Do People Really Not Know Who Star Wars is About?

The other day I saw an article online stating ten reasons why Star Wars is dumb. It brought up some interesting points and I guess I can agree with some of them. However, I find it hard to take serious the opinion of a person that clearly does not even understand the movie he is criticizing. Number 8 on his list is that Luke Skywalker is not an interesting enough character, being that “the six films are collectively about him coming to terms with daddy issues.” Well, I got some news for everybody that feels that way. If there was one thing the prequels did a good job at (and it's probably really just this one thing), it was establishing that the story was never about Luke, but about his father, Anakin/Darth Vader. Anakin, for all the annoyances that were the prequels’ screenplays and Hayden Christensen’s performance, is a very intriguing and interesting character overall. It is easy to assume that the chosen one was actually Luke, especially given Yoda’s statement in Episode III about the prophecy perhaps being misinterpreted, but it is Anakin that destroys the Emperor, not Luke, so he was the chosen one all along, he just got lost somewhere along the way. Star Wars Episodes I-VI were not about Luke’s “daddy issues”, but about Anakin’s journey to fulfill his destiny of bringing balance to the force. It actually makes a lot of sense that he would destroy the Jedi in the process so that all could start anew. In Episode II, it is mentioned how the Jedi’s ability to use the Force had dwindled. They had lost their purpose. Balance could not be attained through them, and the entire system had become corrupt. Now, about Anakin as a character, that is very interesting indeed, especially as Darth Vader. Even in the original trilogy, while he has been viewed as perhaps the greatest villain of all time, you can see his struggle. When the Emperor expresses concern about Luke becoming a Jedi Knight, Vader’s first reaction is not to destroy him, but to turn him to his cause so that the Emperor will spare his life. Vader actually goes through great pains to spare Luke from death (coming soon will be an article covering this extensively so check back), and in the end, it is this conflict within him that allows him to fulfill his destiny of destroying the Emperor and bringing balance to the force. The hierarchy of the Jedi Order is done away with, as is the corruption that all power must inevitably bring, and the Sith are destroyed, once and for all and balance and peace once again come to the galaxy. At least until the sequels are made........