Mirroring and Symbolism

Leia had chains in ROTJ does that count?

In TPM, Jar Jar's empathy drives him to comfort and help Padmé in a time of trouble, which provides her with the inspiration to confront the Trade Federation.


In TPM, Anakin's empathy drives him to help Padmé & Qui-Gon in a time of trouble, which provides them with a way to Coruscant.


In AotC, Jar Jar's empathy again drives him to help Padmé's cause and save the Republic, but Palpatine takes advantage of it with which he moves himself into a position of greater power, which will eventually lead to the ultimate political power.


In AotC, Anakin's empathy drives him to save his mom, but in the wake of her death, his dark side takes over which gives him a taste of greater power, which leads him to decide to eventually seek the ultimate power.

Padmé didn't want to oust Chancellor Valorum, but she was manipulated into believing the election of a new Chancellor was the only hope of solving the crisis with her planet, and had to make a quick decision.

Just like Anakin didn't want to hurt Mace or any Jedi, but he was manipulated into believing doing do was the only hope of finding the power to solve the perceived crisis with his wife's life, and had to make a quick decision.

Well, I think the takeaway here is that Palpatine used her strength to get her to do what he wanted. Her strength being her devotion to the safety of her people.

In a pinch, and brimming with youthful passion with a dash of naiveté, she would do whatever she felt was best for her people. Even if it means losing an otherwise decent Chancellor, and unbeknownst to her, opening the door to the doom of the galaxy with the new one.

Palpatine was controlling both sides of the issue here, the high levels of corruption and the crisis.

Just like Anakin in Palpatine's office in RotS. Anakin was maneuvered into a corner where, what was a strength of his, got flipped to its dark side, yes, like a coin.

Padmé isn't a Jedi but I think you could say when she felt she had to oust Valorum she was doing something she didn't really want to do but felt she had to and justified it as the only choice open to her. In other words, flipping her virtue into its darker aspect.

Palpatine even took advantage of people's willingness to go beyond their principles for the greater good of everyone. Like the Jedi when faced with a war. And when Mace decided to execute Palpatine.

Palpatine is the mastermind of traps, and knows how to use people's strengths and inclinations to spring them. In tandem of course with their flaws as well, which usually involve naiveté and/or arrogance.

Vader and Palpatine do this with Luke, as well.

While trying to negotiate with Jabba, and becoming desperate to save his friends, while having run out of options, Luke grabs a blaster to try to kill Jabba in a last ditch effort.

Later, on board the Death Star, desperate to save his friends, and out of options, Luke grabs his lightsaber in a last ditch effort to kill The Emperor.

Then finally, in a blind fury of hate, he almost kills his father. And yet, still out of options to save his friends or himself, he eventually decides to throw away his weapon - and wins the moral victory.

I just noticed this connection while watching the Mustafar duel for the millionth time:

In AotC, while discussing politics and the corruption among political leaders at Padmé's apartment, Anakin tells Obi-Wan, "Not another lecture. At least not on the economics of politics."

In RotS, during their verbal spat on Mustafar, Obi-Wan says to Anakin, "You have become the very thing you swore to destroy," to which Anakin replies, "Don't lecture me, Obi-Wan."

This is clearly a motif that runs through their relationship, I just never realized the extent of it until now. A lot can be gleaned from this connective thread. I'll probably try to write some longer analysis on this later, but for now I'll leave this here to ferment.

Exactly, well said.

I just realized another connection that I have not personally noticed. Palpatine says "You must break through the fog of lies the Jedi have created around you," and Anakin says "I see through the lies of the Jedi."

The psychology of Anakin is very real of a person doing evil but thinking they are doing the right thing. And Palpatine is a master groomer and manipulator.

I just love everything about Lucas' saga, from the multifaceted and layered characterizations to the repeated use of motifs.

They haven't really assimilated this motif on TFN, have they? 

This is one of many motifs that was quite consciously implanted into the Saga by The Maker, no doubt. 

George in 1999 with Bill Moyers:


Presumably, Lucas made this discovery via his own kids, who were quite young when he began making the PT, and who he took time to adopt and raise in the protracted interlude between the finish of the OT and the start of the PT. 

The quote suggests that Lucas is sensitive to the way impressions are made, especially on young minds, which is the fundamental essence of Star Wars (appealing to the young and the young at heart). He is aware that lectures have their limits and people tend to pick up lessons indirectly, via other means. His comments, just on this level, hint that there is more happening beneath the surface of Star Wars than most people take the time to discover; and also that TPM, which is the only one of the Lucas films to feature a child version of the main protagonist (Anakin) of the Saga with his own independent storyline (that intersects with several of the other storylines at work in the movie), is a film to be watched a certain way: a subtle boast that TPM, like the larger Saga to which it belongs, harbours a more perspicuous take on elemental aspects of human nature than are commonly considered.

That "awareness" of what he is saying, or his assertion that he tries to be aware, also places Lucas a degree (or two) above the new copyright holders under Disney. There's a certain humility and introspective quality to his remarks, even a sort of early warning to Disney that was ignored: i.e., you can't take the audience for granted and just bully them into accepting a certain worldview or idea that they have doubts about. It's about more than projecting virtue. You actually have to live it. Be the paragon that you want other people to emulate or derive inspiration from. This is why Lucasian Star Wars is so satisfying and feels so deeply authentic. Lucas made these motifs feel like less of a lecture. He found a way, if I may phrase it as such, to make morality entertaining. No stern admonitions, no agenda-driven memes, no stuffy reading from an ancient book. And rather than that entertainment being hollow or losing its lustre over time, it continues to shine brightly because it comes from a man that has tried to embody those values in his personal life.

That's a trilogy of amazing posts, Cryogenic! Looking back at this thread that's over three years old now, I may have gone too far in a few places, but it was undeniably fun for me posting here back then, and I hope it was for others as well. I thought I had exhausted the well on connections completely dry, but as I said in my last couple of posts, I just keep finding new resonances within Lucas' timeless saga. Who knows? Maybe it's time for a new golden age of "Mirroring and Symbolism"?