Why does Luke wear black??

Because according to Han in Union, Luke gets dressed in the dark.

 

Symbolically, the black outfit shows Luke accepting that he could be like his father. He did surprise Vader when Luke called him 'father' when the met on Endor.

On the ROTJ DVD, one of the commentators did note that for their last fight when Luke is under Palpatine's throne, having an actor, dressed in black, hiding in a darkened black set with another actor wearing even more black looking for him, was probably not the best visual choice. But it was symbolic, so they did it anyway.

 

Because in the GFFA, black is the new black!

...and all that symbolic stuff.

 

Luke dressed in black was something that I have never liked. It may have to do with conflicting emotions as some have suggested. If so, it was just setting up Luke to become the next Vader. However, I have always seen it as a way to amp up Hamill as a real serious Jedi that everyone expects him to be. The problem is . . . Hamill just wasn't convincing for me as THE Jedi who would defeat Vader, the Emperor and all that they had created. Consider the whole Jabba episode at the beginning of ROTJ.
After seeing ROTJ, I always thought it would have been better if Luke was reconceptualized as a "healer" rather than some "bad *ss" Jedi. To some extent, he was that, but Hamill would have been far more believable as a "Jesus" figure. A though I do dislike the Western religious infusion, I do find it easier to use it to explain this point. When you look at the size difference between Luke and Vader in ROTJ, it is so dramatic as to almost be comical. I know, I know, size matters not. But thats the whole point. Up until ROTJ, Hamill convinced all that Luke had the potential (blew up Death Star, Rebel leader, 1st confrontation with Vader), but there was no way for Hamill to outVader Vader. Luke is being set up as the one who would bring about the fall of the Empire, much the same way the Zealots set up Jesus. It is in ROTJ that his character should have taken on the "healer" role (Han's eyesight). Hamill/Luke is just too unconvincing as more powerful. Consider the fight scene with Vader, was it really all that convincing? Partially, only because they turned Vader into this hulking knight who can't move much. With this said, a more in depth exploration/explanation of the Force would ensue. Imagine this . . . ignore all the stuff about individuals trying to bring balance back to the Force. Suppose the Galaxy had been so unbalanced (i.e. Sidious) that the Force itself would not tolerate that and seek to correct itself. Enter Luke. His power is not so much about his own talents and skills in using the Force but rather the Force itself working through Luke like a conduit to right the Galaxy. He would become like a Moses "parting" the Red Sea, not through his own talents, but as this conduit.
There's a bit more but I'm just rambling and tired and hopefully explained why I never much liked ROTJ. Basically, I thought Luke was small and weak.

 

Luke wears black because he hates Black people.

 

I would say that the Luke and Vader fight wasn't convincing because essentially, Luke had already won the battle off-screen. Ever since escaping from Vader in ESB, he had only grown more powerful and had already surpassed Vader before ROTJ started. That being said, Luke wearing black doesn't really Vader-ize him, but rather symbolizes the fact that he's grown beyond what Vader is.

 

I think that Luke wearing black is a sign of his maturity. We all agree that Luke's character (And Mark Hamill's acting) reaches a high point in this movie. His sombre clothes, as well as his cool-headed behaviour reflect his increased maturity from the previous two films.

Plus, its damn cool that he'll "Never join the Dark Side", but he'll still wear a wicked-looking suit. Take that Emperor!

PS: Has anyone seen the cover of Dark Empire? (The paperback version) It has the best picture of Luke in this outfit I've ever seen.

 

With all due respect, the Jabba scenes established Luke as THE "bad @ss." From his entrance, to killing the rancor, to "that's the last mistake you'll ever make," to "free us or die," to destroying Jabba's crew pretty much by himself.

As far as his physical size compared to Vader, ever hear of David and Goliath? A kid versus a giant. In the book "Star Wars: Magic of Myth" it describes this size descrepency as common in western mythology. Walter Burkert is quoted regarding this as follows: "The prospective victor and the antagonist are made opposites in every respect: the victor will be bright, handsome, nice, young, perhaps slim and small, but tough and virtuous, while the adversary will be dark, ugly, repulsive, old, big, and powerful.....The contrast between light and darkness obtrudes itself." This quote was from a book he wrote in 1979 about Greek mythology and had nothing to do with Star Wars. Having said that, it describes Luke and Vader perfectly.

According to Lucas, everything was set up to be stacked against Luke in the audience's mind. To give doubt to the outcome.

 

I take your Walter Burkert quote. That is reasonable. And yes, I have heard of David and Goliath. However, I still never cared for the Jabba scenes. If Luke was such the "bad@ss," why did he even fall in with the Rancor? Because he had a dumb plan- force jack a blaster from a pig-guard and then what? I mean really, what then? Use a blaster, a non-Jedi weapon, in a room rull of guards and others, including the ones your trying to save. If that was such a great move, why didn't Lando join in. I just don't see it, never have. As far as the dialogue, those lines just aren't very . . . diplomatic, perhaps not the best word to use, but, it just isn't convincing.

 

I don't think I've ever heard anything that has made more sense!

And in ANH he wears white because he hates white people

Please continue

 

The Rebel flightsuits are orange because they hate... umm... well Jar Jar is sort of orange...y?

 

In the 97 SE, Jabba looked Orange too, maybe they hate both of them

 

Let's not forget he wears brown in ESB as well because he hates tanned people

 

Does that mean Han hates Smurfs?

 

*gasp*

 

He very well must hate Smurfs. As much as Gargamel did, infact, I wouldn't be surprised if when you look in the galley for the Falcon, you find recieps (sp?) for Smurf Soup and stew ala Gargamel. And Chewie was Han's counterpart for Azrael

 

he was proving the effectiveness of his dandruff shampoo.

 

Reading random silliness brings warm feelings to my heart.

 

Butt Edit: Okay, now that's just spam.

 

when did Han wear blue?

 

He is tilting...tilting close to the dark side

We also see this when he force chokes the two guards

 

In reference to the original post, as of 1983 there was no official Jedi outfit. Ben wasn't wearing Jedi attire on Tattooine. He was wearing Tattooine garb the same as everyone else, from Uncle Owen to several people waking along in Mos Eisley to the alien Luke sold the speeder to. Their decision in the prequels to make all the Jedi dress the same as Obi-wan in Ep IV seems kind of silly. Their decision to put Anakin's ghost in the same robes might be suspect except that Anakin (as of 1983) MIGHT have lived on Tattooine as well.

Of course now with the prequels we've established that Jedi wore brown hooded robes and loose fitting attire. Which makes Tattooine the perfect place for Obi-wan to hide during the Purge. He didn't even have to get a new wardrobe

 

Why does he wear black? Because it looks cool.

 

He's trying to be like Johnny Cash. Except Vader really hates it when he starts singing "Ring of Fire".

 

in the EU after ROTJ he wears what looks like his fathers armor and it looks kind of cool.just look at the cover of the dark empire graphic novel.