Star Wars, Part 2

I have planned to finish off my article on Star Wars with my personal view on the more dramatic and intimate issues of the story. Originally, I plan to divert the attention from another film from 1977, Steven Spielberg’s ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ (‘CE3K’ hereafter), as both films curiously are influenced by a great film from the 1950s, John Ford’s ‘The Searchers’. Yet after some consideration, I find that are way more to be explored in CE3K and it totally deserves an article on its own. Thus, here I will only concentrate on a comparison between Star Wars and The Searchers, and there may be some overlapping points in my next article on CE3K.

John Ford’s ‘The Searchers’ (1956) is considered as one of the greatest work in the Western genre. What is interesting is that the Western film has served as a predominant influence for many American filmmakers of the New Hollywood era, especially those filmmakers active during the 1970s. I presume there are 2 key reasons for that. First, the film was shown as the time when most of these filmmakers were teenagers, so this film from the master of Western served as a good example for them. Second, the character and theme portrayed in ‘The Searchers’ seemed to resonate well with the attitude of the 1970s – the ambiguity of moral issues, the drifter, the alienation and so on. It should not be surprising that directors like Scorsese, Schrader, Milius, Lucas, Spielberg, Coppola and many others have paid homage of some kind to this film. The plot and analysis are prevalent on the internet, and here we will concern with its influence on our great space opera.

There are always scores to be settled in the family, be it Darth Vader / Luke Skywalker, Anakin / Obi-Wan, or Han Solo / Kylo Ren. I believe Lucas’ original genius is to create this tension between father-son relationship, and the desperation for both parties to get a bit closer. In ‘The Searchers’, the story was about a not-so-perfect male character, Ethan Edwards, who has to redeem himself for his past mistakes and prejudices. Certainly, the two films may be different in tone and outlook, yet in the ‘Star Wars’ movies, many of the male characters have fallen into a state of redemption, as they believe they are the culprit  of ‘screwing some good things up’. They believe that they are responsible for ruining the potential of some gifted individuals (e.g. Anakin, Ren and the Jedi Order), and lead these young guys to the Dark Side and chaos. Thus, they are often consumed with guilt and regret, and in some case they attempt to turn away from the problem – which is the case for Obi-Wan Kenobi in Episode 4 and Luke Skywalker. In ‘The Searchers’, Ethan was a drifter from home for many years, and he did not want to say where he has been to and what he has done. He wanted to remain anonymous and retreated from the stress he has got in life. I guess a good thing common between ‘Star Wars’ and ‘The Serachers’ was that, while the characters were courageous and often were willing to stand up to challenges, they were also complex and realistic characters, and reflected aspects in life that we might also identify with.

Characters who regretted their past mistakes would first tend to drift away to reduce the pressure of it. Thus, Obi-Wan Kenobi isolated himself from the Jedi clan, giving himself the new name ‘Ben’. When Luke quizzed about the name ‘Obi-Wan’, he said with a regretful tone that it was a name people has not mentioned for a very long time. He tried to run away from this identity, as much like Ethan Edwards in ‘The Searchers’. Yet, there was no way to hide, because at a certain point, they would have to confront their pasts. Obi Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader, and the aged Luke Skywalker have to come face-to-face to what they have done and the dark sides that have often hidden there, and Ethan Edwards had to face his own prejudices against Indians and his irrational obsessions, towards his sister-in-law and daughter-in-law. Obi-Wan felt that it was his own fault to create Darth Vader, as Darth Vader put it succinctly when he faced Obi-Wan for the final showdown, ‘The Circle has finally come around.’ Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker could only redeem themselves while facing his mistakes – albeit through their own sacrifices. Ethan Edwards, after rescuing his daughter-in-law, finally appreciated that there would be no place for him in the community, chose to leave and drift away once more, completing his redemption.  

What ‘The Searchers’ is driving at is the fact that we are always ‘searching’ for something – our identities, our roles and how we fit into the story. As Rey, our heroine in the new trilogy, has put it in The Last Jedi – ‘I need someone to show me my place in all of this.’ You do not have to carry a lightsaber to be able to identify with this statement. It is a universal condition for anyone, and we are eternally searching for our own meanings to exist in our world. While it seems that it is a more pessimistic end for Ethan Edwards – because he was literally going in circles, searching everywhere and eventually going nowhere. It is great to see that ‘Star Wars’ placed a more optimistic outlook in this issue. If one was willing to follow a moral conscience, much like the Jedi way, and exercised with reason when making decisions, they would eventually discover the right direction and the meanings for their own lives. If you feel that something has been awoken – then it is the time to wield it!!

