Anakin a tragic hero, in the tradition of the Classics and Renaissance Literature. A virtuous man who fell because of a fatal flaw. What makes tragedy cathartic and tragic heroes so compelling is that their flaw is something any human could have. Any one of us could fall in a similar way. What makes Anakin so compelling is that he is human: he’s flawed and responds to situations in a way that real humans would. He doesn’t come through adversity smelling of roses (cough, cough Obi Wan), or just overcome all this trauma, flaws and problems through sheer willpower, because that’s not how things work in real life. Lucas could very easily have just gone down the route of making Anakin a miniature Vader, a psychotic devil child who liked torturing things and was just “badass”, but he conspicuously did not. Anakin was a good person, and he had many virtues. He was brave, loyal, compassionate, loving, caring and generous. Strong, intelligent and dedicated. Yes, dedicated. A person who served a political system and government which left his people and his mother to rot in slavery, and then, just to top it all, made alliances with the very people who enslaved them, the people who were the cause of the oppression and exploitation of millions for their own benefit, is dedicated. Anakin would have been fully within his rights to tell the Jedi and the Senate to go and shove it when they asked him to help the Hutts. To call them out on their gross hypocrisy of saying they could do nothing to help slaves on Tatooine yet were quick to act when they wanted Jabba to help them fend off pirates. Even if that meant enabling his activities and those of his family and consolidating their power for another generation. Yet he didn’t. He did as he was told. As Ahsoka Tano said, he would truly “do anything for his friends”. She knew that personally: it takes a special person to stand by their friend in spite of everything even when everyone else is against them, and telling them they should not. Anakin is also a man of the people, in the truest sense. He is not an elitist who looks down on others because of their class or where they’re from. He doesn’t call them “pathetic life forms” for being clumsy or unintelligent. He accepts people like Jar Jar for who they are because he knows how it feels to be an outsider, to be poor and marginalized and despised. To be a nobody. That also means though that his heart burns very strongly against injustice. He despises slavery not because he’s angry or immature or selfish, but because he knows what it is like. He truly believes that to reduce living beings to the possession of others, to be used and abused as they please is the greatest of evils. Yeah, he hates slavers: well I don’t blame him. I hate slavers too. More than that though, Anakin one of the best examples of a neurodivergent character I can think of. He presents almost all of the symptoms of PTSD from childhood, as well as very severe and untreated psychological trauma. Very often, people with mental health issues are villainized and demonized in TV and movies. Anakin is not. He’s that little boy who went out of his way to help others. That little sweetie who even when he was crying and shivering on Padme’s ship didn’t complain and asked if SHE was upset. Even as a young adult, he still does it. He does not want to be evil; he does not want to do evil. He does not relish or delight in it when he does wrong. However, he is just buffeting continually with trauma, abuse, pain, loss, grief and misfortune. He is burdened with the expectations of others and expected to turn a blind eye to injustice in the name of “the greater good”. In the end, he snapped, but it took YEARS to break him, during which time he did cry for help. He tried to reach out and express his pain, but he was greeted with platitudes or told that his feelings were wrong, bad. That his trauma made him dark and dangerous. He is very much a victim. An abuse victim as a child, and as an adult. He was beaten and forced into perilous activities for someone else’s gain on Tatooine. The Jedi considered him little more than a weapon to throw at the Sith, and he was groomed from the age of 12 by an evil man: with the full knowledge of his caregivers who fostered the relationship in the first place. He was used, abused, and exploited for most of his life- and here is the final, oh so tragic twist. Even when he became a villain, he didn’t enjoy it. He did not like it. He did not GAIN anything from it. Even as a villain he was tormented, full of self-loathing and his only release was to dream about what his life would have been like had he not made that one terrible mistake. He became a weapon, an embodiment of pain and hate to be used for someone else’s ends, in a life from which he could not escape, even by death. He only found freedom at the end because of the love of the one person who did not give up on him, and after an action which finally cost him his life.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻it’s sad that there were only three people who truly cared about him just for him: Luke, Padmé, and Shmi 🥺
@@balobadartist9022 I don't count Padme. Remember how she break up with hım. For someone like Clovis ( He almost harassed her and she protected hım. ) And say things like their relationship a lie . How she waiting for hım everytime etc. ( Girl you married hım knowing all of this ) And palpatine used this (saying things like padme cheated with obi wan , so it is not a suprise in episode 3 he choked her when he saw obi wan . She lost her husband trust for someone like clovis .) And I believe Anakin is right in this event fully . (She is not a soldier , as husband he can want something like that " He is want his wife to stay out of danger ." He says clovis a traitor , but padme doesn't believe hım, clovis try to harass her and anakin beat hım up " He is still right because he is her husband " And she break up with her . Then clovis kidnap her , holding a gun to her head and threatened Anakin . Guess what Anakin was right . And someone who put her own husband such a sitution. Padme is wrong and all of this her fault . ) And remember after his mother death she didn't made any move to heal hım . Remember how Padme doesn't want to be public . ( In disguise of Anakin's sake . But in reality she just wanting to be senator ) . In episode 3 Anakin want to be public , and he even want to leave everything behind . Because of jedi order's hyprociate and the war tried of hım out . He has problems with jedi order and he has instant PTSD and Padme as a wife doesn't do anything . She doesn't even aware of the fact Palpatine has weird reaction for her husband . He is manipulating her husband . And she doesn't step up . She always ignore Anakin . She even try to secretly giving birth . And as a disguise she say it is about republic and mission . She likes attention . She likes to be centre of all things . I think she even married Anakin for that reason . And when Anakin has that nightmare , she just say go to the obi wan . She knows how obi wan reacted about his mother's vision . And she knows how jedi sometimes are emotionless beings. She doesn't even try to help her husband or sake for help for hım from others . Then she regret what she has done and run for Anakin in the mustafar . And guees what ? it is already too late .
