I saw it. A massive tragedy in the classical sense. Pure hubris. Absolutely preventable, but based on deep misunderstanding of the deep wisdom of the self. I am overwhelmed by Lucas's return to the most powerful myth of all, the Biblical myth that is the foundation of Western civilization. It was brilliant. I was so striken by the unrelenting tragedy that we have at the basis of our culture, by this brave portrayal of it, that I was in silent shock all the way home. And of course, the deity's wife dies at the beginning of the dark rule through his hubris. Wisdom, the wife of the fearsome deity, the Shekinah, is hidden in the Bible; she has to find her way through the mystical texts. O Padme! And then the monotheistic empire building, one dark Lord of fire and battle and death to rule them all...already his son, the saviour is born, is spirited away, hidden... And he has a sister, O, thank you Lucas, for his beautiful twin sister, the inclusion of the divine feminine, what is so desperately needed in the religious myths of our culture, visionary filmaker...
The electrical storm, unusual for this city, erupted so powerfully overhead minutes after our return we thought we were going to be struck by lightning tonight...
Brenda,
ReplyDeleteI wrote a longish comment for this on your Xanga site and it wouldn't let me sign on, for no reason I can understand. Then I replied to it on a comment you'd left on an unrelated post on my site. Now I'm finally getting around to switching back to your Blogger site (also switching the link on my blogroll). Anyway, I just want to tell you that although I found the movie boring and tedious, I found your comment intriguing and intelligent. An Old Testmanent interpretation of STAR WARS! I don't know whether others have said it before, but you say it well. Your critical faculty, I think, is every bit as creative as your more outwardly creative faculty. I just hope I don't have to start liking the movie because of it.
Richard, thank you so much for this comment, and the one you left at your site, which I did read. I've been quite beleaguered of late with my other site and haven't been commenting. Yes, this 'vision' of Star Wars came to me years ago, gads, 10 years ago! In a decade, then, you are the only person to take my rantings on it seriously. There is a comment on one of the major founding myths of our culture, I'm sure of it. If I wasn't so busy, I might sit down and watch the first 3 again to make a more coherent case. I will drop by as soon as I can to respond to your comment at your site, which I found most interesting. Sometimes these 'blockbusters' are fascinating flicks, huh!
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