"Good and Evil in Revenge of the Sith?" by Adam Slight

As I re-watched Episode III with the intention of this article in mind, I had a difficult time stringing together a strong argument that I could make about the film. Subsequently this would become my main criticism for Episode III: Its somewhat of a muddied mess of ups and downs. Lacking previous strength politically, aesthetically and emotionally, Episode III risks coming off too much as a straight effects action flick. It wasn’t until the last 20 minutes that I finally discovered what I could say about this film. After all, everyone knows Episode III is good…its just a matter of figuring out why. Although my thesis isn’t “Episode III is awesome” (I’m saving that for Ryan), I would like to point out an interesting strength that I discovered.

I had my revelation during the final moments of the lava lightsaber duel on Mustafar. Obi-Wan appeals to Anakin yelling “Anakin, Chancellor Palpatine is evil!”, Anakin responds “From my point of view, the Jedi are evil!”. This of course is a running motif for the Jedi, first introduced in Return of the Jedi as a ghostly Obi-Wan utters “From a certain point of view”. He uses this phrase to justify lying to Luke about his father’s death. Initially Obi-Wan led Luke to believe that his father, Anakin, was murdered by Darth Vader. In actuality, Darth Vader was Anakin. According to Obi-Wan, Darth Vader did kill Anakin…from a certain point of view.

“Your father was seduced by the dark side of the Force. He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader. When that happened, the good man who was your father was destroyed. So what I have told you was true... from a certain point of view.”

Obi-Wan continues:

“Luke, you're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.”

This is a prime example of the subjectivity of truth that we so often forget about. With this in mind, is Anakin really so wrong in proclaiming that in his point of view, the Jedi are evil? Sure, this could be an example of how the emperor twists the mentality of others. Palpatine spent decades building subtle distrust of the Jedi within Anakin’s heart. However, the possibility that we disagree with Anakin as viewers is because we have five previously made Star Wars movies that tell us that the Sith are evil, and that we must identify with the Jedi. So when we hear Anakin shout this, we are prone to hear these words from a Jedi perspective and reject them. When you watch movies like The Godfather or The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, what is it that connects the viewer to these conventionally immoral characters? We know their actions are wrong yet we still cheer for them. This is of course because we identify with them.

Let me illustrate with an example. Within the first 30 minutes of the film we see General Grievous’ flagship hurtling towards the surface of Coruscant. Inside, Anakin, Obi-Wan and Palpatine cling to their seats as Anakin haphazardly attempts to land the flaming wreckage on a landing strip. As the ship strikes the surface it recklessly slides along the pavement, smashing a nearby flight control tower. Finally the ship comes to a halt. We are relieved to see that our heroes are still in one piece.

This is because we can identify with them. We’ve already endured 30 minutes of adventure with them, not to mention 4 hours of additional adventures in Episode I and II. “Good”, we think, “They landed safely”. Yes, but what do you think the families of those who died in the demolished control tower think? I’m sure they may question the justification of recklessly attempting to salvage a flaming piece of junk for the lives of three, instead of blasting it out of the sky and preserving the lives of many within the tower.

Of course there are endless counter-arguments to the technicalities in this example, but it effectively illustrates how our identification with certain characters lead us to assume their ideologies and values.

So this brings us back to the question: Who are evil, the Jedi or the Sith. Well, both, and neither at the same time. First one must consider if the concepts of right and wrong, or good and evil are fallible. What makes the Sith evil and the Jedi good? Both have potentially redeeming qualities, depending on your point of view. While a Catholic nun may consider the Jedi’s vow of chastity, poverty and obedience to be quite comfy, Friedrich Nietzsche writes of an instinctual, passionate Dionysian state that is similar to that of Sith philosophy.

This may not be convincing enough. After all, Palpatine did orchestrate a full scale war, obliterate the Jedi order, and usurp the Galactic Republic to attain complete control of the galaxy. Even if everyone can agree that these acts were immoral or evil, Palpatine did these things to achieve order. These seemingly audacious acts are all a means to an orderly end. As long as nobody opposes the Empire, the galaxy is peaceful. Couldn’t this, from some stretch of the imagination or a certain point of view, seem good. Look at the French Revolution. While the events of the revolution were violent and bloody, history tells us to appreciate the upheaval of the French monarchy, aristocracy and clergy which preceded it.

On the other hand, the Jedi are considered to uphold peace and stability in the Empire. From an early age, they meditate the mysteries of the force and defend those who are weak. But don’t the Jedi also kill? What’s the difference between a Jedi taking one’s life and a Sith taking one’s life? The Jedi kill to defend their ideologies and the Sith kill to defend theirs. Mace Windu must kill Palpatine because he is too dangerous to be kept alive. However, Palpatine is only too dangerous to the Jedi ideology to be kept alive. If neither the Sith nor the Jedi are absolutely moral, then how can this mortal defense of the Jedi ideology be justified?

“But just look at them!” you may proclaim. After all, the Sith do look quite menacing. But why do they look menacing? Do their appearances stir primal fears within our psyches related to predatorial instincts from our past? Or is it more likely that the Sith look evil because of conventions from previous movies. In the classic western films, the good guys wore white hats and the bad guys wore black hats. I think this association with appearance and good/evil pertains to this. Besides, couldn’t we agree that Emperor Palpatine bears a striking resemblance to Pope Benedict?

Clearly there is a paradox present. Essentially the Sith are evil because they oppose the ideologies of the Jedi. Similarly, the Jedi are good because they oppose the ideologies of the Sith. But if you’re a Sith, the Jedi are evil because they oppose you. One assumes the ideology that they identify with, and assigns it the quality of “good”. The ambiguity of a set moral system makes a true “good and evil” impossible.

So perhaps Anakin was wrong, only because his conduct and the conduct of his associates (Palpatine, The Empire) conflict with the common ideologies of most audiences. Most agree that cold murder and totalitarian governments are evil. But just because we agree or disagree doesn’t make it right or wrong. Anakin became a Sith to protect the girl he loved, but ends up killing her. This failure to accomplish his set goals through Sith means could demonstrate the error of his choice.

At the end of the day the ambiguity of good and evil is readily present in Revenge of the Sith. Such distinctions are purely based in the eye of the beholder. Oh wait, the bad guys are named: Sidious, Maul, Tyrannus and Grievous. Nevermind…they are evil. Scratch everything I just said.