@@yagzguven8099 Okay… I RESPECTFULLY disagree… This sounds like a huge disregard for her complexity as a character, I’m sorry to say it. One; Padmé respects all life, so of course she would keep Clovis safe. She is also an idealist, while Anakin was once a slave. Of course she will be more naive than him when it come to people’s intentions. Two: the Revenge of the Sith novel explains how she knows that he was born to be a Jedi, and shows Padmé lamenting on his possible expulsion… so that’s out of the window. Three: she wants to keep Anakin from reliving the Tuskan slaughter, so of course she would want to create boundaries with Anakin’s violence. It simply goes against her values. But, she is a woman of action. Of course she would not allow the idea of a group torturing and killing an innocent woman (Shmi) only to get away with it. She was somewhat of a utilitarian, and I respect that. Also… it was a known fact that in ROTS, Anakin did NOT communicate with her like she wanted him to. How could she have known? He didn’t trust her; that was on him.
@@yagzguven8099 also, we cannot forget that it was made cannon that she actually tried to save Shmi Skywalker and abolish slavery from Tattoine because she remembered what Shmi and Anakin did for her and her people. Read “The Queen’s Shadow” a Star Wars book in order to better understand her amazing character. Your first comment was very cohesive and on point… the second one… not as articulate and was way off the mark, I’m sorry to say it my dude 😮
@@yagzguven8099 I’ve read this over three times and I STILL have no idea what you’re talking about my guy… are we talking about the same character???? 😂😂 Padmé is one of the purest character in Star Wars… George Lucas MADE her that way as a juxtaposition to Darth Vader (as well as Luke and even Shmi). She always ignores Anakin? Huh? She likes the center of attention? Huh? “Queen’s Shadow” (the canon novel) says otherwise. Her biggest flaw was that she was a young woman that fell in love with a damaged person (Anakin’s psychology is really something else).
17:00 Do not forget that Padme's friendship is part of what inspired him to win the pod-race to begin with, he didn't think she was royalty when they first met, she had presented herself as _just a kid_ not much older than he when they first met. He treated her like another kid when he got them to his house~ leaving Qui Gon , as another adult, with his Mom while he took Pad Me to his room to show off his droid (his coolest toy, other than the pod racer, but that was outside in the storm), a major part of his motivation to win was that he wanted to impress her; he had no idea that winning would lead to his getting freed from slavery. There weren't many human girls that would talk to a slave boy, she would and did. _She had made a major impression on him,_ and even though she was older than he, she was still close enough in age (especially since he was unaware of her royal status, she was just folks, then she was some kind of a servant, he could still relate, not finding out about her royal status until a relationship had already been well established) to be not unrealistically crushable. He even carved her a good luck charm to remember him by~ showing her his little crush going on there.
That is such a good point, sailorbychoice! Definitely a crush and a friendship there from the off that served as a motivation for him to win; although, the stakes were obviously much higher than he realised at the time, yes. Great insight, thank you! x
great video Vader is my favorite character of all time. I like to draw the mask because it's not supposed to show emotion yet it does. the fall of the chosen one. minipulated into the fall. rises out of the darkness by the love of his son. it's the best arc a character could have. Great job excellent ideas just really impressed.
