Star Wars on Trial

by David Brin

  Leia never receives any real Jedi training, though, either in the movies or in many of the Expanded Universe novels set after ROTJ. In these stories, her primary power seems to be an empathic link with Luke and her children. Leia's profile in The New Essential Guide to Characters says that she was always interested in developing her powers, but "politics kept her much busier than either she or her brother would want." This has never been an entirely satisfactory answer to me, although it seems likely that training is going to require a significant commitment of time, even if you factor in Leia's natural abilities and the fact that the Jedi no longer seem to require a lifetime of training, as they did in the days before the Empire.

  Author Troy Denning offers an interesting alternative to the "Leia is just too busy" explanation in his novel Tatooine Ghost. During the course of the story, she admits to herself that "many of the diplomatic gifts she attributed to intuition were really the glimmering of untrained Force potential." On the other hand, she thinks, "developing her potential would have meant facing the dark side of her heritage and ... that thought frightened her as much as having children."

  Not having Leia develop her Jedi abilities may have been a decision made by Lucasfilm. If it was, though, it's recently been reversed. Leia is fighting with a lightsaber in The Unifying Force by James Luceno, the concluding novel in the NewJedi Order cycle. In that same book, Luke describes his sister as "a knight in her own right, who had for her own reasons resisted taking up the path of the Jedi."

  Leia's resistance finally melts in The Joiner King by Denning, the next novel in the Expanded Universe chronology. In this story, she decides that she wants to learn the ways of the Force under the tutelage of a nonhuman (but female) Jedi Master named Saba Sebatyne. "After all I've seen and done," Leia says, " ... it always comes down to this. To one Jedi, to one blade, standing against the darkness.... I'm beginning to understand the Jedi's place in the galaxy-and to see my place in the Jedi."

  The following novel, The Unseen Queen (also by Denning), takes the believable approach that Leia doesn't immediately adjust to her new status as a Jedi apprentice. Denning notes: "After a lifetime of leadership in both politics and the military, Leia sometimes found it difficult to remember that in the Jedi Order she was just another Jedi Knightand, as far as Saba was concerned, a fairly junior one at that."

  Leia displays some remarkable talents in these books, though. In The Joiner King, she shifts a cloud bank to provide cover for the Millennium Falcon and in The Unseen Queen, she's able to enter a mind meld with other Jedi during a battle (both of which seem to be fairly advanced techniques). Leia's training has been a long time comingthe official chronology places The Joiner King a full thirty-five years after A New Hope-but it finally seems to be here.

  Alderaan's last princess isn't the only strong woman who appears in the original trilogy. Return of the Jedi introduces Mon Mothma, one of the leaders of the Rebel Alliance, while in A New Hope, Bern Lars demonstrates a different sort of strength as she and her husband carve out a life for themselves on Tatooine.

  LIKE DAUGHTER, LIKE MOTHER?

  Leia may have inherited her Jedi potential from her father, but many of her talents and character traits apparently came from her mother, Padme Amidala (played by Natalie Portman). Padme has been received by the fans with considerably less enthusiasm than her daughter was. However, I think this reaction comes from changes in the real world as much as it comes from differences between the two women. Padme may never be the icon that Leia is, but I think she may be a more complex, deeper character.

  For better or for worse, Padme is not a trailblazer. When Leia grabs Luke's blaster in the Death Star, it's an unexpected twist. When her mother displays her marksmanship in The Phantom Menace, she's establishing herself as part of a clearly defined tradition. Characters like Padme simply aren't as rare as they were in 1977. And that's a good thing.

  This fact may have influenced how George Lucas introduced Padme. There's no scene in The Phantom Menace where she actively takes over a situation, as Leia does in A New Hope. She simply moves from negotiating an alliance with the Gungans to planning the liberation of the capital city, as if it were natural and expected. During the strategy session before the climactic battle, neither Qui-Gon Jinn nor Obi-Wan Kenobi question her right to give orders. They do what advisors are expected to do. They advise, leaving the decision making to Padme. Again, this can be seen as a positive sign.

