swiftsnowmane | Entries tagged with darth vader

“The hero…for a moment rises to a glimpse of the source. He beholds the face of the father, understands—and the two are atoned…. For the son who has grown really to know the father, the agonies of the ordeal are readily borne; the world is no longer a vale of tears but a bliss-yielding, perpetual manifestation of the Presence.”

—Joseph Campbell, The Hero With a Thousand Faces

He could feel it now, in the Force, could recognize the creature before him, recognize the cold, freezing dread that lived in the furnace of his heart, the Obsidian Dragon with eyes of dead starlight, walled away by flame, and held at bay by sheer force of will. The Obsidian Dragon made of fear and failure and weakness and death.

“I will not fall!” He ground out the vow from behind clenched teeth, pressing forward with the Force as hard as he was able. Darth Vader trembled in anger at the onslaught. “I am Anakin Skywalker, and I will never fall!”

Suddenly, intensely, power rushed off Anakin in waves, and Darth Vader bent under the assault, crumpling with wheezing breaths. The painful breaths of a pitiful creature.

Utterly spent from the release of energy, Anakin sagged to his knees, arms falling weakly to his sides.

“I am Anakin Skywalker,” he rasped, “and I am not afraid.”

— from The Chosen Path AU series by steelneena ( @muldertorture ) (originally posted on tumblr)

Recently, I was asked to write about ‘Anakin as a tragic hero’, and rather than attempting to tackle such a broad topic from scratch, I decided to compile a masterpost of excerpts from (and links to) my previous posts on the subject.

In my personal view, ‘Star Wars’ (as in, the Skywalker saga) is, at its heart, Anakin’s story, and as such, his tragic fall and ultimate redemption forms one of the main, underlying themes of most of my SW analysis in general. And so, the selections below include everything from in-depth character analysis, to overviews of Anakin’s role in the saga as a whole, to explorations of themes of slavery vs. freedom, death vs. immortality, personal attachments, fear of loss, and perhaps most importantly, unconditional love.

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Lucas’ Saga as Magnum Opus 1/?: Twin Suns

The Magnum Opus, or ‘Great Work’, is the ultimate goal of alchemy. In addition to its traditional applications, the concept has been used as a model for the individuation process and as a device in art and literature. Progression through its stages typically involves both physical and spiritual transformation, with the aim of attaining such profound results as self-realization, communion with divinity, and spiritual immortality.

In alchemy, Suns are used to symbolize a variety of concepts, and can correspond to gold, citrinitas, generative masculine principles, imagery of ‘the king’ or Apollo, the fiery spirit or sulfur, the divine spark in man, nobility, or incorruptibility.

There is a persistent belief in alchemical tradition in the existence of TWO SUNS: a hidden one of pure “Philosophical Gold,” consisting of the essential Fire conjoined with Aether, and the apparent one of profane “Material Gold.” The “dark, consuming fire” of the material Sun, associated with the dissolution of the body in the process of purification, leads to its being called the “Dark” or “Black Sun.”

Sol Niger (Black Sun) can also refer to the result of the first stage of the Magnum Opus, the Nigredo (blackening). The complete Magnum Opus ends with the production of Gold.

“The happy ending of the fairy tale, the myth, and the divine comedy of the soul, is to be read, not as a contradiction, but as a transcendence of the universal tragedy of man.”

— Joseph Campbell

Watch on YouTube

Anakin Skywalker/Vader (Simple Math) || SmokeyFiizz

An exquisitely beautiful fan vid that perfectly encompasses my feels for Anakin/Vader, Anakin x Padme, Luke & Vader, and my beloved Skywalker saga.

Happy 40th anniversary, Star Wars. :')

" In the Star Wars universe, it is stated that slavery is a primary tool of the Sith—for controlling one another, and also for the subjugation of the entire galaxy. And thus it stands to reason that if Anakin is truly the Chosen One (and this is confirmed by Lucas’ canon), then he is also the one who is destined to destroy the Sith, and by doing so, it is implied, break this seemingly-perpetual cycle of slavery (and mental/ideological enslavement)."

—

‘The Chosen One, the Hero’s Journey, and breaking the cycle of enslavement in Star Wars: or, why TFA makes no sense in the context of the Prequels and the Original Trilogy’

(via the-far-bright-center)

“This is why the climactic and emotionally cathartic ending of Return of the Jedi must herald an end to this cycle. What does destroying the Sith mean, if not that? Without this, there is little point to Anakin’s otherwise wholly tragic story. Without this, I would argue, there is little point to Luke’s story, either.”

re: the final exchange between Obi-Wan and Maul in ‘Twin Suns’

Below the cut I've posted an edited version of my response to ~ this tumblr discussion ~ regarding the mention of ‘The Chosen One’ in the final scene between Obi-Wan and Maul. While I understand (and empathize with!) the fandom's frustration over the use of this term, I feel that, on a meta-textual level, the conversation as a whole refers to both Luke and Anakin, aka the ‘Twin Suns’ of Tatooine.

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Father,

I may be falling

through clouded skies,

broken

and bloodied,

weighted

with the horror

of unholy revelation,

but it is you

who fell long ago

from far greater heights.

Father,

you may be standing

against the faded stars,

shackled

and suffering,

bowed

beneath the burden

of long-held darkness,

but it is I

who blaze

with undimmed light.

