Andrew Wlos: Dark Side

            

          In the Star Wars Trilogy, the dark side of the force offers those who utilize it, strong powers and the freedom to use them in whatever way they choose.  When I examine the times in which Star Wars Characters have been tempted by the dark side, I realize that it is indeed the dark side’s versatile nature that makes it such an asset.  As we see when Luke uses his anger against his father in the third movie’s lightsaber fight, when Vader attempted to reel Luke into the dark side during their second movie lightsaber fight, and when Lando turned his friend Han over to the empire, the Dark Side tends to offer people the option to accomplish a monumental task, which is why it is so enticing.

            When Luke is in the death star during the third film, he’s really backed into a corner by the emperor and his father.  He’s essentially in a situation that he has no control over, the emperor and Vader will have their way with him, they’ve got the homefield advantage.  That is unless he falls for what the emperor wants him to and uses his anger to kill his father in a fight.  That would give him the opportunity to save himself.  Considering man’s will to survive, the dark side is very difficult to turn away in this instance.

            When Luke fought his father during the second film, he was no match for him.  His father’s skill was definitively superior.  How could Luke save himself from his father’s lightsaber virtuosity?  He could do as his father encouraged him to do, join him in the dark side so they could kill the emperor and rule the galaxy together.  Such an option would be an easy way to get out of the fight.  What Luke chose almost killed him.  Again, considering normal rationality, the dark side offered the seemingly best option.

            When Lando turned Han over to the empire, he was essentially acting with the Dark side.  He was acting Machiavellian to try to come out on top of the situation.  Vader’s option offered him all that he could ask for in the given circumstance, all he had to do was turn Han over and Vader would leave.  Unfortunately for Lando (and those he betrayed) it was a trick and Lando actually ended up getting himself into a pickle.  How did the trick work?  It made Lando think he could avoid a pickle.  The dark side always offers the easiest options.  But no matter where the characters turned during the second film, ". . .Empire would be beset by a string of unlucky events. . ." (Pfeiffer & Lewis 106).

            What can we learn from what these star wars characters have endured?  The easy way out is not always the best way out.  Sometimes Machiavellianism is tempting because of the apparent awards we see, but in reality, the dark side is a malpractice.  What can we do to avoid the dark side?  In Star Wars, the hero, Luke, shows the model for turning against it, perhaps we should turn to our real life heroes to do the same.  “Our means must be as pure as the results we seek,” Martin Luther King, Jr.  “The time is always right to do what’s right,” Martin Luther King, Jr.  I think that quotes like these are great for staying away from the dark side.

Andrew Wlos