Yoda

[AleoMagus]

Well, here I am bored, and posting in OOT. Lord help me.

Anyways, last night I went and saw the new Star Wars movie, and had some thoughts about one reason why I hated the last 2 movies so much. The latest movie is also bad for the same reason.

Yoda has been ruined as a character, and the whole essence of what made him who he is in the original movies has been stripped away.

In the original movies, I'm not sure if George Lucas got lucky, or if he was a better writer, BUT Yoda is a terrific character and really helps crystalize just what it means to be a Jedi, and how one should live in accordance with the principles of the Jedi.

Primarily, we see that he places no stake in appearances, and carries no pride regarding his powers. He does not use the force lightly, and in fact, his true wisdom and greatest power resides in his humility.

Like Luke Skywalker, when viewers were first confronted with the thought that Yoda was a great and powerful Jedi Master, we expect a character larger than life. We expect a kind of Darth Vader for good. It is this expectation that indicates to us how much Luke, and we, have to learn.

When we realize the truth, that this little green, apparently frail, and somewhat humorous old man is Yoda, we see and become aware of his great power gradually, and come to respect it all the more.

In Yoda there is no hubris. Yoda does not open doors with the force. Yoda does not pick up objects with the force just to make his day easier. Yoda does not seek adulation and is content to be thought a fool. He possesses true wisdom, and it is this nature that gives us a taste of the truly fearful power he possesses. It turns out that he IS the antithesis of Darth Vader, but where we expected a tall, powerful, white knight of a Jedi, we realize now that this is not an antithesis at all. A small, comic, little old man is.

Our own lust for vengeance and our own weakness makes us want to see Yoda kick some ass, but when he never does, we realize that this is how it must be. His power resides in the truth that he doesn't need to fight. He knows that Vader is a great force for evil, and he knows that Luke must confront Vader, be we get a sense that this is not about Defeating Vader at all. This is about Luke overcoming his own hate, and his own inner struggle with the dark side of the force.

The original episodes pulled this off brilliantly, and I can honestly say that as an impressionable child, I learned a great deal from them about what I thought wisdom and true power must be.

Somehow this has been forgotten

In the last 2 movies, I could feel it coming all the way. Yoda is floating around all the time. He is opening doors with the force, and he is pretty much always surrounded by some kind of force effect. We hear a reference in the first or second movie even that Yoda is some kind of lightsaber master. Ugh.

And then it happens in episode 2. Yoda and Count Dooku fight. I absolutely cringed when it happened and yet in the whole movie, this is the point at which the theater let out the biggest cheers. A new generation of kids are learning that when you are pushed, wisdom and wit is no way to prevail. You need to pull out your lightsaber and fight it out with all of your brute force (actually, I think yoda doesn't even pull his lighsaber out. I think he uses the force for that too). They are learning that power is wasted if you do not use it, and that if we can do a thing, we pretty much always should if it makes our day easier. Besides, this way, everyone will know how great you are because they will have proof. Forget subtlety and forget trancendent wisdom. Now we are left with Lightning bolts and lightsaber duels as the culmination of Jedi teachings.

In this latest movie, Yoda fights again, this time with the emporer himself. It's more of the same, with lots of levitation and electricity. Yoda flips and jumps all over the place with his lightsaber and in the end, the effect is exactly the opposite of what I supect the intent was. Yoda does not appear more powerful, he appears far less powerful.

Ok, Ok... maybe this is not so bad. After all, these movies are set in the past right? Maybe Yoda learns a thing or two in his exile on Dagobah? I don't buy it.

Like so many parts of these new movies, Lucas just wanted things to be bigger, better and flashier, and he ruined the greater themes of the story while trying to do it. My biggest fear though is that this is just what a lot of people wanted to see, and most might be happy with bigger, better and flashier.

I wonder... to the average ten year old today, does Yoda earns more respect by kicking ass and being an action hero, or would he earn it more my just being the character he was in the originals? What would I have thought of the two competing yoda's if I saw them both at the age of ten? I think I might also have cheered yoda fighting and enjoyed seeing his power, but I would have been mislead I think. I would have missed out on a valuable life lesson.

Sigh... Don't even get me started on midi-chlorines (WTF?) and the move from sci-fantasy to political sci-fi!

Oh well, I am still bored. opinions?

Regards
Brad S