Thank you, Christopher - so appreciate that! He's a brilliant character & you've captured his arc really well there; the chosen one, manipulated & then redeemed through his son. Great point about the mask - serves as a cover up, yet is so expressive! Vader goes through a lot of trauma, so you can definitely trace his choices. X
His story is a tragedy. I mean a real tragedy in the Classical sense of the term. Anakin’s entire life was basically a tragedy. This is where I absolutely disagree with Kenobists, who like to claim Obi Wan Kenobi is the most tragic character in Star Wars. Nope. He’s not. They usually come to this conclusion by adding up all the bad things that happened to him (and borrowing a few from others) and then proclaiming “but he remained good ins spite of it!” as if tragedy and trauma was a contest and whoever gets the most victim points wins. Anakin was the most tragic character, at least in the prequel era. I don’t think there was a single point that was not characterized by trauma and pain. He was born into slavery One of his earliest memories was watching another slave’s chip detonate when he tried to escape He was beaten by Watto from an early age. According to the novel of Revenge of the Sith, he remembered receiving his “worst beating” a the age of 4 He was forced to take part in a dangerous sport from an absurdly young age. Whilst many people try to say he “liked” pod racing, and bring his up as “evidence” of how he had a good life, this is dishonest and misleading. It was the equivalent of a 6 year old being made to take part in Formula One racing, It is highly questionable the extent to which a slave can be considered to “like” an activity their owner forces them to take part in Anakin didn’t just lose friends, what happened in some cases was worse. They were sold to cruel owners According to one (now non canon source) he once saw children the same age as him being transported to Jabba the Hutt’s palace in dirty filthy cages. Anakin witnessed things no child should ever witness, he experienced things before the age of 9 no child should ever experience. In the end, his mother saw Qui Gon Jinn as the only way to allow her child to escape from that life. Even if she could not be free, she at least wanted her child to have some semblance of a better life. Imagine that for one minute. Your life is misery, trauma, violence and pain. It is so bad that you come to believe the only way to save the person you love from it is to give them to someone else, probably with no chance of ever seeing them again. In spite of that, the Anakin we “meet” in the Phantom Menace was a sweet, kind, selfless little boy who only ever wanted to help people. Even when he learned Qui Gon had not come to free slaves, he still wanted to help him. He travelled all the way to Coruscant (and was not even given a change of clothes) but even then only asked about others and apologized for being a problem. Even when he became a Jedi, his trauma did not end. He was separated from his mother and lost his primary caregiver Qui Gon within a week. Obi Wan was 25 when Qui Gon died, and this was probably the first real traumatic event of his life. I’m going to say this right off. If you get to 25 without losing anyone who means something to you, or suffering trauma then you are probably privileged or just luckily Obi Wan was privileged. For all his fans go on about his “tragic” life, he didn’t have to face anything like that little boy did. His grew up in a safe, stable and secure environment on a wealthy planet and had the best education available. The worst he had to worry about was ending up in the agricultural corps . For Anakin it was a good day if he want to bed with a full stomach and was not beaten. Anakin wasn’t entirely wrong about him. He’d never been a slave. He’d never been beaten for making a mistake. Never crawled beneath threadbare blankets, starving, and fallen asleep with his mother’s tears on his cheeks. He didn’t remember his mother. He’d been raised in the Temple, safe and loved. I have compassion. I have empathy. What I don’t have are scars. CLONE WARS GAMBIT: STEALTH by Karen Miller Then in the years following The Phantom Menace, things didn’t improve much. He was resented and often bullied by other children at the Jedi Academy which made Anakin socially isolated and lonely. Then just to make matters worse, Palpatine got his filthy claws into him from the age of 12. When he officially started grooming him. Oh, did I mention that happened with the official permission of his caregivers? Yeah, the Jedi basically allowed Palps to have access to a vulnerable child in their care. As if being abused and enslaved for half his life wasn’t enough, Anakin had to then contend with being groomed by a predatory Sith Lord. Of course, he didn’t know he was being groomed but it was just another form of abuse. Just to make that even worse, Anakin didn’t get any meaningful help or support for the psychological trauma that his childhood undoubtedly left him with. Like… nothing. In TPM all that happens is he’s called “dangerous”. Instead of helping a child abuse victim all the Jedi did was judge him- and I suspect they didn’t do much different for the next decade. They just tried to mould him into another cookie-cutter Temple raised Jedi. When he was angry, they just TOLD him not to be angry. They didn’t give him help or support, only platitudes. When he was scared, they just told him “fear is a path to the Dark Side”. At 19 (barely an adult) his beloved mother was brutally murdered and ended up dying in his arms, and he lost it. He lost it because had be been allowed to get to her sooner he could have saved her. Why couldn’t he cope with loss? Because a 9 year old abuse victim, and a 19 year old abuse victim with psychological trauma does not deal with yet more trauma in the way a well adjusted, privileged and relatively sheltered 25 year old does, That is why (so stop bloody comparing him to Mary Sue Kenobi). Then, just weeks later, he was thrown into the middle of a war. Oh, but he wasn’t just involved in a war. HE WAS PUT ON THE FRONT LINE. He was knighted and put in charge of a division of soldiers and then had a Padawan trust upon him (without asking him) too. At barely 20. In the next 3 years he lost men, his best friend faked his death and used his response to make it more credible, and then his Padawan was framed for murder and was going to be executed. And the Order she loved so much did nothing to protect her. They expelled her with little evidence. They failed to help her, and it fell to him (and he was judged for that too). Finally, when things seen to be going right, he kills a Sith Lord and looks like he’s going to help end the war. He finds out he’s going to be a father, and then everything goes pear shaped from then onwards. We all know how that ended. So what was the saddest thing about Anakin? Take your pick. If I had to pick one, I would say it was how that kind, sweet, darling little boy was failed by EVERY SINGLE ONE of the adults in his life. Every character (with the exception of Padme) in Episode One was an adult and he’s basically the youngest major character in the entire prequel trilogy. (Only in the Clone Wars series is he replaced as the youngest by Ahsoka Tano who is 5 years his junior). I do not believe that any adult, in the Jedi or anywhere else regarded Anakin as a human being who was simply valuable in his own right. They were only interested in what he could do for them- destroying the Sith, fighting battles- becoming their apprentice, etc. In the end, frankly I’m not surprised he ended up doing what was simply good for him, but it ended up consigning him to another form of enslavement. Being enslaved to evil and killing for 23 years as Darth Vader. And worst his children being manipulated/lied to kill him . Again a comment I liked before....
