Off the Cuff / My Other Journal

Darth Has It All

Sometimes, in our era, while reading Shakespeare, his text sounds like he is making his characters curse their heads off. "But screw your courage to the sticking-place, //And we'll not fail."

This, in fact, is no curse but Lady Macbeth urging Macbeth to commit to the plan of murdering King Duncan.

So, what does Shakespeare have in common with title of this entry or Star Wars? For sure, not much, and certainly not cursing, except for the drama of quirky characters. So much so that, there now exists Star Wars written a la Shakespeare, by Ian Doescher who imagines, in jest, that the bard is the real author. Published by Quirk Books, the titles make me laugh: The Empire Striketh Back; The Jedi Doth Run.

Truth is, as far as Star Wars go, I am only familiar with the first trilogy, but Doescher's version cracks me up, especially when he makes my favorite character Darth Vader talk. "Nay, Peace! I warn thee, man, be not too proud // Of thy great terror technological. // A weapon for the mass destruction of // A planet—even to destroy it whole-- // Is no match for the power of the Force."

Why do I like Darth Vader among a slew of interesting characters? Nasty characters with a tragic underbelly, the kind some call an iconic villain, are exciting and interesting. And Darth has it all: heavy breathing, a massive body, physical and mental power, that gothic mask, theme music...

His black metal armor and mask is out of this world as it veils his human side and makes him into a machine of the dark side. Essentially, that mask is made to cover something either too horrible or far too complex to be imagined, maybe something good that has gone bad, like spoiled flesh. And that outer covering or appearance of him propels his actions and makes him into an awesome presence that punishes those who annoy him as he enforces the discipline of the Imperial power of the dark side. And he does all this with an almost controlled, rational anger.

Way back when, while we watched the third Star Wars movie, learning more about Darth Vader made me feel empathy for him. When I found out he was probably subjected to trauma that changed him from a Jedi knight into a dark lord, and that as a daddy, he died for his son, I felt my heart break. After all, he isn't the only monster who has turned human or vice versa. Doesn't the dark side do this to some people in real life by injecting lust for power and nurturing it to such a degree that there is no way out except death?

After watching the third Star Wars movie, I remember feeling depressed for all humanity, because the basic story was about how an angel can fall, as if the movie was repeating the scriptures.

Anyway, all this was a few decades ago, when I had my kids with me, so I kept a stiff upper lip and my ideas to myself, and after the movie, we went for pizza and ice-cream to sweeten my Darth Vader blues. Of course, I let the kids believe I did the food thing for them.

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Prompt: Who is your favorite Star Wars character? Luke Skywalker? Darth Vader, Yoda, C3PO, R2D2, Ewoks, Jabba The Hut, Hans Solo or Princess Leia? Not a Star Wars Fan? How about Star Trek, V or ET? Have fun with this.