-End-

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by Ed Law

18/12/2017

Film Analysis

Star Wars, Part 1

With the release of ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ this week, this year also marks the 40^th anniversary of the very first ‘Star Wars’ (1977) film. Through all my articles I have mentioned about ‘Star Wars’ in many occasions, and it should not be surprising because it is such a landmark film that has changed the way we look at films ever since, and its influence on subsequent films and pop culture is very evident. This time, it will be great for me to experience the Force with you. I feel that the greatest way to do this is to see the many connections this great film has with the other great works in cinema, and where ‘Star Wars’ stands in the cinematic universe.

Star Wars could be seen as a sublimation of the many great work that has influenced George Lucas when he was young. When he said he was inspired by the Flash Gordon series and other pop culture, he was also particularly influenced by Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, Yojimbo and The Hidden Fortress. For the latter film, the 2 underdogs that helped Princess Yuki and the general was certainly the inspirations for C3PO and R2D2, and Princess Leia was influenced by the Japanese princess. In terms of the theme and visual aspect, the film was also influenced by John Ford's The Searchers, David Lean' s Lawrence of Arabia, Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather, Stanley Kubrick's 2001 A Space Odyssey, and other films. Of course, the most important aspect was from the imaginative mind of George Lucas, his dream of constructing an epic space opera, and to deliver a sense of universal humanism to the audience through his many interesting characters.

The theme of Star Wars address a Kurosawan theme that has become very iconic the master apprentice relationships, and the passing on if knowledge and wisdom. The idea of Jedi Knight was very much inspired by Samurai culture, and the Jedi's code of morality was analogous to Bushido itself. The Force of the Jedi is the order, the Tao of the warriors from space. Generations of Jedi pass on their knowledge and skills to the younger apprentice (the Padawans), yet at the same time, they passed their wisdom and a moral outlook to them. Of course, the conflict of the story itself came at a point when this idealistic outlook went wrong . The idea of samurai clan itself, as I have said before in Harakiri, was that a loyalty to the clan was to be expected, and a sense of community was also the norm. The Jedi Knights followed this modus operandi, if they were willing to commit to this moral existence and stuck to the code of ethics demanded by the Jedi council. Yet, a sense of individualism could often raise issues, especially when it led to the direction of the Dark Force. Thus, for the Jedi Knights, they are likely experiencing a ‘giri versus ninjo’ conflict – the contradiction between instinct and duty. When Obi-Wan knew that Anakin Skywalker has turned to the dark force, did he have the duty to eliminate Anakin, or were there still any compassion to this young man? When Luke Skywalker finally confirmed that Darth Vader (Anakin Skywalker) was really his dad (yes that is a pretty hard fact to swallow), as a Jedi, did Luke have the responsibility to wipe this ultimate evil out for good, or, if Luke saw it a chance to reconcile with his long lost father, he might be lured to the dark side. We, like the characters in the ‘Star Wars’, have to face these many dark aspects throughout our lives. I feel that Lucas was trying to say that everyone would have a dark side and so possessed their dark secrets, yet the big question was to balance out and control this inherent contradiction, and directed oneself to the constructive and righteous directions in one’s life.

Even more, the idea of Jedi reminds me of an older trilogy – Hiroshi Inagaki’s ‘Musashi Miyamoto’. The young Musashi Miyamoto, portrayed by Toshiro Mifune, was quite similar to the immature Jedis. Musashi had courage, he had the basic sword-fighting skills and some battle experience, yet he was a rowdy and mean man, who was urged on success and winning fights. He was driven by an animalistic sense of instinct, and was seen as something of a wild beast. Only when he understood the Tao of swordsmanship, and grasped the philosophy behind these ideas, he became in control of himself, and he became a refined and respectable swordsman. The code of rectitude would guide his direction in life, and this was very similar to all the Star War films. One can argue that the three series of trilogy were all about such a process, though there was a twist in Episode 1 to 3: this was the opposite direction, about how a young man with potential has become the icon of evil itself.