Wow! Incredibly detailed and well though through - THANK YOU, Yagiz. You are right; there is something very classical and mythical in his story. The trauma and abuse he undergoes is relentless. He is used by so many people in his life, even those who are supposed to safeguard him. Thank you for this brilliant and beautiful piece. Anakin's story is pure tragedy & he cannot manage the pain that saturates his life. Is Anakin your favourite character from fiction? X
@@susannalouise5502 Yes . He is my favorite character in star wars universe . And I have a brother who die hard obi- wan fan . You can imagine how much we fight about this . I don't like obi-wan because all the things he done to Anakin . And my brother doesn't like Anakin because what he has done . For him Anakin is just an arrogant , reckless , witty , possessive , abusive and crybaby person . He thinks everything in the star wars is his fault , but what about jedi , obi wan , ahsoka and padme ? They are sent him to corner . It is not his fault , if anyone have a life like Anakin . It is gone be like him . Even "I do everything right " obi-wan can be like him . I still don't like obi wan he even sent luke to kill Anakin . And even told lies to luke about everything .
@@yagzguven8099 , Anakin's been my favorite character since childhood. Still is. Also, you should tell your brother that long essay you wrote about Anakin. I hate when people like to pick on Anakin, who has serious trauma. They don't know what it's like to be Anakin.
@@kevinskywalker5539 Well , right now my brother changed his idea about Anakin , I succeded to make him Anakin fan . He finally see everything about Anakin . And the good person Anakin was . ( He finally join the darkside of the force ;) . )
The Jedi council's refusal to grant Anakin the rank of master while putting him on the council and giving him the task of spying on the Chancellor was the final push towards the dark side. He wasn't seduced as much as he was rejected by the people who he first trusted..the Chancellor just took advantage of the situation. After all he had accomplished, it wasn't enough. What more did he have to do? Would it ever be enough for the council to finally accept him? It would have been a better choice not to place him on the council until he was granted the rank of master because the original decision was done in a begrudging manner.
Love this point! He was rejected & insulted, yes... and that kind of social humiliation will trigger resentment & a need to find acceptance elsewhere. And as you said, he was being used to spy on the Chancellor! I always felt the Council undermined Qui-Gon Jinn as well... your thoughts? Great insight, William ~ thank you! X
@@susannalouise5502 in other words he was made to commit literal treason against the Republic, the head of state of which led to revelation that Palpatine was Darth Sidious, however I doubt that excuse would have held up in a court law even had they managed to arrest him
For years Anakin kept trying to earn the respect and trust of the Jedi only to be met with suspicion and distrust from them. The Jedi helped push him into the embrace of Palpatine, talk about a self fulfilling prophecy. The Jedi had become too dogmatic, too stuck in their ways, and arrogant for their own good. They became too subservient to a corrupt republic, and lost their connection to the living force. Qui Gon followed the living force, and he focused on the good in Anakin, rather than on his negative emotions.
One thing I always considered to be partially responsible for Anakin turning in ROTS was the duty he had in war. It's implied at the beginning of ROTS that Anakin was away from Padme due to his responsibilities in the Clone War, emotionally isolating him. The lack of an intimate partner in wartime may have made him more determined to return to and protect his loved ones, no matter the cost. And of course, a huge portion of Palpatines manipulation of Anakin occurs during ROTS when Obi-Wan is forced to depart his apprentice for Utapau. The war isolates Anakin from his intimate and semi-stable relationships- he has no one to properly express his feelings to due to his duties. Something interesting to note is how AOTC held many parallels to the 1960's classic film 'Doctor Zhivago'. That film tends to deal with how the two main lovers are constantly separated/thwarted by the politics and war around them. With this parallel in mind, it perhaps makes the ending to AOTC more tragic : Anakin and Padmes love is recognized in the films last scene via marriage but will now be disrupted by Anakin joining the Jedi in the Clone War, once again separating the lovers and emotionally isolating Anakin. Anyway, that's just one of my takes on the intricate psychology behind Anakin. Great video :)
That is such an interesting parallel you’ve alluded to there! The emotional isolation and separation because of war and politics would certainly make you feel vulnerable. So many elements to Anakin’s psychological make up - thank you for this!
Very well done video as someone with bpd I’ve looked towards anakin and his path to try to better myself and ways to avoid turning towards this darker shadow aspect of myself I’m an infj Meyers Briggs type but I’ve started to use my understanding of my own traumas to help others I use stuff like this video to help people
Thanks so much for sharing that, trunks711; really interesting that Anakin’s conflict resonated with you in that way. So impressive that you are working through your trauma & help others to do the same! I think on some level, we can all connect with Anakin’s shadow self & his fear. I love his character BECAUSE he has depth & flaws... like all of us, aha! X
I’m only 8:42 into this video and I think I know where you’re going with this and it’s brilliant observation you’re doing here. Anakin must choose between guilt of conscience or resentment of denied or refused potential. He has no good option here and is thereby forced by fate or destiny to infuse himself with the dark side. This is so good. Okay. I had to interject before I lost my train of thought. I’ll watch the rest of the video now.
