Seduced By The Dark Side of the Force

I just finished my Star Wars marathon. First off, let me say that this is one of the best stories of our generation, aside from the obvious fact that this epic is an amazing visual masterpiece and a kick-ass sci-fi action adventure, it also deals with a number of psychological and cognitive concepts. And in that thought lies the questions: Did Anakin have to turn to the dark side? What made him turn and why?

I always thought that what happened to him was not enough to be seduced by the dark side. Too shallow. Yun na yon? Darth Vader ka na? I was expecting a definitive change or even an over-the-top moment where Lucas would clearly show that Anakin would have had no other path but to walk to the dark side. Let us look at the different factors of why he turned and maybe we'll get some definitive answers if not a more percetible idea of how he was easily seduced by the dark side.

First, let us establish the fact that people fully seduced to the dark side use their negative emotions (i.e. fear, anger, hatred, etc..) to fuel their power. This in turn, increase their affinity to the dark side every time they use it because they become extremely attached to the power that they gain. Every time they call on the power of the dark side, they get addicted to it.

In the movie, the easily identifiable factors of Anakin's turn were: the fear of losing his mother, the anger and rage that fueled him to kill his mother's captors, the confusion that was put in his by Palpatine of political issues labeling the Jedi as traitors and that they wanted to take over, and the fear of inevitably losing Padme to death.

I think Padme's impending death was what Revenge of the Sith portrayed as the main reason why Anakin "chose" the dark side.

But there are also underlying factors as to why Anakin turned to the dark side that may not be easily presumed by anyone watching.

First, Anakin was a slave and being a slave meant being deprived of any freedom of choice, whether it be social, material or spiritual. These factors are known to lead young people on the path of criminal, anti-moral, and destructive activities.

Second, he left his mother for a chance to be a Jedi without thinking of the consequences that he would have to face in the future: he missed his mother so much it was giving him nightmares and sometimes he lost focus of the present and even went against a direct order of the Jedi Council. Granted this is not an excuse, as children of his age might not yet be fully aware of their decisions or its consequences. But nevertheless, he showed that he was an impulsive child and he had an inclination that he should get whatever he wants.

Lastly, I believe that it was his destiny to be a Sith. Lucas commented that the prophecy was right: Anakin was the one to bring balance to the force. He was the one close enough to the Emperor to destroy him. Sidious was far too powerful for any Jedi (he defeated Yoda and killed Mace Windu in a swordfight on the same day) and too wise to let his guard down around anybody he did not trust. I believe that this is where Anakin's destiny to become Darth Vader comes in. In the end, he needed his son, Luke, to clear his thoughts but it was ultimately him who was the engineer of the Emperor's death.

Turning to the dark side wasn't really a decision at all. Or even one awful mitigating event that happened (Anakin cutting off Windu's hand) to finally set you on the path to the dark side. It is a culmination of events. A long process of mistakes and negative emotions that we see Anakin had endured his whole life.

I guess if you look at it this way, Anakin really would have fallen to the seductive power of the dark side. It was just vaguely represented by the movie. This is where the screenplay needed a few more tweaks, I guess. Remember, the first, second, and third episodes were supposed to clearly establish the events that happened at the end of Revenge of the Sith, instead it was presented as vague and undramatic. Don't get me wrong, I don't presume to be better than the Lucas or the writers. I will never think I could do a better job or anything like that, but I just wish they could have just put a little more effort in to the telling and showing of that climactic event.