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Denis Garcia

Mrs. Trishia Briones

English 1302

March 27, 2022

Article Analysis

Introduction

When one think of Star Wars, one thinks of all the good things about it, and although

there are a lot of good things there are also some bad things. There is often a deeper meaning to

many characters and things one might see in the Universe. From the characters introduced in the

Mortis arc to one of the main characters in the entire series. This essay will be discussing the

deeper meaning of some characters by analyzing articles and thus explaining their deeper

meaning and why people look up to them and why some disapprove of them.

Understanding Characters

In the Star Wars universe there are many characters that are introduced, the purpose for

them being introduced is often overlooked, while there are others that we struggle to understand

altogether. For example the introduction to The Father, The Son, and The Daughter in a three

episode arc in which their purpose is later revealed to the viewer but also goes deeper than the

purpose in the story. Later in the series Prince Lee-Char is introduced, who is a young prince

dealing with the responsibility of protecting his people although he is young and inexperienced.

They go in depth by analyzing his story in three different perspectives. “ The first way to

approach religion in the quest of Prince Lee-Char is to observe these episodes from a

"macroscopic" perspective—that is, to consider the context in which they take place. Next, a
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second level of analysis will consist in exploring some specific elements of the quest of Prince

Lee-Char, hunting for symbols with a "microscopic" approach. This will allow us to suggest that

this quest is a form of a pagan journey. Finally, a third path of analysis will take an intermediate

—or "mesoscopic"—point of view” (Guitton 1). The main character in Star Wars is introduced,

Anakin Skywalker, the articles surrounding him look at his actions over the course of the series

and the way he is and has changed since he was first introduced. In the first article it talks about

how there is a gray area that Anakin is in that allows him to walk free after committing several

crimes. “. This avoidance of responsibility, through what has been termed the gray area, allows

Anakin Skywalker to commit countless atrocities while walking away unscathed and in the end

redeemed” (Atkinson & Calafell 1). The next few articles talk about how he has a personality

disorder and the reasons and signals he gives off that make the writers come to the conclusion

that he does indeed have a disorder. “Reference to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of

Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV), reveals that the character fulfilled six of the nine

borderline personality disorder (BPD) criteria. He presented impulsivity and difficulty

controlling his anger and alternated between idealisation and devaluation (of his Jedi mentors)”

(Bui 1). Although one of those articles argues that he didn't have the disorder for some other set

reasons. “The main symptom cluster for dissociative disorders includes disruptions in

consciousness, memory, identity, or perception. Based on the “Star Wars” film series, Anakin

did not experience these symptoms.” All of these articles deal with the reasons for a character

being in a show and their purpose and why they are the way they are.

Understood Characters

All of these articles have some things in common although it may be hard to see they are

sometimes quite clear. In the article Mythologizing Mortis they exclaimed that the three

characters(The Father, The Son, and The Daughter) are the physical embodiment of the force and

that some people would take it seriously and look up to them for some other reasons. Many
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people aspired to follow the ways of the force and look up to them for guidance as people do in

the show. To some it gives them hope and it helps them feel more connected to the show. People

also see it in a way that there has to be a balance just like how The Father is the Balance of both

The Son (the dark side) and The Daughter (the light side). Then we move on to Prince Lee-Char.

He is looked up to because of his actions and how he decided to act after the tragic passing of his

father and therefore claiming the responsibility of keeping his people safe. He stepped up to the

plate with the help of a few jedi and helped bring peace to his world. Anakin Skywalker is

praised by many for his actions during the war. Although some of his actions were violent and

unjustified. Anakin is known to be the Chosen One in the prophecies of the jedi. He has an

incredibly short temper which causes him to do things that are very uncalled for. Although his

actions are for the betterment of the galaxy, he does whatever it takes to win. They continue to

talk about Anakin as Vader although they are showing him coming back to the light side and

completing the prophecy afterall. Many of these characters are looked up to in a way and it is

good that they idolize these characters in these articles.

Misunderstood Characters

All of these characters are very well represented; there is one that is often misunderstood.

Anakin Skywalker is often viewed as a good guy with a lot of good morals and good actions.

Some of Anakin's actions aren’t justified and they are wrong altogether. “Anakin’s success in

conjunction with the ideological fragment of the American Dream further cements an

understanding of him as a good or admirable figure that followed the rules, suffered, and

sacrificed. This helps to frame the understanding and reading of the character later on and excuse

his behavior” (Atkinson & Calafell 1). The way Anakin did things was not necessary and he was

more aggressive and often seemed like he had tapped into the “dark side”. They go on to explain

how this gray area that he fell into was some sort of hegemonic masculinity. In the next few

articles it looks at how Anakin fell or fit into some categories that defined him as a BPD
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(Borderline Personality Disorder). They explain the many factors that come into play when

diagnosing Anakin with BPD. They looked at his past and him growing up which wasn't in the

greatest of environments. They later transitioned to his actions that caused him to turn into Darth

Vader. Although one article argues that although some of the signs are there it is unfair to

diagnose him just off of those things alone but there is also another article that backs up what the

first article says and uses as evidence. These are just some of the things that affected Anakin and

the way he was perceived by people.

Conclusion

After reviewing the topics and the deeper meaning of things one can see that there is a

way to view things differently and possibly see things from another angle. From a certain

viewpoint some characters are looked up to while others are frowned upon for so many

different reasons. Star Wars is an incredible universe and there are so many more hidden

meanings that one can find if one could only just look for them.
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Works Cited

Atkinson, Joshua, and Bernadette Calafell. “Darth Vader Made Me Do It! Anakin

Skywalker’s Avoidance of Responsibility and the Gray Areas of Hegemonic Masculinity in

the Star Wars Universe.” Shibboleth Authentication Request,

https://web-p-ebscohost-com.tamiu.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=cc

c0f505-4515-4a09-8800-dd0011ebde15%40redis.

Bui, Eric, et al. “Is Anakin Skywalker Suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder?”

Shibboleth Authentication Request,

https://www-sciencedirect-com.tamiu.idm.oclc.org/science/article/pii/S0165178109001346.

da Rocha, Felipe F., et al. “Revisiting the Anakin Skywalker Diagnostic: Transcending the

Diagnostic Criteria.” Shibboleth Authentication Request,

https://www-sciencedirect-com.tamiu.idm.oclc.org/science/article/pii/S0165178111005282.

Guitton, Matthieu J. “The Underwater Quest of Prince Lee-Char: Renewing the Hero Archetype

in Star Wars .” Shibboleth Authentication Request,

https://web-p-ebscohost-com.tamiu.idm.oclc.org/ehost/detail/detail?vid=1&sid=5662f72e-f

9a1-49ef-95ce-162700719494%40redis&bdata=JnNjb3BlPXNpdGU%3D#AN=135579037

&db=hsi.

Sweet, Derek. “Mythologizing Mortis: The Clone Wars as Dialogic Spirituality .”

Shibboleth Authentication Request,

https://web-p-ebscohost-com.tamiu.idm.oclc.org/ehost/detail/detail?vid=1&sid=25704f1c-1

a59-4901-92e4-907539e3b215%40redis&bdata=JnNjb3BlPXNpdGU%3D#AN=135579033
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&db=hsi.

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Tobia, Anthony, et al. “Darth Vulcan? In Support of Anakin Skywalker Suffering

from Borderline Personality Disorder.” Shibboleth Authentication Request,

https://www-sciencedirect-com.tamiu.idm.oclc.org/science/article/pii/S0165178115004965.