Wow - love your observation, Kristopher! Anakin definitely feels conflicted between his conscience & the denial of his potential. The humiliation from the Jedi Council triggers resentment & a need to feel valued elsewhere, which Palpatine offers. You're right - there is no good option here. X
The story of Anakin /Darth Vader is a perfect description of how a narcissist is made. People aren’t born narcissists. They are made into narcissists, usually by other narcissists and ritualistic abuse. I know. I was lucky to have survived just that. Not all of us become narcissists. But sadly many do. The dark side is very real and I think George Lucas was a genius💕
Thank you for sharing this. I totally agree with you; sustained abuse & trauma absolutely impacts your behaviour & your psyche. I am so sorry that you have had to go through that. George Lucas definitely tapped into something profound & meaningful X
Hey Susanna! Just came across your content. We’re all big Star Wars fans. The psychology and the fall of anakin is truly a tragic thing, but very compelling at the same time. Love your work. We just started up a podcast on our channel and was wondering if you had any advice on how to grow our channel? Thank you so much. ❤️
Thank you so much, WuzLads! Really appreciate that! His fall is such a compelling and tragic thing, yes. I'm definitely going to have a looksie at your podcast, for sure. We should collaborate & do something together. x
@@tommytommy7535 I suppose Anakin is something of a tragic Greek hero. Both wrapped in their own mythos/prophecy. Both born to mortal mothers as demi-gods (Anakin was born of a kind of higher power & Hercules of Zeus). Both exceptionally gifted. Both experienced tragic, doomed marriages. Both manipulated by a powerful being (Hera & Palpatine). As well, they both performed noble & heinous acts.
also I think it is also incredibly important to note the extreme hypocrisy that he experienced in his time as a Jedi, such as being told that only the Sith dealt in absolutes which in of itself was a moral absolute, in some ways the Sith and the Jedi were no different from each other, though the Sith at times would seem more honest and less hypocritical overall
For sure… the dichotomy of the Jedi is to explore the light side of the force & reject the dark side completely. Ironically, there is an element of absolutism in the Jedi philosophy. Feels like well-meaning repression.
I think we all have a little bit of Anakin in all of us. Some people have better luck with life though. Losing his mother broke whatever good was left in him he was just playing the "good" role until his fall.
And about obi wan “He did his best, but alone it was hard. Without him Anakin would turn out much worse. “ Utter garbage. Anakin lived the first 9 years of his life without Obi Wan, and did he turn into a pyschopath? Nope. He was a sweet, kind, friendly little boy. This idea that Anakin didn’t have a moral bone in his body and required Obi Wan to keep him on the straight and narrow is absurd. That child just had a natural desire to help others, even if they didn’t do anything for him in return. It was just instinctual for him. His mother was the major impact on his life until the age of 9, not Obi Wan. He says to his mom “You’re always saying the biggest problem in this universe is that people don’t help each other” He doesn’t say that with any input from Obi Wan, or put himself in danger to help Qui Gonn. He just did it because he wanted to, because he felt it was the right thing. “And don’t compare losing a master ( who is like a father to padawan ) before his eyes and having last words from that dear person as a promise about someone else. Losing people that way is traumatic and everyone recover differently.” Qui Gon was also the closest think Anakin had to a father. The only person who cared for and looked out for him when he was taken away from his mom, when everyone- including Obi Wan- was bad mouthing him. Obi Wan does not have a monopoly on trauma. Anakin was traumatized by the loss of Qui Gon as well. Probably moreso in fact, because he was seperated from his mom, and then lost his father figure within a few days. He was barely 9. Kids don’t deal with trauma as well as adults do . “Just imagining having your parent die, then getting to know about sibling you need to take care of suddenly and add to it the fact the very same child is after traumatic events, need different things than you yourself needed and on top of it everyone are either critical or against you taking care of him.” Just imagine how that sibling will be feeling at having lost THIER parent as well. Again, Obi Wan does not have a monopoly on truma. Anakin lost a father figure and a protector when Qui Gon died as well. That is why he says with desperation in his voice “what will happen to me now?” Imagine if that sibling is adopted, and the adoption process was not fully completed when their parents died. That kid is not going to know what will happen to him. He might end up back at the children’s home, or somewhere worse. Obi Wan was already a Jedi. He wasn’t going to be thrown out of hte Order when Qui Gon died, but Anakin faced that very real possibility. They had not agreed to train him, and for all he knew, he would be abandoned in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by strangers. Or put in the care of a man who he had heard insulting him to Qui Gon, who didn’t seem to want him anymore than the other Jedi. I’m trying to get you to see things from Anakin’s pespective here, not just Obi Wan’s. “Fck, just looking as Quin-Gon ignored their hard beginning of apprenticeship and practically forsake him before council hurt.” He did not forsake him. Obi Wan was 25. He’s not a helpless child, he’s a fully trained Jedi Padawan and an adult. Even Obi Wan himself agreed he was ready to take the trails to become a knight. Most Padawans had been knighted by his age, or even earlier. “Heck, when he joined rebellion, he left Kenobi there just like that.” Obi Wan was 14 when that happened. A trained Jedi Padawan, just like Ahsoka, so I am turning this back right on you. You shout and scream about how terrible Qui Gon was for abandoning a 14 year old Padawan, but have no issue whatsoever with Obi Wan expecting his Master to abandon a 9 year old just freed from slavery in a strange place, surrounded by strangers and with no means of getting him because “the boy is dangerous”. You are also forgetting all the times that Anakin was told he was too attached to Ahsoka, for being worried about her when she was lost or suspected dead. She was a 14 year old girl, in the middle of a warzone, yet all the Jedi could say (including Obi Wan) was that she “could look after herself”. “I stand by my opinion that he did the best he could without the help other Jedi didn’t give him.” Well you can if you like, but its not tenable. Take for example Obi Wan’s reaction to Anakin’s dreams about his mother. To basically tell him to ignore them and they would go away. Compare that to how Yoda responded when Ahsoka told him she was having dreams about someone dying. Straight off, he said they were something to do with the Force, and told her to meditate so they would become clearer. Obi Wan either did not seem to know Anakin’s dreams were from the Force, or if he did know, didn’t care and made no attempt to give him meaningful help or guidance with them. I think he knew: he’d been Jedi for years and must have heard about such things. He did go to Yoda and other Jedi to discuss his Padawan various times. They were there to help him and offer advice. After he took on Anakin they accepted it, they did not just say “you’re on your own”. I think obi wan try to break Anakin's attachment. But this only make it worse.
