Page 21 - Star Wars Insider #188

THE SKYWALKER SAGA
04
affair, President Bill Clinton’s
behavior brought a new level of
distrust of people in power as
Congress became bogged down
in impeachment proceedings.
His successor, George W. Bush,
pivoted the retaliatory anti-terrorist
military action in Afghanistan
in 2002 into a second invasion
of Iraq in early 2003, projecting
the U.S. into a much broader
role in the region than originally
contemplated. Although the
Separatists are the Republic’s
battlefield opponent in Revenge
of the Sith, the movie pulls back
the curtain on the enemy within:
Darth Sidious. The Sith Lord, in
his role as Sheev Palpatine, uses
corruption within the democratic
01 The Battle system to rise to the position of
of Coruscant. Chancellor and then exploits
the war, political machinations,
02 Anakin kills
Count Dooku and corporate greed to gradually
at Palpatine’s consolidate power.
behest.
03 Brothers-in- A Father Figure
arms Obi-Wan As the movie opens, the Separatist
Kenobi (Ewan
McGregor) Fleet has breached the Core and
and Anakin their leader, General Grievous,
Skywalker holds Chancellor Palpatine captive
(Hayden
Christensen). on his flagship, where Skywalker
and Kenobi race to save him.
04 Senator Although Anakin sometimes
Palpatine (Ian
McDiarmid). calls Obi-Wan a father fi gure, the
As much as his love
for Padmé Amidala
blinds Skywalker, so
too does his desire
for a parental figure
obscure his ability to
recognize Palpatine’s
true intentions.
Jedi Master acknowledges after
their fateful duel that they were
brothers. This parallels iconic
mythic struggles between siblings
from Cain and Abel in the Bible
and Quran to William Shakespeare’s
Hamlet, and in modern times from
John Steinbeck’s East of Eden to
classic TV series Dallas’ Bobby and
J.R. Ewing.
But it’s not Kenobi who has
become the steadfast confi dant
and trusted ear of Skywalker; the
avuncular Palpatine is the parental
figure who accepts the brooding
young man for who he is, rather
than trying to change him into
who the Jedi think he should be.
In Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
(1999), Anakin’s mother played
a crucial role in Skywalker being
a happy and good person despite
his circumstances. Shmi wants a
better life for her son and offers
him reassurance as he walks out
of her life and embarks on a new,
hopeful adventure. Deep down in
Anakin’s psyche exists the little boy
whose mother told him to never
look back and sent him on his way
with a promise of a better future.
As an adult, Anakin still craves that
trusted guiding hand.
After Kenobi is knocked
unconscious in their duel with
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