I felt nervous going into The Rise of Skywalker. Would the new movie continue the message of original trilogy or would it detract? Specifically, would Episode IX emphasize redemption and mercy, or would it just conclude the Skywalker saga with a big fight? I left the theater with a big smile, knowing the film not only affirmed the earlier work, but “finished what it started.” Spoilers follow.
Continue reading How The Rise of Skywalker Completes Return of The Jedi
With the ever-expanding canon of the Star Wars saga, the writers elucidate Sith philosophy. Comparing this with real world beliefs, especially Friedrich Nietzsche’s master morality, we can draw key conclusions about the nature of morality and of the universe itself.
Continue reading The Sith, Nietzsche, and the Nature of Reality
Ever wonder why so many heroes grow up without parents and why countless stories pivot on the encounter with a father? Focusing on Anakin Skywalker’s life and path to the Dark Side, we find that his quest for a father, central to the hero’s journey, reveals our deepest need.
As some of my readers know, my first son was born this past year. I have learned much from the example of God the Father, but why talk about that? Instead, I’ll share what I’ve learned from my favorite father in fiction: Darth Vader. (Warning: Some serious, some facetious, many spoilers.)
A Jedi prophecy said the chosen one would bring the Force back into balance. Did Anakin fulfill it? If so, how? Obi-Wan thought he would “destroy the Sith, not join them”. But how would that be balance?
The prophecy can be understood, but it requires an unorthodox explanation of the Force, heretical to the Jedi, but true to the films. This even reconciles key tenets of Eastern and Western spirituality and exhorts us to attain a balanced life, while purely good, uncompromising with evil.
