PT ROTS Opera Scene New Observation

So after rematching ROTS, I seen something very interesting that was right up my ally. In the scene in which Palpatine is talking to Anakin during the opera performance, I noticed as Palpatine began telling the story about Darth Plagueis and his accomplishment in creating life and controlling death, the opera performance they were watching showed similarities to human fertilisation:

Notice it looks like an egg cell with sperm cells surrounding it and it appears as if one has penetrated inside of it.


And for comparison:


This image shows the similarities between the opera performance and the cytoplasm and overall consistency of the egg cell, which looks too similar for mere coincidence:



So overall, to me this appears as if it is the start of embryogenesis that ROTS opera scene may have tried to convey; to show the creation of life and DP's power to manipulate it. What does everyone think of this? Could it be an observation supporting Anakin was Plagueis' creation?

 

Yes I did notice that before at some point as a fleeting thought but quickly forgotten.

Nice catch to bring it up.

 

So I'm not the only one who thought that.

 

Yes, it seems pretty intentional.

 

I noticed it as well when I first saw it in theaters back in '05... I didnt know if GL was going for that but I made the connection when he was talking about creating life

 

I feel so stupid. This is so obvious now. I've been wondering for years if there were any message behind the opera itself. Duh. Super duh.


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SuperPersch

Oh, come on, sometimes everyone of us doesn't see the wood for the trees (myself included, here).

As an excuse for my lack of vision, may I highlight the further ambiguity of the scene?

While it's really a nice scene manipulation by the DP (director of photography) and an obvious hint for Darth Plagueis' capabilities, the scene furthermore shows the birth conception of Darth Vader in a metaphorical sense with Sidious' suggestions falling on "fertile" ground (i.e. Anakin's mind).

(One of my favorite scenes from RotS, now perhaps I fully understand the "why")

 

Great thought! I do have issue with you crediting the DP, though I would never want to take away from the amazing work Tattersall did on the prequels. I seem to remember there being a void in what the actual opera would look like during production, so it seems like a concept Lucas himself worked on throughout the process and probably landed on that bit of symbolism after he shot the scene-- in order to embolden those themes that, without these images, would remain ambiguous.

In fact I think this answers a LOT of questions that I had about the validity of what Palpatine was saying and implying. Seems to me Lucas is saying "Yep. This is true. Look at these Mon Calamari acting like sperm!"

George Lucas is one of those artists that make me burn with an immutable rage for being so ****ing talented and well-read (er...well-cinema'd). He took all the talent and didn't leave any for the rest of us.


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All I know is that is one of my favorite scenes of the saga.

 

Agreed. It's already one of the best scenes in the entire saga (in terms of lore, acting, music, visuals, etc.) and this hidden imagery/symbolism makes it all the more enjoyable. Nice observation OP.

-Darth Plagueis

 

It's all about the visual storytelling so when we get some of the most actually important dialogue ever in Star Wars he couldn't just leave it at that.

 

You know I never gave much to the symbolism of the scene before. I always just saw as some nice background visuals and its very interesting to think there is more to it. Another example of why this scene and ROTS as a whole is an amazing film.

 

I noticed what I was going on once I was old enough to know what fertilization was. I've been wondering exactly what's being fertilized for a while.

Is it Anakin's interest in the dark side? Is the galaxy being impregnated with the roots of the Empire?

The idea of it just simply alluding to Plagueis' powers is probably more the case than my two ideas, but it's good to know that opera scene can be interpreted many ways.



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Hehe, I was 12 turning 13 when this movie came out, and all I knew at that time was that it was one of my favorite scenes.

Later on when I watched it when I was older and less innocent, I thought much the same as you. It just makes the scene even better, as now there is more subtle visual implications to the already loaded statements Palpy's making.

Excellent scene.

 

I also have to add, watch the tail movements of what is believed to be sperm in the egg:

The spiracle movement almost perfectly mimics the movement of 'real life' sperm cells. Interesting to see the science and research that must have been invested into the scene to make it the way it was. Adds another level of significance in my opinion.

 

I certainly never thought of this but it was an awesome scene in the movie for sure. One of my favorite scenes when I first saw this movie in the theatre.

 

Awesome catch. And it's so obvious now you've pointed it out! Cool!

 

This was noticed years ago by, I think, HL&S

They most certainly do seem to watching some sort of "conception" scene.

 

Yeah its funny that I always wondered what was going on with the weird visuals in the opera show and now that its pointed out I see it…lol

 

NSFW

 

Lol

 

I don't remember the source, but I was always under the belief that for one split moment those ribbon things line up in the shape of Vader's helmet. I've never seen it. I don't know if it's a brief sub-conscious thing, or if I am just watching for something that isn't there.
I can totally see the egg and sperm thing, but I still want to see the Vader helmet vision.

 

Interesting

There is also a moment when the Mustafar building goes over the lavafall and Anakin jumps off it over lava, where the sinking structure looks like Vader's helmet. Don't have a screencap.

 

Okay, this is relevant now.