Absolutely right - his relationship with Obi Wan is so loaded. Your point about him dismissing Anakin's Force dreams again speaks to the repression he endures. He is used, empowered, indoctrinated & groomed by so many big players. This fosters a suppressive pattern, which means he look elsewhere to express his trauma. X
well now there is also the effects of fighting in the Clone war to consider, Jedi ideals do not necessarily line up with military expedience, with both sides utilizing large numbers of expendable proxies to fight a galactic war, it is worth noting that Anakin's deeds during the conflict netted him the epithet "The Hero With No Fear" and he was often mentioned alongside Obi-Wan Kenobi whom also obtained the Epithet "The Negotiator"
Brilliant point, yes! The Clone Wars was a very revealing episode for Anakin; feel that his honorific title of ‘The Hero with no Fear’ emphasised his instinctive resourcefulness & intensity. Such a contrast to Obi~Wan’s more discreet & diplomatic approach. I love them both, though! I’m curious, what do you like most about Anakin, Keith?
@@susannalouise5502 I like that he is More tragic victim than actual villain in a lot of ways, in that he tried so hard to live up to Jedi expectations yet tragically often fell far short of the Jedi degree of emotional detachment
For sure… he definitely walks the line of light & dark but was made to repress his feelings. Do you think that emotional suppression was part of his shift to the Dark Side?
@@susannalouise5502 emotional supression was the only reason he turned to darkside IMO. In AOTC, we see him tell Padme that attachments are forbidden, and he became attached to everyone he knew that's why he went through a lot of trauma when he lost them, and afterwards he uses the trauma as hatred and anger when he becomes Vader. If Qui-Gon had trained him to become a Jedi, he would've been the most successful and powerful jedi of all time. He needed a father figure not a brother figure to assist him.
I also think that he had a point when he said that in his point of view the Jedi were evil, and also hypocritical, quoting Obi-wan "Only the Sith Deal in absolutes" is in of it self an absolute state ment
Agreed. There is a hypocrisy running through the Jedi Council. I feel their intentions were good, but became clouded as they entangled themselves in politics/conflict & were manipulated by Palpatine.
Anakin & I have alot of common *Fatherless *Selfless *Content with being poor with only a mother to be my only friend *I get attached very easily to someone who treats me like a "son" or "brother" which has attracted many would be "palpatines" *No padme* *I've had 2 mentors very akin to "Obi Wan" but we've parted ways I'm very athletic & in great shape & could probably succeed in sports if I truly went for it I'm very conflicted with my emotions to a tee
Thank you so much for sharing this... definitely a lot in common with you & Anakin, for sure. Totally agree that our formative years shape our attachment styles. What do you like about his character? As well, does sport help you to release & manage your conflicted feelings?
Great question… maybe - Anakin does present some of the criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder. His dissociative episodes and impulsive nature perhaps point to to that. What do you think?
D’lamamte ~ interesting observation… Anakin does present some of the criteria for BPD. Dissociative episodes (after his Mother dies for example) and his impulsive nature do point to this. What do you think?
@@susannalouise5502 yes he fits quite a few of them especially the ones you mentioned. Darth Vader as a whole can be considered a disassociative episode.
Interesting comment, John… as in, the symptoms of addiction are similar to Anakin’s addiction to Palpatine? Hostility, mood swings, anxiety etc. OR do you mean Palpatine reminds you of those who use?
@@susannalouise5502 he reminds me of the addiction itself, and the voices that whisper in the addict's ear, even though they know that they are making a series of poor decisions.
Great job! I really enjoyed all of the points you made. A bit of constructive criticism; this video could have been more concise with a bit more editing i.e. Deleting duplicate statements. Overall however, I think you did a great job with this video and you explored and explained the psychology of Anakin very well.
Hey Michael, thank you so much for this. You are so right; need more refining & I am not so hot on editing, aha! I am taking that on board & trying to improve, for sure. About to release another vid & will go over it with your advice in mind. THANK YOU! x
Your far from the truth. The jadi order were trying to help him cope with his emotions. Exploring anger leads to violence. He didn't know padami died. He didn't want to change and let go of attachment. You did not watch the movie at all. Go to college and get educated more because your far from the truth.
