Post by Seeker of the Whills on Apr 24, 2022 16:16:27 GMT
(Inspired by Pyrogenic 's TPM analysis thread)
Attack of the Clones Analysis
In this short but interesting interview about the prequels from 1992, I believe Lucas is referring mostly to AotC, when he says: "It's more people betraying people, you not knowing quite what's going on, you don't know who the good guys are and who the bad guys are." People betraying people of course refers to Anakin's betrayal, but it could also refer to Dooku's betrayal. In AotC, you don't indeed know the whole story about who ordered the clones, and you're not entirely sure if Dooku is good or evil. Was there a Sifo-Dyas who ordered the clones, or was it Dooku and/or Sidious in disguise? Is Dooku truly a Sith, or a political idealist who told Obi-Wan the truth about wanting to destroy the Sith? On the face of it, Dooku told Obi-Wan the truth. Dooku does want to overthrow Sidious. But are his intentions pure like he at least pretends to Obi-Wan? He does sound sincere when talking about wishing that Qui-Gon were alive and there to help him. So the scene presents an interesting facet of Dooku as a potentially complexly motivated character.
The film plays a lot with clouding and obstructed vision, not being able to see the true duality of many of the players in the story. Zam is a beautiful woman on the surface, but a hideous monster underneath. Even though she can shapeshift, she wears a veil to conceal her face. Only in death is her true form fully revealed. Palpatine of course conceals his true nature from the Jedi with a Force "veil". Yoda says that "The dark side clouds everything. Impossible to see, the future is", sitting just feet away from him in his office. This shroud of the dark side, which Yoda later in the film proclaims to have fallen, is already seen at the very beginning of the film when Padmé seemingly lands on Coruscant in her royal starship. But again, in the "senator's" death it is revealed that it was actually a decoy of Padmé, and that Padmé posed as one of the Naboo starfighter pilots. Dual identities prevail in AotC. This is also seen in Jango being cloned, not only having Boba but thousands of clones as additional identities. Jango is both the bounty hunter working for the Separatists, as well as the template for the Republic's clone army.
Falling is a repeated occurrence in the film. It is the beginning of the fall of the Republic, as Palpatine gets his emergency powers. Obi-Wan falls off the droid he was hanging off as Zam shoots it. Anakin jumps off the speeder and falls on Zam's speeder. Obi-Wan falls off the landing platform on Kamino. C-3PO falls in the droid factory as he is pushed by R2-D2. Padmé also falls in the droid factory. Mace jumps and falls off the auditorium on the Geonosis arena. Padmé falls off the LAAT gunship. Anakin and Padmé fall in love.
Picking off from the TPM analysis thread, Jedi should be following the Will of the Force as related by the midi-chlorians, but they have become too bureaucratic and mingled in the business of the Senate. They have come to rely on their archives and droids, and blinded from the Force by the dark side as well as their own arrogance. Both Jocasta Nu and Obi-Wan are prideful about the Jedi's all-knowing archives, and say that it is impossible that they could lack any information. It is the lowly and down to Earth Dexter Jettster who brings Obi-Wan down a peg and comments that "You Jedi should know the difference between knowledge and wisdom." The war pushes the Jedi to the brink, and Mace comments that there aren't enough of them. The Jedi come to rely on artificial men, the clones, to bolster their numbers. Reading AotC through the prism of Man of Steel (a surprise to be sure), which may have been inspired by the prequels, you can glean some interesting ideas. In Man of Steel, Jor El says that he believed Krypton lost something valuable when it began artificial birthing of people for specific purposes, such as being a warrior. It was a sign of Krypton's moral decay. The Jedi in AotC are fine with an army bred for war. The Council of Krypton is similar to the Jedi Council in that it won't hear the warnings of Jor El, like the Jedi didn't hear those of Qui-Gon, and this aspect was in the earlier iterations of the Superman mythology, so it might have influenced the prequels. Zod, who was earlier played by Chancellor Valorum actor Terence Stamp, is like Dooku, a deserter who takes radical action to oppose what he sees as a corrupt government.
Some random observations:
Despite wearing what appear to be modest robes worn by regular people on planets like Tatooine, the Jedi are often identified based on just looks. Obi-Wan is identified as a Jedi by a Dug on an air taxi and by the droid waitress in Dex's diner, who says that he's "a Jedi by the looks of him." Perhaps Jedi give off a certain aura. This also happens in TPM and RotS.
