Friday, February 17, 2012

Why the Dark Side Isn't as Evil as You Think It Is

In the extensive world of Star Wars fandom, there seems to be nothing worse than the Dark Side. Sure, they've got the awesomeness of Darth Vader, the elegance of shiny red light sabers and a man-made energy-beam-spitting "Death Star". But putting all that aside for a second, the average viewer thinks of the Dark Side of the Force (yes, the capitals are on purpose) as the equivalent of a futuristic and sexed up Nazi regime.



I'm not trying to justify all the things the Dark Side has done, but its kind of hard not to cheer for them when the "good guys" have freaking Jar Jar Binks on their side. Anyways, the point is that the Dark Side isn't as evil nor is the "bright side" as nice as people describe them. The Jedi Order held the prophecy of the "one who would restore balance to the Force", yet they were dominating side of the Force, which could only mean one thing: the bright side of the Force was going uncurbed.

However, as the Yin-Yang symbol shows, each opposite contains the other. In other words, the problems created by the Bright Side world give rise to the Dark Side. Later on, the problems of the Dark Side would bring the rebellion in which a real balance is established, learning from both the mistakes of both the Bright and the Dark Side.

The return of the Sith was the most fearful, intolerable thought the Republic could have. It was like their version of 2012 except that nobody was making lousy movies about it (for those of you who have been hiding under a rock during the last few years, 2012 is supposedly the end of the world according to Maya prophecies). However Emperor Palpatine's revolution was the one that overthrew the corrupt and bureaucratic galactic government that pretended to be democratic and fair. It ended the influence of a Jedi Council that had become arrogant, authoritarian, close-minded and very repressive with their emotions because of the excessive concern that "fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering."
No emotion, no attachment, far too rigid
Slave to emotions and greed, the people of the Empire have only their own interests in mind and  will stop at nothing to obtain what they want

These 3 characters are the balance between the Dark Side and the Bright Side: Not too arrogant to want to rule the universe but not too uptight to run away from their feelings and desires.




"Evil is a word used by the ignorant and the weak. The dark side is about survival. It's about unleashing your inner power. It glorifies the strength of the individual."
―Darth Zannah

 If everybody is constantly putting themselves aside for the collective, then nobody benefits. Now, if you stop and think about it, most reasonable people would at least partially agree with this quote. Even Jedis:
  • Obi-Wan Kenobi used his anger to defeat Darth Maul
  • Anakin used his hate to kill Dooku
  • Luke used rage to disarm Darth Vader
Anakin is The Chosen One because he initially destroy the imbalance created by the faults of the Jedi Order by joining the Dark Side. He then destroys the imbalance of the Dark Side by killing the Emperor. So yes, he did fulfill the prophecy of the one would return balance to the Force. And no the Dark Side is not pure evil. Now get out there and enjoy your Dark Side before the world ends.