  There is a scene in Attach of the Clones, though, that can be interpreted as Padme actively taking control. When Anakin Skywalker expresses reluctance to go after Obi-Wan, after he may have been captured by the Geonosians, she responds, "He (Mace Windu) gave you strict orders to protect me. And I'm going after Obi-Wan. If you plan to protect me, you'll just have to come along."

  Padme takes the lead in the escape from the arena on Geonosis. She breaks out of her restraints first, then helps to free Obi-Wan and Anakin. Neither of the Jedi seem to have any problems with being rescued by a girl.

  Despite her many strengths, Padme does make mistakes during the prequel trilogy. And they are serious mistakes, with long-lasting consequences.

  In The Phantom Menace, she moves for a vote of no confidence against Chancellor Valorum, which leads to Palpatine taking power. This decision, though, illustrates an important difference between Padme and her daughter. Padme is younger than Leia when we first meet her, and doesn't know as much about other worlds. (For example, she expresses surprise that slavery is permitted on Tatooine). Darth Sidious describes her as "young and naive" in Phantom, and, at that point, the description is accurate.

  However, she does understand the peril that her homeworld faces, and the fact that it will only get worse over time. "Our people are dying, Senator," she tells Palpatine. "We must do something quickly in order to stop the Federation." Later she says, "By the time you have control of the bureaucrats, there will be nothing left of our people, our way of life."

  Padme does not support Palpatine because she's going to personally profit from it. She does it because it's the first option she sees that has a chance of success. (Whatever its other problems might be-and I think they're numerous-I think there's a definite theme to The Phantom Menace. I think it's about people making bad decisions for good reasons.)

  The other major mistake Padme makes is getting involved with Anakin Skywalker. While watching the prequel films, it's easy to wonder just what she sees in him. For a while, at least, it looks like she just wants to act as his surrogate mother. When little Anakin says "I'll always care for you" in Phantom, she replies, "You miss your mother." She calls him a "funny little boy." And she insists on using the diminutive "Annie."

  Anakin, though, sees the relationship very differently. She's an angelhis angel, to be exact. When Padme finally admits to herself that she knows what Little Annie wants, she discovers that she wants it too. Even if the feeling will last for only the few minutes before their execution.

  (Interestingly, both Padme and Leia seem to be attracted to bad boys. Also, both mother and daughter express their love at times when that love appears to be a hopeless cause. It's interesting to consider what might have happened if Leia had known who her real mother was when she started to draw closer to Han Solo.)

  Both of these mistakes came from a genuine desire to help on Padme's part. I think that fallibility adds depth to her character.

  Another woman who has a strong presence in the prequel trilogy-although she appears in relatively few scenes-is Anakin's mother, Shmi (Pernilla August). She's not a strong character in the sense that she's a leader, or has active control of her own life. However, she's strong enough to survive life as a slave and to let her son go when he appears to be heading for a better life. (Shmi does play a more active part in Tatooine Ghost, as she, Cliegg and Owen Lars execute an elaborate plan to free her from Watto, the junk dealer.)

  ACROSS THE (EXPANDED) UNIVERSE

  In addition to Padme and Shmi, the prequel movies introduce several women Jedi
, including ones who sit on the Jedi Council. Not a lot of time is spent on them in the movies, but I don't think they receive any less attention than the newly introduced male Jedi, with the obvious exception of Samuel Jackson as Mace Windu. Also, many of these characters are developed in the Expanded Universe stories.

  For instance, a Jedi Master named Luminara Unduli and her Padawan, Barriss Offee, have appeared in novels, comic book stories and the Clone Wars animated series. In The Approaching Storm by Alan Dean Foster, Luminara, Barriss, Obi-Wan and Anakin are sent to the planet Ansion, in order to make sure that the world does not join the Separatist movement. (This is the mission to Ansion mentioned near the beginning of Attach of the Clones.)

  In this novel, Luminara displays mastery in everything from fighting techniques to dance. At one point, the Jedi quartet takes shelter with a nomadic tribe that welcomes visitors-as long as they are entertaining. For her contribution, Luminara performs an intricate dance that includes very delicate manipulations with the Force. Barriss goes on a solo mission in the Medstar books by Steve Perry and Michael Reaves. During this assignment, she makes a discovery that could lead her directly to the dark side of the Force.

