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I just saw RotS for the second time yesterday. I noticed something.
Obi-Wan grins an an awful lot in the movie. Usually when he's just done something incredibly rash, like jump down into a circle of battle droids, or crash a battleship. I'm wondering if three years of constant war hadn't made him reckless to the point of not caring if he lives or dies? Or is that Jedi serenity gone whacko?
Anakin and Padme come off much better in the second movie, though I really miss the rumoured Padme-founds-the-Rebellion scenes. They sound like two young people who are just trying to make a life for themselves in a society that is flaking apart -- and having a hard time because their cultural expectations are so different.
Anakin, who isn't as smart or as politically adept as Padme, is trying to make a go of things when he's got major baggage of Jedi philosophy. When Yoda tells him he should rejoice for those that have passed into the Force, you can almost see Anakin close down; each movie has Anakin losing a person he loves -- Qui-Gon in the first, his mother in the second -- and all he learned from those events is that people he loves leave him. The fact that he had premonitions but can't avert them just makes it more torturous, instead of helping him prepare for loss.
Frankly, I think a lot of the Jedi philosophy as presented is badly-distorted from the original intent. The idea of being happy for people who die makes sense from a purely logical "joining with the Force is bliss" viewpoint, but completely ignores the people who are left behind. If the Jedi allowed mourning as well asking for celebration, it would make more sense -- but the Jedi are stranglingly orthodox about these things.
Also, the idea I think Lucas is trying to poach is Taoist, about accepting that you will lose people and things you care for, and being able to live through that loss. He didn't do a good job of poaching it, though.
And on Saturday,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
twistedchick and I watched Star Wars, the original movie, after attending the Strawberry Festival with ellen_fremedon (I got an alpenstock at auction! How geeky cool is that?).
It was an uncut, unedited version, on videotape -- no doubt that Han shoots first, no Jabba the Hutt, all quite cool. And I'd forgotten what an adorable puppy Luke is -- the boy *is* an eighteen-year-old boy, adult one minute, playing with model starcraft the next.
But the movie really does look different once you've seen RotS. You notice all of Obi-Wan's shifty little side-glances (looking at a snarky Force-spirit, perhaps?) and how he's lying heavily by omission. There is also Obi-Wan's ability to stroll around the Death Star unnoticed, which with the prequels now in place, is a lifelong ability to not be noticed if he doesn't want to be.
The most interesting thing for me was the little smile Obi-Wan gives just before Vader kills him. He raises his saber, salutes Vader, and *smiles* -- smiles in a 'I know something you don't' way that is wholy prequel-Obi-Wan. And the music is suddenly Luke's Theme again. It's spooky.
The other point I noticed is that the Death Star officers don't actually give Vader much respect. They aren't afraid of him as people later are. It might just because Tarkin really *is* holding his leash, or because they haven't had enough contact with Vader to know how he gets lethally short-tempered when he's taunted.
In personal news, it looks like I will be moving into an apartment in July. Anyone want to help me move?
Anyone know of (or is) a potential roommate for me?
It'll be a fourth-floor walk-up apartment, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, good closet space, a balcony, and a fairly nice kitchen. You'd have to deal with my night-owl schedule, the fiber-art obsession, and the fact that it's in Germantown, and thus on the slow end of the public transportation system -- though there is a MARC train station about a mile away.
Benefits are that split rent and utilities should be under $700 a month, it's walking distance to two grocery, a deli, a public library, a cinema, a performing arts venue and the bus transfer center.
Obi-Wan grins an an awful lot in the movie. Usually when he's just done something incredibly rash, like jump down into a circle of battle droids, or crash a battleship. I'm wondering if three years of constant war hadn't made him reckless to the point of not caring if he lives or dies? Or is that Jedi serenity gone whacko?
Anakin and Padme come off much better in the second movie, though I really miss the rumoured Padme-founds-the-Rebellion scenes. They sound like two young people who are just trying to make a life for themselves in a society that is flaking apart -- and having a hard time because their cultural expectations are so different.
