> Michael Bowling said:
> >Recall in _Return of the Jedi_ when Luke meets Ben's ghost. Ben says that
> >Luke's father, Attican (sp?), ceased to exist when he was swayed over to
> >the dark side. Of Darth Vader, Ben says, "He's more machine than man--
> >twisted and evil." At the end of _Jedi_, a berserking Luke cuts off
> >Vader's saber hand, and low!! it is artificial! Luke looks at his own
> >prosthetic hand and realizes that he was becoming like his father-- more
> >machine than man, spiraling enraged into the evil of the Dark Side. ...
>
> This is a good point and illustrates that the attitude toward "machinery"
> in the Star Wars trilogy is sometimes negative. Yet, two of the major
> sympathetic characters are droids - 3PO and R2D2. The movies do not appear
> to express a coherent theme.
I'll disagree.
The movie is neither pro-tech nor anti-tech, that is true: but then,
there is no moral statement inherent in technology. The lightsaber,
an extremely high-tech weapon, is used with equal facility by good
and by evil -- much as the weapons we have now are. Droids also are
used for both good and evil; so are spacecraft of all descriptions;
much as various tools and transportation devices are today.
For a coherent theme, then, look elsewhere.
Look at the relationship between individuals and power.
The Force seems to me to be an extreme religious manifestation of
individual power. Sure, some have it more than others, and some turn
it to the control of others; but everybody has some, and it
apparently can't be taken away from them. The greatest master,
rather than seeking the greatest control, goes off and lives by
himself in a swamp.
Those who seek to control others are presented as evil. Those who
seek to prevent such control are presented as good. And with a
blatant disregard of the normal terminology (since when is the
daughter of a senator titled "Princess"?) the idea is carried that it
is the reality and the actions, not the labels, that determine the
matter.
The movie was rather melodramatic, and the special effects give my
daughter a headache. But I approve of the theme.
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