  Yaddle, a member of the Jedi Council, is featured in The Shadow Trap, a middle-reader book by Jude Watson. A female from Yoda's homeworld, Yaddle can be seen in The Phantom Menace-if you don't blink. But she plays a major role in this story. Here's how Watson describes Yaddle in combat:

  She was all grace and flowing movement, her lightsaber a blur ... Yaddle took out ten attack droids in what seemed like no time and then buried her lightsaber in the two grenade mortar controls. Within minutes, all of the droids were sizzling in the puddles of water.

  And here's how Obi-Wan remembers her:

  She had taken a special delight in the young Jedi students. She had turned a blind eye to their pranks. She had hidden sweets in their pockets.... There were hard lessons to learn. Yaddle had been there in a different way. There had been so many times when he had knocked respectfully on her door with a problem he didn't want to bother Yoda with. Obi-Wan realized how exceptional it was that a member of the Jedi Council had made herself to be so available to every student.

  One of the newest female Jedi is Olee Starstone, who is introduced in James Luceno's novel Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader. Olee is a Padawan, and Luceno allows her to be young. Roan Shryne, a full Knight, teases her for talking too much. At the same time, though, Luceno gives her the strength and the skills to allow her to survive the chaotic days after Order 66. Even Shryne admits-to himself, anyway-that Olee "demonstrated remarkable courage and was as deft at handling a lightsaber as many fullfledged Jedi Knights. (Shryne) suspected that she had a stronger connection to the Force than he had had even during his most stalwart years as an eager learner."

  As a rule, the women Jedi dress basically the same way as the men, although there have been exceptions. I don't want to suggest that George Lucas and his associates have been infallible when it comes to creating women characters. A Strong Woman Character can become a Hot Babe With A Gun if not in exactly the right hands. (Aurra Sing, a character spun off from Phantom, comes to mind.) But the treatment of women in the Star Wars universe is one of the things I like about the series and something that I hope can be acknowledged as the accomplishment it is.

  Bill Spangler has written both fiction and nonfiction based on TV science fiction series. In addition to contributing to BenBella's Farscape Forever!, he has had articles in Xpose and Wizard's Sci-Fi Invasion, and has written original comic book stories based on Alien Nation, Quantum Leap and other shows. Bill and his wife Joyce live in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, with two ferrets and a dog.

  THE COURTROOM

  DROID JUDGE: Mr. Brin, your witness.

  DAVID BRIN: I thank Bill Spangler for citing references to some of the Star Wars books. I expected other Defense witnesses to mention these, since I do know that many skilled authors have poured their hearts into the tie-in novels. In some of them, strenuous efforts have been made to compensate for plot flaws in the movies themselves. Certainly there are strong female characters in several.

  Still, as long as we are on the topic of Princess Leia, exactly what are we to make of one of the biggest of the Big Five broken promises of the entire series?

  In The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda and Obi-Wan look woefully at the departing Luke, both of them certain that his rebellious action will result in disaster. (It doesn't.)

  "There goes our last hope," says the ghost of Obi-Wan.

  "No," answers the oven mitt. "There is another."

  That statement-so filled with dramatic portent-promised a big payoff. When we learned that the "other" was Leia, that was just fine! Our appetites were whetted for her to do something marvelous! Only then...

  ... Do you feel that there was a payoff worthy of this clue?

  BILL SPANGLER: Leia definitely displays herJedi powers in Return of the Jedi. Did you see the hairdo she was wearing at the Ewok camp?

  DROID JUDGE: (noisily clears throat) Mr. Spangler....

  BILL SPANGLER: Oh. You want a serious answer. Okay.... I don't think that Leia could've suddenly manifested powers in Return equal to or greater than Luke's. That would've been a deus ex machina. And I don't think she could've confronted Vader directly. As Luke says in the film, the Rebels couldn't risk giving Vader the chance to kill the two remaining Jedi directly. (He doesn't say that bluntly, but I think I'm paraphrasing him accurately.) Leia does do things, however, that I think can be considered signs of her Jedi skills. Three immediately come to mind: her strangling Jabba; her receiving Luke's call for help in The Empire Strikes Back and her saying in Return that she has memories of her real mother.

