Star Wars Meme, Day Sixteen
May. 7th, 2013 02:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ladyofleithianDay 16: Favorite Villain
Believe it of not, I actually have a lot of them. There's Count Dooku, for instance, in regards to his general coolness (I just freaking love Christopher Lee, ever since I first saw him as Saruman in LORD OF THE RINGS. He is just...so cool) and the fact that his motives were painted in a shade of gray, in a sense. Stuff like the hints in ATTACK OF THE CLONES with him missing Qui-Gon (I mean, it can't be easy knowing that your apprentice was brutally murdered and, to make matters worse, it being used to further a Sith plot even if Dooku didn't know it at the time) as well as other things. If nothing else, he seems like a nice, normal (sort of) guy on the wrong side -- especially since he wasn't really the villain, just a pawn in a grander scheme. (And I can't picture Yoda quite liking his death either. Probably one of those moments for Yoda where there really isn't victory in any of this) There's also Sidious, obviously, mostly because of just how goddamn fun to watch he is. The cleverness, the moments of hamminess, as well as Ian McDiarmid honestly doing a great job playing both seemingly harmless Senator/Chancellor as well as Sith Lord. (One of many reasons the prequels deserve more credit, IMHO) I also quite like Maul and Grievous.
But I think per usual, my ultimate favorite villain in STAR WARS is Darth Vader. Just because of how nuanced he really is, and how complex. Determined, ruthless, yet with a gentler side underneath -- not to mention that his story...well, perhaps I am too tenderhearted for my own good, but his story really, honestly breaks my heart. I think it's something, really, about the fact that he wasn't out for power, really, at least not for power's sake. He was doing this, all of this, if only to save the woman he loved, and it ultimately backfired in the end. And he has some pretty damn powerful scenes as well, such as the matter of weeping over Mustafar after killing the Separatists -- just sort of like everything that he's done and everything that's happened is finally crashing down on him. And the fact that just with his eyes alone, Hayden Christensen manages to convey so much. It sort of shows, at least for me, that you don't have to go for the sobbing breakdown to make things powerful, as I do a lot in my own stories. I also like the fact that he was ultimately out to try and save Padme -- it definitely adds a level of poignancy and humanity to the story. I doubt most would take someone like Anakin/Vader and try to portray him as human, but Lucas does, and does it well. That and his genuine sense of idealism, which is something I think is also very powerful. He's very idealistic in the sense of saving strangers as a kid, as well as expressing his discontent with Padme in the meadow about how the Republic's working (which...yeah, I doubt your proposal for a new form of government is really a good one, Anakin. Sorry), thinking he can save Padme, his attempt to save Palpatine (yes, part of it was the matter of Padme, but I think his sense of "It's not the Jedi way!" also contributed. Anakin really was trying to do the right thing, which really makes things all the more tragic) and even as Vader, his belief that he can convince Luke to join him, destroy the Emperor, and rule by his side. Unfortunately for Anakin/Vader...well, things don't work out the way they should, at least for him. It really isn't until death that...well, that happens. And I admit, there is a part of me that, on occasion, thinks it's more than a bit unfair. Because really, he was a good man, a wonderful if flawed man trying to do what's right (and I confess that more than spills over into my stories; I need to stop doing that), and this wonderful, flawed, utterly human man...well, he deserved more than what life gave him. Part of it was choice, yes, but at the same time, I think part of it was circumstances, factors kind of pushing, etc. And though some would argue about Vader's death being sort of poetic justice...well, I don't see it that way. I can see it as a sort of natural closing to his character arc, but I don't think it was what he deserved it anything else. Because I think, ultimately, he did suffer a heck of a lot, and he did deserve more pity, compassion, etc. than some gave him, and more joy than what...well, life gave him. At the same time, though, I do like how Lucas gave us a pitiable side to someone like Vader because really, not many would do that. Stuff like THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, RETURN OF THE JEDI, the prequels, the Clone Wars...he wasn't the boogeyman who showed up in A NEW HOPE, or the Big Bad Wolf, or just...well, a monster. True, one could argue he is sort of a monster, but he's a monster with his own sorrows, his own regrets, and people he's loved and lost and gained, and enough good traits and bad traits to really make him feel like a person and not just a character. And he's very human -- stuff like wanting to save those he loved, struggling with doing the right thing (because God knows I've tried) -- it's just those qualities that really encapsulate what life is all about. And he becomes all the more effective, really, because he's so very human.
So yeah, I love all these villains, but there's something about Vader that will always stick with me.
Rest of questions:
Day 17: Funniest Scene
Day 18: Favorite Duo/Friendship
Day 19: Favorite Battle
Day 20: Jedi or Sith
Believe it of not, I actually have a lot of them. There's Count Dooku, for instance, in regards to his general coolness (I just freaking love Christopher Lee, ever since I first saw him as Saruman in LORD OF THE RINGS. He is just...so cool) and the fact that his motives were painted in a shade of gray, in a sense. Stuff like the hints in ATTACK OF THE CLONES with him missing Qui-Gon (I mean, it can't be easy knowing that your apprentice was brutally murdered and, to make matters worse, it being used to further a Sith plot even if Dooku didn't know it at the time) as well as other things. If nothing else, he seems like a nice, normal (sort of) guy on the wrong side -- especially since he wasn't really the villain, just a pawn in a grander scheme. (And I can't picture Yoda quite liking his death either. Probably one of those moments for Yoda where there really isn't victory in any of this) There's also Sidious, obviously, mostly because of just how goddamn fun to watch he is. The cleverness, the moments of hamminess, as well as Ian McDiarmid honestly doing a great job playing both seemingly harmless Senator/Chancellor as well as Sith Lord. (One of many reasons the prequels deserve more credit, IMHO) I also quite like Maul and Grievous.
