damning truth in this is how someone who seems all but invincible is at the same time extremely vunerable. From the metallic breathing, to the complete lack of flesh exposed as well as the status panel on his chest, constantly blinking with lights that displays his equipment functioning as it's supposed to, he has to trade his humanity in order to survive. It begs to ask the question 'Is living so precious that relying on crude machines and to never be whole again better then death?'

Dureing the period in which we see Darth Vader, he is a follower of the dark side of the force. Fear, hate, pain,suffering and death are what those loyal to the dark side feeds on for their power. Darth Vader's exsistence is all of that inside a cold shell. He should be dead with all the crippling injuries he has suffered, the hate he feels for being a victem of this dreadful exsistence, the air being constantly forced into his charred lungs is a constant reminder of his suffering and death being his usual method of diciplining others. This is the biggest missed aspect of Darth Vader, he is suffering, his exsistence is suffering. He is always struggling for breath, the iron lung he wears breathes for him however emotionally he can never accept this dependance, nobody could. This is always hinted as through the force he deprives others of air in order to coerce others to his will or to deprive them of life. He is makeing others aware of his pain, of what is like to exsist as him. As damnable as he can be, we ,the audience, have a tendancy to pity him. Does anyone, regardless of their crimes and their evil deserve such an existence? Is such a life better then death?

Having become a cominbation of man and machine in order to survive he has also lost the positive side of being human and to live, happiness. Suffering seemed to be all that he knew which is why he uses it on others so frequently and easily. It is obvious that he does not enjoy makeing others suffer or killing them, it has just become all he knows. The Dark side of the force has become all he had lef

 

He's also a living physical thesis of the man vs. the machine as well as a reminder of the dangers of becoming too reliant on technology - which I guess is the same thing.

 

I agree, so much of the sadness in Darth Vader;s character is that we see this towering, threatening, powerful figure that is second only to the Emperor and yet, when we see him unmasked, he is a weak, battle scarred old man who has lived a life of pain and misery trapped in his life support suit.

 

Excellent, one of the classic Lucas themes is the man/machine relationship. Nowhere is it more evident than the character of Darth Vader and the struggle of Anakin beneath the mask.

-Seldon

 

Beautiful.. and yes, I have always stated we all have a piece of Darth Vader in us. We cannot judge him, because we know we'd have done the same if we were in his place.
Great essay, T800, i couldn't have said it better..

 

Anakin wanted to resist change in his life and protect those he loved. It is a universal struggle of human frailty. It could've happened to anyone in his place.

-Seldon

 

T800,

That was great. I'll never look at the sad, injured man in the black mask again. Lucas did do a great job with him. Who else in any story is both the hero and anti-hero at the same time?

Beautiful essay.