  Also, as I understand it, one of the subplots in Dark Nest-the newest SW trilogy from Del Rey-is Leia receiving some formal Jedi training. It's long overdue, but it hasn't been forgotten.

  HE ARE TWO MAIN PROBLEMS with the Star Wars films, which in turn lead to a more general problem with movies. The two problems specific to the films are as follows:

  1. Each episode subsequent to Episode IV renders the previous films increasingly nonsensical.

  2. Episodes I through III make episodes IV through VI entirely incoherent.

  Since the six films and the endless ancillary products have made billions of dollars, this has led to the third, more general problem:

  3. Science fiction and fantasy films are unbearably stupid. Indeed, going to see a science fiction or fantasy movie these days is not dissimilar to attending an extended performance art piece which involves several gorgeous people, all in wonderful if somewhat tasteless costume, wheeling a wheelbarrow full of raw, rancid bacon onto a stage. Handed pitchforks by sequinedspangled assistants, the costumed beauties grab hold tighlty of the handles, stick the spears of the forks into the wheelbarrow, and then fling the rancid bacon at the audience, all while screaming, "Eat it! Eat it, you stupid pigs! You morons love it!" The audience leaps to action, scrambling along the aisles and trying to grab up and shove as much of the foul bacon into their fat mouths as they can, stopping only to look up at the performers, point to their stuffed cheeks and mumble through tangles and blobs of rancid meat, "Yuth yuth ah fuff ith!" The stars sneer and howl, "That's right, you jowly bastards, gobble it up, and crap yourselves in glee!" When the meat runs out, the show is over.

  Note that I am not talking about the obvious problems with the films-the seagoing physics in an interstellar environment; the acting generally so wooden that IMAX viewers can see the termites running out the actors' ears; an economy that contains faster-than-light travel, strong Al and chattel slaves but, apparently, no news mediaor even how the lightsaber amputations pile up so awkwardly that they go from high drama to creepy fetish to the implied goal of the saber martial art and then back into creepy fetish again. I don't even mean dialogue like "I've been waiting for this moment a loooong tiiiiime, my leeeeetle greeeeeen frrriiiiiend." I'm just talking plot.

  Standing alone, Ep
isode IV is a fairly mediocre movie. Young guy makes friends, makes good and doesn't quite get the girl, but that's okay, because there's a sequel in the offing. In Episode V, things get wonky. Why didn't Obi-Wan Kenobi tell Luke that Darth Vader was Luke's father? Clearly, Vader could have told Luke at any time-the guy's pretty much the Vice President of the Empire, isn't he?-so Obi-Wan has no reason to believe that Luke could be kept from the truth. If Vader wanted to blow Luke's mind, he could have had the words "Luke, I am your father, xoxo, DV" burnt into the side of some nearby mountains with the laser cannons of his Star Destroyer at any time. Or how about when Vader confronts Leia? No mention of paternity, or the Force, which is supposed to be strong in her as well. Finally, why couldn't Obi-Wan tell Luke that Leia is his sister for that matter-again, there's no reason to hide any of this.

  Of course, in Episode V, Vader declares that he wants to use Luke as a weapon against the Emperor. Given that, it almost makes sense that Vader would wait for some dramatic moment to tell Luke the truth-he had to keep his secret son/secret weapon quiet so that the Emperor would not find out. Except of course that Emperor Palpatine knows that Anakin impregnated Amidala, as we see in Episode III. Thus, a potentially intriguing plot point, one that would also explain why Kenobi never even bothered to alter Luke's surname or place him somewhere other than Anakin's home planet (and the same damn neighborhood!), can be flushed down the toilet.

  But wait! we hear millions of fanboys cry, Anakin thought he killed Amidala, so how would they know about Luke and Leia? That's almost a good point, except that, between their having Sith powers and political pull on the one hand, and the fact that Luke Skywalker is staying with mutual relatives in the old 'hood and living under his true surname on the other, it should be trivially easy for Vader, or the Emperor for that matter, to find out about young Luke and kill him in his cradle. Or whenever they felt like it. Didn't Luke sense Vader's power and Han Solo's plight from across interstellar space after a few days of hanging out with Yoda and getting Force training in Episode V? How hard could it be?