The Living Legend: The Legacy of Luke Skywalker

Ya see, I'm a big ol' nerd. And I like me some Star Wars every now and again. But I've been catching wind from over yonder plains of some chicanery (yup, chicanery's a word) occurring in the Star Wars posse 'round these parts.

Alright, I'm done with the weird cowboy thing now, sorry.

Disclaimer: This is going to get really geeky. Just be ready for that. But I think it's relevant on a cultural level. And I like Star Wars. And this is my website thing and I'm writin' it. So hush.

Here we go.

First off,

Star Wars fans like to complain a lot, but I refuse to tolerate it when it becomes aggressive or disrespectful.

Knock that shit off.

However, I'm going to address one complaint I've heard repeatedly: The Last Jedi ruined the legend of Luke Skywalker. They disrespected his character and made Luke's legacy a lie.

To which I reply:

"Wait, wasn't Luke's legend always a lie?

Check it.

Luke didn't kill the Emperor or Darth Vader, Vader killed the emperor to save Luke and then died from his wounds. Luke was never the powerful legend that the galaxy thought he was, he was beaten easily by the emperor and was saved by his dad. The only reason the Rebellion won, in the end, was Anakin Skywalker's return. This doesn't revoke Luke's hero status, but it does humanize him; something decades of putting Luke up on a pedestal as a perfect hero completely covers up. But who would follow a Jedi who actually lost the one fight that made him famous? Noone would follow him or mae any progress if they knew the truth, so he accepts his given status as a legend to give people a new hope. A noble lie.

Spoilers for The Last Jedi-

When Luke sacrifices himself on Crait years later to defend the status quo despite his belief that structure of the universe needs to change, in order to inspire and save his friends and family, he is doing so because no change can be made unless the Resistance is able to stand against and defeat the oppressive First Order. Under Rey and the New Republic, the new healthy view of the the Force has a chance to thrive.* In a universe ruled by the First Order, it doesn't.

So yes, Luke's victory and subsequent legend is a lie (if you've seen the movie you'll understand why), but no more deceitful than the lie that followed from Return of the Jedi. You can't call a lie like Batman and Gordon's in The Dark Knight noble and than call Luke's lie, one also made in hopes of creating an inspiring legend like Harvey Dent's, a hoax. Thats just obvious intellectual dishonesty.

I personally feel that it is this outrage at Luke's introduction in The Last Jedi that has led to the persistent dismissal of any of Rian Johnson's attempts at progress in this most recent Star Wars film. It is the perspective of an audience that cannot stand to see the legend that they have deified all their lives revealed to be only a man (almost like that was the whole point). In demonizing this change and all the actions that follow it, most viewers completely miss, or intentionally ignore, all the new ideas and directions that Johnson was trying to create.

*Now note that I said a healthy view of the Force earlier, because Kylo's realist view is absurdly unhealthy. Though Kylo may have a grounded view of the moral extremes of the universe, Luke's view is the same at it's core. He has also learned, however, that he can so easily be wrong and must give his pride and sense of control up to the balance inherent through the Force. The danger of Ren's position comes from the fact that Kylo is certain that he is right, and in his unwavering belief (a belief similar to a younger Luke's and that of the Jedi of the Republic) he is willing to kill anyone who gets in the way if what he perceives as balance.

Balance and stability brought about by death and destruction is self-refuting. As Luke attempted to stop Ben's Solo's turn to the dark side through force and death in the flashback, through even the thought of violence to maintain balance, he ensured that the balance was destroyed and that Kylo Ren would rise. This new view of peace in the face of aggression is shown in Luke's appearance as a Force projection in the final confrontation of TLJ. A vision of the past that couldn't possibly hurt Kylo, and the extreme lengths that Luke goes to to dodge and evade, but never attack, his nephew. A nonviolent display to show his contrition for his past actions.

The past is integral to the Star Wars legacy, as it is on our own daily lives. Kylo is always the one who states that the past must be killed, but once again he opens himself up to the same extremism that he thinks he is subverting. Kylo falls victim to a hypocritical extreme, instead of cutting himself off from emotion, like the Jedi. He allows emotion to flow openly, too openly. In his extreme outbursts of anger and rage in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, he betrays his realist balance. His is the foil of the the Old Jedi; too open, too brash, and too arrogant. He believes he can simply take whatever he wants because he thinks he wants it more than others, and then violently lashes out when he fails.

But above all, from a writing standpoint, Kylo is the villain! Of course he's wrong! His methods are evil and uncaring, murderous and restrictive, why would anyone immediately accept that Rian Johnson was attempting to vindicate the philosophical ideals of a man who killed his own father and actively contemplated killing his mother?! Kylo's perspective humanizes him, no doubt, but only insofar as one can understand why a murderer commits his crimes and is able to empathize with the decisions that led them there. It does not excuse his actions and it certainly doesn't attempt to hold them up as a moral exemplar! When looking at it alone, an argument could be made. But Rian holds them up in comparison to Luke's new conceptions of balance and in doing so reveals them as false and oversimplified. Luke wants the the universe to change, but believes enough in the new generation to:

1.) Teach his new way of viewing the Force in hopes that they could do better than he could.

2.) Sacrifice himself, despite his own beliefs, inspiring the the chance for the new generation to change; and

3.) Inspire in others the hope that once inspired him. In Ben Kenobi's sacrifice on the Death Star he became a Jedi, and now he has done that for others.

Luke knew that the past could not be killed, it's always with us; so he became a beacon for the future. He became a New Hope once again. A spark that can light the fire to burn down the first order, the restrictive regime; a chance at peaceful and open dialogue in attempt to usher in a new paradigm for how the universe conducts and views itself.

That's what Luke did. That's who Luke is.

I feel that many viewers fundametally misunderstand what Rian Johnson was attempting to do because they are too caught up in the legend of Luke Skywalker.

He was never a legend, he was just a kid who lived on a farm. He was left with his Aunt and Uncle, but got caught up in his absentee father's drama and changed dramatically because of it, becoming what the universe needed him to be, and then being destroyed by it.

I'd say that's a pretty compelling and tragic hero.

The new structure that Johnson wants to build is similar to Luke's view of the Force, balanced yet complex, bound only by the immensities of what one can imagine.

Practically, the form of Star Wars as a franchise needs to change in order to stay relevant and entertaining to a divided society that no longer believes in perfect heroes. In a deeper way, rehashing the same ideas without more intensely exploring them in new ways is tiresome and wasteful. So Johnson tried something new, and did it bravely, and I think he did a fantastic job.

But that's just one man's opinion.

But if you disagree, fight me.

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TL;DR

I love Star Wars and am a huge nerd.

Luke was always just a man, but that doesn't make him pathetic, it makes him relatable and human. Kylo is a pouty space baby, but is also a harsh dictator. But he doesn't have to be, cause he's also just a kid. He can change. We can change.

There is hope.

The force is a delicate and powerful analogy for the balance of the universe, in a galaxy far, far away and right outside our door. It is not little microbes in your bloodstream, shut up. It's existential and ever changing. It is the Eastern opposite of our Western mentalities. The science fiction stand-in for the ambiguity and fluidity that haunts our mortal minds.

"You must unlearn what you have learned."

Thank you for reading.

Hell's Bells,

Alec