Obi-Wan's best friend in AotC is a four-armed alien, and his nemesis in RotS is also a four-armed alien.
Attack of the Clones Analysis
In this short but interesting interview about the prequels from 1992, I believe Lucas is referring mostly to AotC, when he says: "It's more people betraying people, you not knowing quite what's going on, you don't know who the good guys are and who the bad guys are." People betraying people of course refers to Anakin's betrayal, but it could also refer to Dooku's betrayal. In AotC, you don't indeed know the whole story about who ordered the clones, and you're not entirely sure if Dooku is good or evil. Was there a Sifo-Dyas who ordered the clones, or was it Dooku and/or Sidious in disguise? Is Dooku truly a Sith, or a political idealist who told Obi-Wan the truth about wanting to destroy the Sith? On the face of it, Dooku told Obi-Wan the truth. Dooku does want to overthrow Sidious. But are his intentions pure like he at least pretends to Obi-Wan? He does sound sincere when talking about wishing that Qui-Gon were alive and there to help him. So the scene presents an interesting facet of Dooku as a potentially complexly motivated character.
The film plays a lot with clouding and obstructed vision, not being able to see the true duality of many of the players in the story. Zam is a beautiful woman on the surface, but a hideous monster underneath. Even though she can shapeshift, she wears a veil to conceal her face. Only in death is her true form fully revealed. Palpatine of course conceals his true nature from the Jedi with a Force "veil". Yoda says that "The dark side clouds everything. Impossible to see, the future is", sitting just feet away from him in his office. This shroud of the dark side, which Yoda later in the film proclaims to have fallen, is already seen at the very beginning of the film when Padmé seemingly lands on Coruscant in her royal starship. But again, in the "senator's" death it is revealed that it was actually a decoy of Padmé, and that Padmé posed as one of the Naboo starfighter pilots. Dual identities prevail in AotC. This is also seen in Jango being cloned, not only having Boba but thousands of clones as additional identities. Jango is both the bounty hunter working for the Separatists, as well as the template for the Republic's clone army.
Falling is a repeated occurrence in the film. It is the beginning of the fall of the Republic, as Palpatine gets his emergency powers. Obi-Wan falls off the droid he was hanging off as Zam shoots it. Anakin jumps off the speeder and falls on Zam's speeder. Obi-Wan falls off the landing platform on Kamino. C-3PO falls in the droid factory as he is pushed by R2-D2. Padmé also falls in the droid factory. Mace jumps and falls off the auditorium on the Geonosis arena. Padmé falls off the LAAT gunship. Anakin and Padmé fall in love.
Picking off from the TPM analysis thread, Jedi should be following the Will of the Force as related by the midi-chlorians, but they have become too bureaucratic and mingled in the business of the Senate. They have come to rely on their archives and droids, and blinded from the Force by the dark side as well as their own arrogance. Both Jocasta Nu and Obi-Wan are prideful about the Jedi's all-knowing archives, and say that it is impossible that they could lack any information. It is the lowly and down to Earth Dexter Jettster who brings Obi-Wan down a peg and comments that "You Jedi should know the difference between knowledge and wisdom." The war pushes the Jedi to the brink, and Mace comments that there aren't enough of them. The Jedi come to rely on artificial men, the clones, to bolster their numbers. Reading AotC through the prism of Man of Steel (a surprise to be sure), which may have been inspired by the prequels, you can glean some interesting ideas. In Man of Steel, Jor El says that he believed Krypton lost something valuable when it began artificial birthing of people for specific purposes, such as being a warrior. It was a sign of Krypton's moral decay. The Jedi in AotC are fine with an army bred for war. The Council of Krypton is similar to the Jedi Council in that it won't hear the warnings of Jor El, like the Jedi didn't hear those of Qui-Gon, and this aspect was in the earlier iterations of the Superman mythology, so it might have influenced the prequels. Zod, who was earlier played by Chancellor Valorum actor Terence Stamp, is like Dooku, a deserter who takes radical action to oppose what he sees as a corrupt government.
Some random observations:
Despite wearing what appear to be modest robes worn by regular people on planets like Tatooine, the Jedi are often identified based on just looks. Obi-Wan is identified as a Jedi by a Dug on an air taxi and by the droid waitress in Dex's diner, who says that he's "a Jedi by the looks of him." Perhaps Jedi give off a certain aura. This also happens in TPM and RotS.
Obi-Wan's best friend in AotC is a four-armed alien, and his nemesis in RotS is also a four-armed alien.
