Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Attack of the Clones

Near the end of the conversation that Anakin and Padmé have while she's packing in her apartment, she tells him, "Anakin, don't try to grow up too fast."  When he replies, "But I am grown up," he stands up, as if to prove his point by showing that he's taller than she is.


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Jocasta Nu's insistence that "if an item does not appear in our records, it does not exist!" is an example of what Yoda comments on in an earlier scene, after Obi-Wan remarks on Anakin's arrogance:  "A flaw more and more common among Jedi.  Too sure of themselves they are, even the older, more experienced ones."

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When Darth Tyrannus meets Darth Sidious near the end of the movie, he greets him with, "The Force is with us, Master Sidious."  Unless I'm mistaken, this is the closest that any Sith gets to saying, "May the Force be with you" in the entire series.  That none of them say this is an indication of the character of the Sith.  As Palpatine explains in Revenge of the Sith, "All who gain power are afraid to lose it."  The Sith want to keep the power of the Force for themselves, so they don't wish it upon others.

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

The Phantom Menace

Like Return of the Jedi, the title The Phantom Menace is ambigious.  There are three characters who could be "the phantom menace":  Anakin, who is only a child in this movie but will grow up to become Darth Vader and terrorize the galaxy; Palpatine, who uses his position as a senator to disguise his identity as a Sith Lord; and Darth Maul, who mysteriously appears in order to track down Queen Amidala and harrass her Jedi protectors.

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During their dinner conversation, Padmé tells Anakin, "Our ship was damaged, and we're stranded here until we can repair it," and he replies, "I can help; I can fix anything."  His prodigious technical ability seems to be an attribute of his status as the Chosen One.  In the same way that he will restore balance to the Force, he can restore balance to mechanical systems and get them to work again.

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While Qui-Gon cleans Anakin's cut, they talk about the stars, and Anakin comments, "I wanna be the first one to see 'em all!"  There may be a nascent feeling of conquest in this that's fulfilled later when Anakin becomes Darth Vader and takes over the galaxy with the Empire, but considered together with Anakin's interest in podracing, this also illustrates simply that he has qualities that make him a less than ideal candidate for a Jedi.  These are the same qualities that Yoda specifically warns Luke against in The Empire Strikes Back:  "Adventure.  Heh.  Excitement.  Heh.  A Jedi craves not these things."  That Anakin does crave these things may be part of why the Jedi council initially rejects him for training as a Jedi.

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In the movie, the chancellor is referred to only as "Chancellor Valorum," but in the expanded universe, his first name is Finis.  Finis valorum is the Latin phrase "the end of values."  Finis is a third declension masculine singular noun in the nominative case, and valorum is a third declension masculine plural noun in the genitive case.

Based on the little that's seen of him in The Phantom Menace, it seems that Chancellor Valorum is a chancellor "of values," as his name suggests.  (Senator Palpatine tells Queen Amidala that the "accusations of [Valorum's] corruption" are "baseless," but this might just be part of his manipulation.)  His name has more significance in light of Palpatine's replacing him as chancellor.  Valorum represents "the end of values" because once Palpatine becomes the chancellor, he uses deception to gain power and eventually turns the Republic into the Empire.

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Return of the Jedi

It's ambiguous who the titular Jedi in Return of the Jedi is.  Originally, I thought it referred to Luke, either specifically or as a representation of the whole Jedi order.  Yoda tells Luke that he will be a Jedi only after he confronts Vader.  Since he does confront him, he earns the title, and the order is revived in him.  As he tells the Emperor, "I am a Jedi, like my father before me."  By the end of the movie, the Sith have been defeated and the Emperor has lost his hold on the galaxy, so, in a broader sense of the title, the entire Jedi order can return from near extinction.  Luke is free to follow Yoda's instructions and "pass on what you have learned."

The "Jedi" in the title could also refer to Anakin.  He had been a Jedi and turned to the dark side, but near the end of the movie, he returns to the light side and becomes a Jedi again.

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

The Empire Strikes Back

When Han, Leia, Chewbacca, and C-3PO arrive at Cloud City, there are panels in the background that have a warm glow behind them:


By the time Luke arrives, however, after the Empire's trap has been sprung, this warmth has disappeared, and the panels are colorless:


This contrast in color illustrates the change that has occurred.  At first, Cloud City seems like an inviting place, but once the Empire's presence is revealed, it becomes a stark and unwelcoming environment.