Dueling Locations in the PT - do they mean anything?

For some reason, I was thinking about the locations of all the duels in the PT.

TPM - (briefly) Qui-Gon vs. Maul, Tatooine Desert

- Jinn/Kenobi/Maul, Theed Palace

AOTC - Kenobi/Skywalker/Yoda vs. Dooku, Geonosis Hangar


ROTS - Kenobi/Skywalker vs. Dooku, Invisible Hand

- Mace et al vs. Palpatine, Anakin, Palpatine's office

- Kenobi vs. Grievous, Utapau Hangar and Landing Platform

- Yoda vs. Sidious, Senate Chambers, Coruscant

- Kenobi vs. Skywalker, all over the place, Mustafar

With the exception of the brief Tatooine clash, and arguably Mustafar, all of the duels take place in "man-made" structures, and not in nature.

Does this mean anything, or am I reaching?

 

Yes I think you are reaching! But In a man made structure there can be more complications like there are things to use the force to throw and stuff like that

 

I don't think you're reaching being as Lucas has made it so the Sith who were causing the violence were a cancer-esque influence on the Force so it could be symbolism that the violence wasn't natural.

It however could also just be that the inside loactions look cooler and are more in line with the OT's duels.

 

The blinding intensity of Maul's sudden attack is matched/mirrored by the blinding intensity of the sand/heat. The desert is vast, practically infinite, and a stranger may turn up (e.g. Omar Sharif memorably coming out of the mirage in Lawrence of Arabia - also dressed in black) at a moment's notice. It isn't symbolism, per se, but strolling around on a backyard planet filled with desert - after a millenia of peace - is probably the LAST place you'd expect to encounter a Sith.

The Sith manifestation has reached the heart of beauty; this is a fight in its very centre. The immense cylinders and tendrils of energy blazing through the power complex parallel the energy of Maul's assault and the Jedis' response to it.

This sequence is also a homage to a similar environment in the Sci Fi classic, Forbidden Planet: http://www.jitterbug.com/origins/forbidden.html

A much more shadowy and claustrophobic place than the previous TPM duels. The darkness of the Sith is closing in and threatening to smother and extinguish the flame of the Jedi for good. Dooku even sends parts of the ceiling and a pillar crashing down - but Yoda averts the danger. For now, the Sith have been held at bay, but like Dooku's escape, both orders live to fight another day.

Another relatively dark and claustrophobic environment plays host to the first of five engagements! The most obvious thing to say about this duel is that it is a deliberate parallel to the aesthetic and events of the duel between Vader, the Emperor and Luke in Episode VI.

A fight in the very heart of democracy - or the thinly-veiled tyranny that has already begun to pass for it (note the set decoration: a mural of a past lightsabre battle, ominous Sith-like statues and a control bank that Palpatine is sat at which looks very Imperial-esque). The fight caps itself off when the huge office window is smashed out and the membrane that separates the interior from the exterior - the comfortable lie from the horrific truth (then paralleled by Palpatine's "deformation") - is broken.

Perhaps a quieter version of Mustafar - the rocks are cool and solid, not hot and flowing. This is mere child's play for Obi Wan (he's even smiling and making quips to this end) - but his fight against Anakin will be something else entirely.

Another fight for democracy - on an even greater scale than the last between Mace and Sidious. After trashing the old system figuratively, Sidious begins trashing it literally by ripping the pods and hurling them at Yoda in a fit of unrepetant glee.

This confrontation begins high up and ends at the mouth of a lava flow. While Obi Wan initially may have hoped to bargain with Anakin and speaks to him like a brother (when things are at their physical highest), he ultimately is drawn into a combat, and after a lengthy and desperate duel, defeats Anakin and leaves him to die (when things are at their lowest and Anakin practically touches the mouth of the lava flow). Both characters skimmed the precipice of hell itself.

That's entirely up to you. A wise man once said: "Your focus determines your reality." I think most duels took place in man-made structures because that's where the combatants usually were. Interestingly, though

 

The only location that in itself is meaningful is the Yoda/Sidious confrontation. Granted, things like Obi/Anakin/Dooku mirrors RoTJ a bit and Mustfar may have some symbolism of Vader's emotions. Yoda/Sidious has Palpatine tossing around Senate pods like they are pieces of trash, excactely what he thinks of them. Near the end, the shot of Yoda Clawing and scratching to keep from falling off the pod is very symbolic of him losing his grasp on the republic while desperately trying to hold on.

Andy

 

I enjoyed reading Cryogenic's thoughts on this. Personally, I don't think the man-made nature of many of the locations has any particular significance. The only meanings in the settings of the duels (excluding environmental factors that play parts in the fighting, along the lines of the high ground thing) I see are:

AOTC
Obi-Wan/Anakin/Yoda vs. Dooku: the darkness here is used to accentuate the colors of the lightsabers on Anakin's face, creating a visual light side/dark side motif.

ROTS
Obi-Wan/Anakin vs. Dooku: the overall look of the area is intended to parallel the duel on the Death Star II from ROTJ.

Mace and Jedi vs. Palpatine, Yoda vs. Palpatine: fighting for the future of the Republic/Empire. The office is a bit of a stretch, but I could see it. I think it's much more obvious in the latter duel, though, with the Senate being torn apart and what not.

Obi-Wan vs. Anakin: fighting (and Anakin losing) in the hell-like environment goes along with the idea of Anakin selling his soul to the devil.

 

Dooku vs Anakin and Obi-wan - The Invisible Hand

This is just meant to remind us of Luke vs Vader over the Endor Moon.


Anakin vs Obi-wan

Evil reds/oranges meant to show Anakin's darkside, blue sabers/lights/sky to show Anakin's light side. Basically, Mustafar represents Anakin's inner struggle.


Mace vs Palpatine AND Yoda vs Palpatine

Both in political buildings, showing the fall of the republic and the rise of the empire.