But I think per usual, my ultimate favorite villain in STAR WARS is Darth Vader. Just because of how nuanced he really is, and how complex. Determined, ruthless, yet with a gentler side underneath -- not to mention that his story...well, perhaps I am too tenderhearted for my own good, but his story really, honestly breaks my heart. I think it's something, really, about the fact that he wasn't out for power, really, at least not for power's sake. He was doing this, all of this, if only to save the woman he loved, and it ultimately backfired in the end. And he has some pretty damn powerful scenes as well, such as the matter of weeping over Mustafar after killing the Separatists -- just sort of like everything that he's done and everything that's happened is finally crashing down on him. And the fact that just with his eyes alone, Hayden Christensen manages to convey so much. It sort of shows, at least for me, that you don't have to go for the sobbing breakdown to make things powerful, as I do a lot in my own stories. I also like the fact that he was ultimately out to try and save Padme -- it definitely adds a level of poignancy and humanity to the story. I doubt most would take someone like Anakin/Vader and try to portray him as human, but Lucas does, and does it well. That and his genuine sense of idealism, which is something I think is also very powerful. He's very idealistic in the sense of saving strangers as a kid, as well as expressing his discontent with Padme in the meadow about how the Republic's working (which...yeah, I doubt your proposal for a new form of government is really a good one, Anakin. Sorry), thinking he can save Padme, his attempt to save Palpatine (yes, part of it was the matter of Padme, but I think his sense of "It's not the Jedi way!" also contributed. Anakin really was trying to do the right thing, which really makes things all the more tragic) and even as Vader, his belief that he can convince Luke to join him, destroy the Emperor, and rule by his side. Unfortunately for Anakin/Vader...well, things don't work out the way they should, at least for him. It really isn't until death that...well, that happens. And I admit, there is a part of me that, on occasion, thinks it's more than a bit unfair. Because really, he was a good man, a wonderful if flawed man trying to do what's right (and I confess that more than spills over into my stories; I need to stop doing that), and this wonderful, flawed, utterly human man...well, he deserved more than what life gave him. Part of it was choice, yes, but at the same time, I think part of it was circumstances, factors kind of pushing, etc. And though some would argue about Vader's death being sort of poetic justice...well, I don't see it that way. I can see it as a sort of natural closing to his character arc, but I don't think it was what he deserved it anything else. Because I think, ultimately, he did suffer a heck of a lot, and he did deserve more pity, compassion, etc. than some gave him, and more joy than what...well, life gave him. At the same time, though, I do like how Lucas gave us a pitiable side to someone like Vader because really, not many would do that. Stuff like THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, RETURN OF THE JEDI, the prequels, the Clone Wars...he wasn't the boogeyman who showed up in A NEW HOPE, or the Big Bad Wolf, or just...well, a monster. True, one could argue he is sort of a monster, but he's a monster with his own sorrows, his own regrets, and people he's loved and lost and gained, and enough good traits and bad traits to really make him feel like a person and not just a character. And he's very human -- stuff like wanting to save those he loved, struggling with doing the right thing (because God knows I've tried) -- it's just those qualities that really encapsulate what life is all about. And he becomes all the more effective, really, because he's so very human.
So yeah, I love all these villains, but there's something about Vader that will always stick with me.
Rest of questions:
Day 17: Funniest Scene
Day 18: Favorite Duo/Friendship
Day 19: Favorite Battle
Day 20: Jedi or Sith
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no subject
Date: 2013-05-08 04:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-05-09 03:27 am (UTC)And I confess, I never really thought of it regarding Vader, but very well-said! And the sort of Dooku-Obi-Wan parallel. I doubt it would be a stretch if Dooku was sort of the inverse Obi-Wan, at least in a way. Again, definite thanks -- I'm glad I've gotten to doing it again; it's been too long.
no subject
Date: 2013-05-09 02:12 am (UTC)Poetic justice in what way? The fact that Vader was killed by the very man that he had spent so many years serving? The fact that he was killed by another Sith (or “Dark Jedi”)? It wasn’t like the Emperor Force-choked him to death or even slashed him with a lightsaber. In what way was it poetic justice?
/At the same time, though, I do like how Lucas gave us a pitiable side to someone like Vader because really, not many would do that./
Yes, and I’m also surprised that he thought up the twist and decided to go with it. I know that in the first movie, Obi-Wan’s story was supposed to be true and Vader wasn’t supposed to be Luke’s father. The fact that George Lucas decided to turn that story on its head and create one of the most famous plot twists in pop culture is still pretty neat. :)
no subject
Date: 2013-05-09 03:24 am (UTC)That and I think some of the people wanted Vader to be punished for his crimes somehow, which...I don't know, it just bothers me. The fact that if nothing else, the people who made those arguments...well, some might think he didn't deserve any sort of reprieve -- never mind that really, I can't say that he was given much of a reprieve in his life to begin with. I guess...well, in the end, I can't be too angry at Anakin in the slightest. He did terrible things, yes, but he also was incredibly naive and sort of clueless and completely believing in things, and I can relate to that a bit too much for my liking (call it different circumstances, similar traits). That and a sense of feeling like being held back, restlessness, insomnia...everything else. Anakin might have made these choices, really, but they weren't really made in a vacuum. They had motivations and reasons and pathos behind them, and it really makes it all the more compelling.
And yes, it is indeed very amazing. :)