If the above paragraphs appear as a guide book of how to be a great guy or someone admirable, then I guess the following section is about the other way around – how to be the most despicable horny little devil in any possible world. Darth Vader, our Mr. Evil in the film, has been compared numerous times to Michael Corleone, the head of the crime family in The Godfather, brilliantly delivered by Al Pacino. To be honest, Darth Vader and Michael have competed for the top place so many times in any lists of All Time Bad Movie Characters List. One should not be too surprised that these two characters are most related than one may imagine. Francis Ford Coppola, director for ‘The Godfather’, has been a mentor for George Lucas, and they have collaborated on a number of films before and after ‘Star Wars’. Thus, Lucas may have drawn influence from the saga of the Corleone crime family, and if one looks into the plot, there are quite a number of parallels between the sci-fi classic and the crime epic.

The first aspect is, both Darth Vader and Michael Corleone seemed to follow a very similar life trajectory. For ‘The Godfather’, though anyone will absolutely bow down to Marlon Brando’s stunning portrayal of Vito Corleone, can also appreciate that the whole trilogy can be considered as the life story of Michael Corleone, his rise and fall, and his achievements and regrets. If we are brave enough to take this further, then the first six episodes as a whole is the life story of Anakin Skywalker-Darth Vader, as he can be considered the only major character where a narrative emphasis has been placed for all the six films.

Both men have very similar personalities, and in a sense it shaped the fate that they would encounter. Both Anakin and Michael are very confident and egotistical individuals, and they have shown tremendous intelligence and potential when at a young age. Their mentors – Obi-Wan Kenobi, Master Yoda, or Don Vito Corleone – all have the strong beliefs they would become powerful individuals, that could self-actualize themselves and have a good control of their destinies. Yet, both Anakin and Michael have been tempted by evil, and they could not conquer their dark sides. Their obsessions for success and power have out-matched their good and positive nature. Their over-confidence urged them to do whatever they wanted, no matter what sort of cost or destruction it would eventually lead to for their families or universe.

When they were consumed by their evil sides, they were already going too far, and the consequences started to bite back on them. Michael was so obsessed with stabilizing his power and eliminating his opponents and the traitors in the family that he eventually assassinated his younger brother, Fredo, and it has led to tremendous regret for the rest of his life. His wife, Kay, chose to distance from him and eventually made him the most lonesome existence. When Anakin Skywalker has become Darth Vader, no matter how evil he has transformed into, there are still emotional demands he has to address to. While I would in no way consider Vader and Michael’s actions as justified or moral, I start to get more sympathetic about their situations. I believe that Coppola and Lucas devised these characters not because they merely wanted to break all-time records of unleashing the ultimate a-holes, but they wanted us to think about why these characters existed, and how they could reach such a nasty situation. When Michael has killed Fredo and sat alone in the room and contemplated, his facial expressions of regret was genuine – he could never imagine he would do that. At the shocking revelation of ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ – I understand from the older generations it was a genuine shock for them back in 1980, some sort of a turning point for them when they looked at the story – I feel that Darth Vader at that very moment was genuine, not being a hypocrite like the opportunist known as Palpatine.  ‘I am your father’ from ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ was as desperate as a plea as ‘Let’s go home, Debbie’, said by Ethan Edwards in ‘The Searchers’. It was a cry from the dark literally, a need for love and compassion. Darth Vader has been portrayed as rather distant and cold in Episode 4, which I think was deliberate to illustrate such a turning point, and behind the black mask was just someone consumed by regret as much as evil. Thus for both Anakin and Michael, they had a common need to balance out their responsibilities for whom they cared and addressed to their demands of his darker side, yet they unfortunately failed to make wise choices.

Both men would eventually ask for redemption. Darth Vader sacrificed himself for his son, and his unmasking symbolized there were still some goodness in him no matter how evil he has once become. Michael Corleone eventually lost his daughter, someone he really cared, as if karma has come to punish him for what he has done. After all, both their stories had a tragic and fatalistic element – because while they might have enough freedom to avoid themselves from falling into the trap, they became the monsters because they could not appreciate or escape the clutches of their darkest horizons. Things, after all, are often beyond our control, yet we still have to possess the wisdom and perseverance to make choices we will not come back to regret. Then, you will have the Force with you, whichever universe you are in!!

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by Ed Law

15/12/2017

Film Analysis