Anakin, who isn't as smart or as politically adept as Padme, is trying to make a go of things when he's got major baggage of Jedi philosophy. When Yoda tells him he should rejoice for those that have passed into the Force, you can almost see Anakin close down; each movie has Anakin losing a person he loves -- Qui-Gon in the first, his mother in the second -- and all he learned from those events is that people he loves leave him. The fact that he had premonitions but can't avert them just makes it more torturous, instead of helping him prepare for loss.
Frankly, I think a lot of the Jedi philosophy as presented is badly-distorted from the original intent. The idea of being happy for people who die makes sense from a purely logical "joining with the Force is bliss" viewpoint, but completely ignores the people who are left behind. If the Jedi allowed mourning as well asking for celebration, it would make more sense -- but the Jedi are stranglingly orthodox about these things.
Also, the idea I think Lucas is trying to poach is Taoist, about accepting that you will lose people and things you care for, and being able to live through that loss. He didn't do a good job of poaching it, though.
And on Saturday,
twistedchick and I watched Star Wars, the original movie, after attending the Strawberry Festival with ellen_fremedon (I got an alpenstock at auction! How geeky cool is that?). It was an uncut, unedited version, on videotape -- no doubt that Han shoots first, no Jabba the Hutt, all quite cool. And I'd forgotten what an adorable puppy Luke is -- the boy *is* an eighteen-year-old boy, adult one minute, playing with model starcraft the next.
But the movie really does look different once you've seen RotS. You notice all of Obi-Wan's shifty little side-glances (looking at a snarky Force-spirit, perhaps?) and how he's lying heavily by omission. There is also Obi-Wan's ability to stroll around the Death Star unnoticed, which with the prequels now in place, is a lifelong ability to not be noticed if he doesn't want to be.
The most interesting thing for me was the little smile Obi-Wan gives just before Vader kills him. He raises his saber, salutes Vader, and *smiles* -- smiles in a 'I know something you don't' way that is wholy prequel-Obi-Wan. And the music is suddenly Luke's Theme again. It's spooky.
The other point I noticed is that the Death Star officers don't actually give Vader much respect. They aren't afraid of him as people later are. It might just because Tarkin really *is* holding his leash, or because they haven't had enough contact with Vader to know how he gets lethally short-tempered when he's taunted.
In personal news, it looks like I will be moving into an apartment in July. Anyone want to help me move?
Anyone know of (or is) a potential roommate for me?
It'll be a fourth-floor walk-up apartment, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, good closet space, a balcony, and a fairly nice kitchen. You'd have to deal with my night-owl schedule, the fiber-art obsession, and the fact that it's in Germantown, and thus on the slow end of the public transportation system -- though there is a MARC train station about a mile away.
Benefits are that split rent and utilities should be under $700 a month, it's walking distance to two grocery, a deli, a public library, a cinema, a performing arts venue and the bus transfer center.
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From:
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Would you mind being a personal reference?
Oh, and keep reminding me that I need to be frugal when purchasing furntiure. I own no bed, but three bookcases. There's something cock-eyed about my priorities.
From:
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Yeah, Luke really is a boy- really, a sweet puppy who is just read to go. and itis interesting, how intent and words change with Obi-Wan from the movie.
Vader=Just another Dude. with Tarkin Death, that changes significantly.
From:
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There is a scene in ANH, that I'd *totally* forgotten about, where Luke is playing with a model of an Imperial shuttle. It was just like seeing my brother at the age of 18, when he strung all sorts of model planes from his ceiling in dioramas of dogfights.
Vader is actually oddly out of place among the Imperial officers. He doesn't seem comfortable at all. He's much happier stomping around with the stormtroopers.
From:
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Re furniture -- three bookcases and no bed is really not a bad thing. You can get a sleepable couch, for example, or a futon. Bookcases can hold everything else. It's all a matter of adaptation. :)