The Jedi were enforcing the suppression of emotion. The Sith were allowing the release of emotion. The Grey Jedi suggested expressing emotion. A balance of creative motion and harnessing emotional energy. Explained well in this video. th-cam.com/video/-Z0S0Z8lUTg/w-d-xo.html
OK, I am going to answer this question by proposing a hypothetical scenario. Imagine, if you will that you adopted a 9 year old child from an abusive and disadvantaged background. Despite his circumstances, that child is a kind, confident and sensitive boy, but also very clearly troubled. You put that child into the care of an older sibling who resents his presence and clearly doesn’t want him. Their relationship is not warn and affectionate, but competitive and tense. 10 years later, that child has wilted. He has become withdrawn, quiet, lacking in confidence. He’s occasionally prone to outbursts if anger, but he usually just retreats into himself. You notice his so called “brother” never has a good word to say about him, and seems to be very prone to getting him into trouble at school by bad-mouthing him to his teachers, or reporting him for the slightest infringment. You also have reason to believe the adoptive child is being bullied, but you don’t do anything about it and trust his “brother” to deal with it. 3 years into your relationship, you are approached by an older man in a position of authority who asks you to be allowed to have unsupervised access to that child, and threatens you when you refuse. You relent and allow that it. When that child becomes an adult, he ends up on drugs and joining a gang. He’s dead before the age of 25. You conclude that you did nothing wrong, and that the abusive practices you enabled or allowed were not wrong. The child was obviously just sinful and you were trying to cure him. It isn’t your fault that he didn’t respond to discipline, didn’t do what his brother said, and trusted that abuser. Think about it. If you allowed a vulnerable child in your care to be groomed by a predator, I think it can reasonably be stated that you failed and yes, betrayed that child. What they allowed Palpatine to do to a 12 year old child in their care is, to me, enough evidence that the Jedi outright betrayed Anakin . That alone. It is another person's comment while I searched people think like me and yes they are right ....
@@yagzguven8099 I wholeheartedly agree with everything you said, the Jedi failed Anakin. They were too dogmatic, and stuck in their outdated code to help Anakin deal with his emotional trauma.
Sooo... This is neat and all... But the Prequels are some of the worst written schlock to come out of Lucasfilm basically ever. You are basing a...whatever this is...on that garbage. The writing, story, characters, everything, are an incoherent stream of nonsense that somehow managed to make it onto the big screen. A for effort, but seriously, don't bother with Lucas, he's largely a hack and the OT was a flash in the pan, largely made amazing by the work of others. An analysis of Luke would make more sense, if you have to do star wars. At least his writing was managed by people who knew what they were doing.
Anakin a tragic hero, in the tradition of the Classics and Renaissance Literature. A virtuous man who fell because of a fatal flaw. What makes tragedy cathartic and tragic heroes so compelling is that their flaw is something any human could have. Any one of us could fall in a similar way.
What makes Anakin so compelling is that he is human: he’s flawed and responds to situations in a way that real humans would. He doesn’t come through adversity smelling of roses (cough, cough Obi Wan), or just overcome all this trauma, flaws and problems through sheer willpower, because that’s not how things work in real life.
Lucas could very easily have just gone down the route of making Anakin a miniature Vader, a psychotic devil child who liked torturing things and was just “badass”, but he conspicuously did not.
Anakin was a good person, and he had many virtues. He was brave, loyal, compassionate, loving, caring and generous. Strong, intelligent and dedicated. Yes, dedicated.
A person who served a political system and government which left his people and his mother to rot in slavery, and then, just to top it all, made alliances with the very people who enslaved them, the people who were the cause of the oppression and exploitation of millions for their own benefit, is dedicated.
Anakin would have been fully within his rights to tell the Jedi and the Senate to go and shove it when they asked him to help the Hutts. To call them out on their gross hypocrisy of saying they could do nothing to help slaves on Tatooine yet were quick to act when they wanted Jabba to help them fend off pirates. Even if that meant enabling his activities and those of his family and consolidating their power for another generation.
Yet he didn’t. He did as he was told.
As Ahsoka Tano said, he would truly “do anything for his friends”. She knew that personally: it takes a special person to stand by their friend in spite of everything even when everyone else is against them, and telling them they should not.
Anakin is also a man of the people, in the truest sense. He is not an elitist who looks down on others because of their class or where they’re from. He doesn’t call them “pathetic life forms” for being clumsy or unintelligent. He accepts people like Jar Jar for who they are because he knows how it feels to be an outsider, to be poor and marginalized and despised. To be a nobody.
That also means though that his heart burns very strongly against injustice. He despises slavery not because he’s angry or immature or selfish, but because he knows what it is like. He truly believes that to reduce living beings to the possession of others, to be used and abused as they please is the greatest of evils. Yeah, he hates slavers: well I don’t blame him.
I hate slavers too.
More than that though, Anakin one of the best examples of a neurodivergent character I can think of. He presents almost all of the symptoms of PTSD from childhood, as well as very severe and untreated psychological trauma.
Very often, people with mental health issues are villainized and demonized in TV and movies. Anakin is not. He’s that little boy who went out of his way to help others. That little sweetie who even when he was crying and shivering on Padme’s ship didn’t complain and asked if SHE was upset.
Even as a young adult, he still does it. He does not want to be evil; he does not want to do evil. He does not relish or delight in it when he does wrong.
However, he is just buffeting continually with trauma, abuse, pain, loss, grief and misfortune. He is burdened with the expectations of others and expected to turn a blind eye to injustice in the name of “the greater good”.
In the end, he snapped, but it took YEARS to break him, during which time he did cry for help. He tried to reach out and express his pain, but he was greeted with platitudes or told that his feelings were wrong, bad. That his trauma made him dark and dangerous.
