Why does Luke wear black in ROTJ?

Every sign I can think of points to black being the color of the sith. Vader, Maul, the Emperor, Dooku, etc. all wear black, and not one Jedi I can remember does. Yoda, Obi-wan, Mace, etc. all wear tan or beige colored clothing.

So why is Luke wearing black in ROTJ? Do you think there is any significance?

 

The way it is now, yeah, the black is indicative of the Dark Side, but before that, it was kind of up in the air. Before the Prequels, the black outfit Luke wore was considered Jedi garb. Look at any of the action figures. I know the figures aren't canon, but they're from Lucasfilm, so up until the Prequels, Lucas thought the black outfit was Jedi garb as well. Now it's Sith clothing, so I would say, like in the first sentence, that it shows Luke's teetering towards the Dark Side.

Personally, I would have preferred that as being the Jedi uniform. It's much cooler than the hermit outfit Obi-wan wore, which somehow became the Jedi clothing.

 

According to the book Magic of Myth:

Lukes Transformation: Even Luke's clothing reflects his transformations as he treads the hero's path. He changes from an uninitiated farm boy in white, to a "hot" pilot in bright orange, to a cool, calm Rebel commander in Khaki. When he steps out of the mist in ROTJ, he has become a mysterious cloaked figure like his father. While his costume bears some resemblance to the boots, pants and kimono jacket of his orignal Tatooine garb, they are now all in black. Perhaps they symbolize his growing acceptance of his shadow side and of Vader as his father.

 

I remember a quote, perhaps from one of the art books... Hamill remembers that when he saw the design he commented to George that it looked like Vader. George said it was supposed to.

 

Because black is slimming. And it goes with everything.

It's also as far as you can get from the white he wore as a child on Tatooine. It shows that he's changed.

 

Agreed. Its all about color motifs with the OT.

Note the transition from white to grey to black.

 

Luminara Undili and her padawan Barris Offee both wear black, as did Anakin, who, even though he's not the best example, was still a Jedi.

 

I like to think (and I know I am off base) that Luke represents the new Jedi. The old Jedi order is gone, and Luke is the last of the Jedi, so her represents that things are going to be different (such as getting married and having children).

 

I remember a quote, perhaps from one of the art books... Hamill remembers that when he saw the design he commented to George that it looked like Vader. George said it was supposed to.

Mark: "Looks Vaderish."
George: "That's the idea."



Yeah, I'm of the mind that it was symbolic of Luke being very close to going over the edge. The Force choke he used could also be considered a sign of that.

 

I think the Force choke is a bad example. He was using that as a means to get enemies out of the way. He wasn't doing it out of anger or anything. I think it was beeter doing that then taking a lightsaber to them. That would have been more painful and the choke probably was quick.

 

Yeah, I'm of the mind that it was symbolic of Luke being very close to going over the edge. The Force choke he used could also be considered a sign of that.

absolutely agreed.

I think the Force choke is a bad example. He was using that as a means to get enemies out of the way. He wasn't doing it out of anger or anything. I think it was beeter doing that then taking a lightsaber to them. That would have been more painful and the choke probably was quick.

Saberweilder, despite being brothers in Philly-Areaness, I couldn't disagree more - we all know jedi have methods of getting past people that do not involve force choking or lightsaber related agression. i think that with luke's dress AND the choke in rotj lucas is trying to spell out with no uncertainty that he is still walking a dangerously thin line - consider that much of the climax of rotj is luke nearly going over to the dark side, nearly giving in to his anger and killing vader.

 

I agree with Loco-for-Lucas. I can't stand the Jedi outfits in the Prequels. Luke's outfit in ROTJ is really neat-looking, looks practical for combat and sneaking around, and has a military cut to it. Sticking all the Jedi in those monk-like robes was a mistake. A variation on Luke's ROTJ outfit would have been so much cooler.

 

luke is supposed to mirror vader. always was. the robitic hand the black glove the black suit. he is not necessarly on the path to the dark side but he is on the path to identify with his father.

his whole quest right from the start was to learn about his father.

I read that quote by hamiel also. and the book magic of myth pretty much spells it all out. I went to the exibt a few years ago and it is mentioned.

 

I find it a little interesting Dooku wears a similar coustume (although it's dark brown, not black) but wears a cape instead of a cloak.

 

One question I do have is, who taught Luke hopw to do that then? Sure, he could teach himself, but the choke isn't strictly a dark side power. I do agree that Luke was walking a dangerous line, but still, these were also enemies we are talking about.

Sure Luke could have used a mind trick or a force push or soemthing, but I just feel like it was the right thing to do at that said time. That is just me though.

 

In A New Hope, he's wearing white - innocence, 'goodness'. In Empire, he's wearing grey (whilst training with Yoda) - unsure, neutral as he finds out more about the Dark Side. In Jedi - black. Okay I know he's not an evil tyrant but we do see lots of anger, like when he kills Vader. But at the end, he has some white on his black outfit, possibly showing that he is good and not dark, or maybe good will always triumph over evil or whatever.

Just my opinion.

 

We do see lots of anger, like when he kills Vader.

He doesn't kill Vader, Palpatine does.

He wears black because Dash Rendar gives him those robes (check SoTE). He comments on how they're not quite traditional Jedi Robes, but they are close enough.

 

I still say that wasn't a force choke, but a silent Jedi mind trick.

 

Luke was a sloppy eater, and stains don't show as much on black.

 

I think that as well as symbolising how close Luke is to the Dark Side, it's also showing that now his training is almost complete, he has a very different, and very much darker purpose. To me, it also shows his acceptance of the grim knowledge that he is the last of the jedi, and the responsibility falls on him to succeed.

And in response to the 'How did he learn to do that' question from Saberwielder...

I think that one has to consider use of the force in a far more organic way than 'Force Push, Force Choke, Force Stun, etc.' if you think about it, that very skill you would be using in making rocks levitate is still applying energy in a certain direction. You could choke somebody that way, easily.

I think it's symptomatic of gamers to consider force disciplines in that highly artificial way. I've just completed KOTOR II, so I can see where you might get that idea from, and I'm not suggesting that it ought to be any different - I don't know of a way that you could implement a more organic system.

 

Because black is slimming. And it goes with everything.

It's also as far as you can get from the white he wore as a child on Tatooine. It shows that he's changed.

I agree. he just thought it looked bad ass. He's no longer an innocent kid. He's at the darkest point in his life so far.

 

"He doesn't kill Vader, Palpatine does."

Ouch, sorry my bad. I meant unleashing his anger on Vader and lobbing his arm off.

 

From the very first time I have always interpreted Luke's black outfit as a strong visual proof of his flirting with dark side (while I was pretty sure that the Ob1's clothes represented the true Jedi costume.) I do not think that it is a coincidence that after the Emperor's death -when Luke is carrying Vader to his shuttle- the shirt is opened, and we see a lighter (dark grey, but not black) piece of linen at the neckline. It reminds me of Yin Yang.

Umm, and there was a little devilish voice deep inside me whispering like "black outfit including a cape in the hotness of Tatooine, huh? is there a Force Chill, or what?" But of course it looked great.

 

also when u first saw jedi u thought luke's wearing black maybe he will turn to the dark side, maybe leia will have to save the day etc

u have to remember we needed to have some doubt that luke would choose good over bad right until the end of the film eg he is becoming more and more like his father until he realises right at the end and rennounces the growing darkness within him