I’m going to get this out of the way immediately - of all the characters ever created (I’m talking throughout all time, all genres), Darth Vader is my hands-down favorite. His story is perfect in so many ways, and I want to dive into some of them today. I know Star Wars can be a polarizing topic, but even if you’re not into George Lucas’ masterpiece, this still might be an interesting read. See, Darth Vader is the perfect character because he encompasses so many different aspects of humanity. We are all Darth Vader, whether we like to admit it or not. Let me explain…
This article is not meant to be Star Wars fan porn, so I’ll keep the back story short. Basically, boy (Anakin Skywalker) is born with extraordinary gifts. Boy meets mentor (Obi-Wan Kenobi). Mentor trains boy, and believes he will fulfill the prophecy to save the world (balance the Force). Only problem is, boy meets girl. Boy falls in love with girl. Boy and girl have sex (ew). Girl dies while giving birth to their twins. Boy goes insane and fights master, only to nearly be killed. Boy gets picked up by the most evil man in the universe, who makes him a half robot (Darth Vader). Boy kills half the universe and is eventually redeemed by his son. Boy kills most evil man in the universe. Yea, it escalates quickly.
The thing that gets me most about Darth Vader is his origin - Anakin Skywalker. Anakin is the embodiment of innocence. He is a young boy with hope and vigor who means harm to no one. He wants to be a hero…he wants to save the world. He is “the chosen one”. It reminds me so much of my own childhood. I remember the freedom, the innocence. I remember a time before life got “real”. I remember a time before pain. I remember when I thought I could be anything I wanted. I remember when I thought I could save the world. Anakin Skywalker resonates so deeply because he is each and every one of us, before we were jaded and scorned. He’s who we were before the guilt and before the shame.
Anakin falls in love with Padme, in what is an adorable (albeit age-questionable) romance. It’s the Disney love story, the fairy tale. Do you remember yours? I certainly remember mine. My first girlfriend - let’s call her Kaitlyn. I remember wanting to spend all of my time with her, convinced I was going to spend the rest of my life with her. It was a beautiful naivete that I will never get back. It stands still in a time long ago, never to be revisited.
Then Padme dies, and Anakin goes crazy. Everything he wanted, all his hopes and dreams, gone in an instant. I know exactly what that feels like too. It wasn’t a moment with Kaitlyn - that ended in flames. This would come quite a few years later with someone else. It wasn’t an actual death, but it was the death of everything I hoped for, everything I ever wanted. I remember the exact details of where it happened. I remember the words that were spoken. Most of all, I remember the pain. Not just any pain, though - a reality shattering type of pain that’s impossible to describe. It exists well beyond words, and it’s legacy still lives with me to this day. I understand Anakin because I am Anakin, and I think many of us can point this one moment in our own lives. Maybe it was a death, maybe a betrayal. Our stories are all different, but the feelings remain the same.
Anakin then gets consumed by the Dark Side and becomes Darth Vader. He lives in constant torment (both mentally and physically), and basically lives as a slave to the emperor (Palpatine). His is consumed by anger, pain and death. He becomes a ruthless murderer who would not hesitate to strike down innocent women and children. He literally becomes someone else, no, something else. While I can’t relate to the whole “becoming a murderer” part, I can relate to the need to become something completely different than what I was. If you look at the person I was 4 1/2 years ago (before I got sober) compared to the person I am today, you would think they were two different people. That’s because in all ways but name, they are. That person is dead, and I am what remains. I like to think my trajectory was a little more benevolent than Vader’s, but I think this idea of two completely separate entities written into one character is the most ingenious part of the Vader arc.
After all of the death and the killing, Vader is redeemed by his son and kills Palpatine. In doing so, the prophecy is fulfilled and balance is brought back to the Force. Not sure if it was worth the lives of half the universe, but you live and you learn, right? Point is, there was still good in Vader. Anakin didn’t actually die - he was buried behind all of the pain and the suffering. I don’t know about you, but this resonates with me as well. The child I reminisce is still alive and well, he just often gets buried beneath my fear, jealousy, anger and sadness. He gets buried beneath the all of the darkness within this world and within myself. Allowing myself to access him is in itself an act of redemption.
Star Wars is heavily based on a dualistic world view - good vs. evil, Jedi vs. Sith, Light Side vs. Dark Side. What I’ve come to realize that in reality, it’s not so black and white. We are always dancing between the light and the dark. Vader is an example of giving in fully to the darkness, and as you see in his character, that comes with immense power. The same is true in real life. Anger, sadness, jealousy, fear - all of these things can enable us to summon immense power. The difference is, we don’t have to use them to destroy worlds. We can use the Dark Side in more practical ways - going the extra mile at the gym, spending an extra few hours at work or on our business, creating that masterpiece we’ve been putting off for months. We can use the power of the Dark Side for our benefit, and we don’t have to hurt others in doing so. As long as the Light is in the driver’s seat, we can take the Dark out for a spin whenever we so choose. Now that, my friends, is true mastery of the Force.