THE SKYWALKER TRAGEDY

  Whenever I watch the Star Wars trilogy, I often view the life of Skywalker family as a tragedy. To begin with, what we know from 'facts' concerning the prequels, is that Anakin and his mother Shmi Skywalker are slaves and live a poor life on the desolate planet Tatooine. We no nothing about the fatherhood of Anakin at this stage, only to know that it is absent. The life of a child, especially a boy without a father, and according to rumour about Episode I, Anakin loses his mother tragically also: It would be devastating. Then to go on to form a new relationship and best friend in Obi Wan Kenobi, and on Anakin's own point of view to feel that friendship betrayed in some manner would also dent his psyche. No wonder that it was easy for Palpatine to sway him into the grip of the Dark Side. Perhaps the greatest tragedy of all is that Anakin himself does not know that he is a father . . . .

  Moving on to Anakin's son Luke, his own life has it's highs and lows. Imagine that all of your life that you have been mislead concerning your father. Luke was told that Anakin was a 'navigator on a spice freighter'. I come to the point now, why was Luke even raised by Owen? Has anyone ever asked why Obi Wan did not raise Luke?? Recently, canon has stated that Owen is indeed Obi Wan's brother, so why would you give your best friends son to your brother to look after? I feel sorry for Luke that he never knew his mother, and even his sister Leia only had cloudy memories of her. It seems like Luke was manipulated into confronting Vader, and you have to wonder if Yoda and Obi Wan had ever planned to tell him that Vader was his father. Imagine the feelings of hollowness and emotional detachment when Vader revealed himself to be his father. Vader was the person that luke dispised the most, he had killed his own 'father figure' in Obi Wan. That in itself is a reversal. The saintly Ben who had been slain was revealed not so perfect after all, and the epitomy of evil was the father to the savior of the galaxy. It's poignant that the only real emotional connection between father and son only lasted for about two minutes, where for the first time in over two decades, Vader once again became Anakin, and he saw his son with his 'own eyes' for the first and last time. It's sad that Anakin never had that chance with Leia. It's sad that Luke and Leia never had the chance to grow up together. Scenes where Luke is looking at the sunset in 'A New Hope' and where he is standing over the funeral pyre in 'Return Of The Jedi' are also emotional. Casual fans might think that the Star Wars trilogy is lighthearted and fun, but when you look deeper into it, it does have another emotional aspect to it, and thats what makes it all the more believable.

  Leia's life is just as tragic. Discovering that she is adopted, and after learning of her true lineage, realising that he true father had a hand in destroying the world that she grew up on, plus who had personally tortured her.

  Forgive me for being overly sentimental with this editorial, and maybe I have watched the movies too many times and looked for deeper aspects of the story and meaning, but I feel that this dimension gives a greater realism to the films, and I wish for the prequels is this element is woven into the story line as well.

  Until next time,

  MTFBWY