Let go

of your hate,

Let go

of your fear,

Let go

of your shrouded lies,

and I promise –

I will be there

I will catch you

and together

we will find

our own piece of sky.

— t.f.b.c.

Watch on YouTube

The most astounding thing about the music that accompanies Anakin’s fall is how sorrowful it is. Even as his ‘dark deeds’ unfold, Williams’ score is more mournful than ever. We are meant to weep for Anakin and for those who love him. For the Jedi and for the Republic. Because what is happening to this beautiful young man is the manifestation of what has happened—of what Sidious, and through him, the Dark Side, has done—to the galaxy itself.

( Read more... )

for @jedifest'16 Top Picks challenge

The s2 finale of Star Wars: Rebels was *the* Star Wars event of the year for me, the catalyst that sent me hurtling back into a fandom that I had distanced myself from for a long time. This episode single-handedly rekindled my love for Star Wars at a very dark time when I’d thought I had lost it forever.

Nothing can ever capture the tumult of emotion and the intensity of feeling I experienced while watching the now-iconic confrontation between Ahsoka Tano and Darth Vader. My heart exploded; my soul ascended. The moment Ahsoka slices open Vader’s mask is etched upon my memory forevermore: Vader, brought to his knees, and the voice of Anakin Skywalker, calling out the name of his beloved former apprentice.

Nothing can replicate it, and nothing can ever compare to it. But these five incredible fanworks sure come close.

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for @jedifest‘16 Top 5 Picks

Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader is one of my favourite fictional characters of all time, and thus it's no surprise that attempting to choose only five pieces for this list proved a rather...difficult challenge. In the end, I decided to try a more liminal approach. While both of his dual identities are fascinating in their own right (Vader, his tormented prison; Anakin, his True Self, and the identity that we all long for him to reclaim), when it comes to artistic depictions, I find that this character is often at his most visually compelling when the two intertwine.

The following are five pieces that I feel capture the intermingling of and/or inner conflict between Anakin and Vader. (These are but a taste of the many beautiful works of art I’ve encountered this year; for more, see the tag on my blog here.)

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for @jedifest16′s Top Picks challenge

The Balance by elaine

Five fan vids for my fave. ♥

( Read more... )

for @jedifest16′s Top Picks challenge

"I will safe keep your good heart, Dear One, until you are ready for its return."

- Vader's Dream by Kirk Reinert

Herein lie enshrined the five Anidala/Vaderdala fan vids that I viewed most this year. Prepare thyself for feels.

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"There is more than one prison -- I sense that you carry yours with you wherever you go."

- Chirrut Imwe

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~

~

Nothing frustrates me more than seeing Anakin and Padme (and the Skywalker family in general) constantly referred to as ‘dysfunctional’.

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Watch on YouTube

"You see the echo of where it's all is going to go. It's like poetry, they rhyme." - George Lucas

Now *this* is the TRUE Skywalker saga right here, folks. And it always will be. After all, "it is already over. Nothing can be done to change it." :')

Or, why TFA makes no sense in the context of the Prequels and the Original Trilogy

There is something incredibly unique about Anakin Skywalker as a character: this fascinating blend of hero, victim, and villain, and how the interplay of fate, destiny, character flaws, divided loyalties, tragic decisions, and the machinations of others leads to such great pain, loss, and evil…for himself, and for an entire galaxy. How he, as Vader, becomes both physically and mentally enslaved, suspended in an almost carbonite-like stasis and cyclical mindset for decades, until his final act of free will, spurred on by his latent, powerful love for his son, sets him—and them all—free.

In the wake of TFA, I feel the need to explain why I find Anakin’s entire arc (his fall and redemption) so important—nay, essential—to the overall message of the Star Wars saga, and why, thus far, the entire premise of the sequels feels like such an insult to all that has come before—especially in light of the nature of both Anakin’s tragic tale and Luke’s heroic journey.

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aka, my Ahsoka & Anakin/Vader song

Watch on YouTube

In my mind, this is Ahsoka singing to Anakin...as himself, her beloved master during the Clone Wars, and as Vader, her 'enemy'; at whose side she nonetheless vows to remain, symbolically, forevermore.

( Read more... )

It's been a week since the Star Wars: Rebels Season 2 finale aired, and I am still not over it!!!

I can't even begin to explain my feelings on this episode. Somewhere between 'insanely thrilled' and 'traumatized for life', lol.

(Major spoilers under the cut!)

( Read more... )

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The Far, Bright Center

The barest flicker of persistent light

Entries tagged with darth vader

Beholding the Face of the Father

The Chosen Path AU edit (for muldertorture)

Anakin Skywalker, a tragic hero

Lucas' saga as Magnum Opus

The Universal Tragedy of Man

"...I've got to get it back then"

Breaking the Cycle

'He will avenge us'

re: the final exchange between Obi-Wan and Maul in ‘Twin Suns’

A Piece of Sky

Anakin's Fall to the Dark Side || Suite

Top 5 - Twilight of the Apprentice

Top 5 - Vaderkin fan art

Top 5 - Anakin/Vader fan vids

Top 5 - Anidala/Vaderdala fan vids

Thoughts on Rogue One (yes, I've finally seen it)

Union of Opposites

Star Wars - visual poetry

The Chosen One, the Hero’s Journey, and breaking the cycle of enslavement in Star Wars

Or, why TFA makes no sense in the context of the Prequels and the Original Trilogy

Circles

Twilight of the Apprentice

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April 2019

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