He is very much a victim. An abuse victim as a child, and as an adult. He was beaten and forced into perilous activities for someone else’s gain on Tatooine. The Jedi considered him little more than a weapon to throw at the Sith, and he was groomed from the age of 12 by an evil man: with the full knowledge of his caregivers who fostered the relationship in the first place.
He was used, abused, and exploited for most of his life- and here is the final, oh so tragic twist.
Even when he became a villain, he didn’t enjoy it. He did not like it. He did not GAIN anything from it. Even as a villain he was tormented, full of self-loathing and his only release was to dream about what his life would have been like had he not made that one terrible mistake.
He became a weapon, an embodiment of pain and hate to be used for someone else’s ends, in a life from which he could not escape, even by death. He only found freedom at the end because of the love of the one person who did not give up on him, and after an action which finally cost him his life.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻it’s sad that there were only three people who truly cared about him just for him: Luke, Padmé, and Shmi 🥺
@@balobadartist9022 I don't count Padme. Remember how she break up with hım. For someone like Clovis ( He almost harassed her and she protected hım. ) And say things like their relationship a lie . How she waiting for hım everytime etc. ( Girl you married hım knowing all of this ) And palpatine used this (saying things like padme cheated with obi wan , so it is not a suprise in episode 3 he choked her when he saw obi wan . She lost her husband trust for someone like clovis .) And I believe Anakin is right in this event fully . (She is not a soldier , as husband he can want something like that " He is want his wife to stay out of danger ." He says clovis a traitor , but padme doesn't believe hım, clovis try to harass her and anakin beat hım up " He is still right because he is her husband " And she break up with her . Then clovis kidnap her , holding a gun to her head and threatened Anakin . Guess what Anakin was right . And someone who put her own husband such a sitution. Padme is wrong and all of this her fault . ) And remember after his mother death she didn't made any move to heal hım . Remember how Padme doesn't want to be public . ( In disguise of Anakin's sake . But in reality she just wanting to be senator ) . In episode 3 Anakin want to be public , and he even want to leave everything behind . Because of jedi order's hyprociate and the war tried of hım out . He has problems with jedi order and he has instant PTSD and Padme as a wife doesn't do anything . She doesn't even aware of the fact Palpatine has weird reaction for her husband . He is manipulating her husband . And she doesn't step up . She always ignore Anakin . She even try to secretly giving birth . And as a disguise she say it is about republic and mission . She likes attention . She likes to be centre of all things . I think she even married Anakin for that reason . And when Anakin has that nightmare , she just say go to the obi wan . She knows how obi wan reacted about his mother's vision . And she knows how jedi sometimes are emotionless beings. She doesn't even try to help her husband or sake for help for hım from others . Then she regret what she has done and run for Anakin in the mustafar . And guees what ? it is already too late .
@@yagzguven8099 Okay… I RESPECTFULLY disagree… This sounds like a huge disregard for her complexity as a character, I’m sorry to say it.
One; Padmé respects all life, so of course she would keep Clovis safe. She is also an idealist, while Anakin was once a slave. Of course she will be more naive than him when it come to people’s intentions.
Two: the Revenge of the Sith novel explains how she knows that he was born to be a Jedi, and shows Padmé lamenting on his possible expulsion… so that’s out of the window.
Three: she wants to keep Anakin from reliving the Tuskan slaughter, so of course she would want to create boundaries with Anakin’s violence. It simply goes against her values. But, she is a woman of action. Of course she would not allow the idea of a group torturing and killing an innocent woman (Shmi) only to get away with it. She was somewhat of a utilitarian, and I respect that.
Also… it was a known fact that in ROTS, Anakin did NOT communicate with her like she wanted him to. How could she have known? He didn’t trust her; that was on him.
@@yagzguven8099 also, we cannot forget that it was made cannon that she actually tried to save Shmi Skywalker and abolish slavery from Tattoine because she remembered what Shmi and Anakin did for her and her people. Read “The Queen’s Shadow” a Star Wars book in order to better understand her amazing character.
Your first comment was very cohesive and on point… the second one… not as articulate and was way off the mark, I’m sorry to say it my dude 😮
@@yagzguven8099 I’ve read this over three times and I STILL have no idea what you’re talking about my guy… are we talking about the same character???? 😂😂 Padmé is one of the purest character in Star Wars… George Lucas MADE her that way as a juxtaposition to Darth Vader (as well as Luke and even Shmi).
She always ignores Anakin? Huh? She likes the center of attention? Huh? “Queen’s Shadow” (the canon novel) says otherwise. Her biggest flaw was that she was a young woman that fell in love with a damaged person (Anakin’s psychology is really something else).
I’m writing a psychology essay on Anakin’s transformation, and this helped so much with the main points. Really well done❤️
WOW. Really flattered that you found this helped with your essay! Thank you, Kenna... Hope you ace your essay! X 🙏🏻
It would help if you think for yourself and find the answers within.
17:00 Do not forget that Padme's friendship is part of what inspired him to win the pod-race to begin with, he didn't think she was royalty when they first met, she had presented herself as _just a kid_ not much older than he when they first met. He treated her like another kid when he got them to his house~ leaving Qui Gon , as another adult, with his Mom while he took Pad Me to his room to show off his droid (his coolest toy, other than the pod racer, but that was outside in the storm), a major part of his motivation to win was that he wanted to impress her; he had no idea that winning would lead to his getting freed from slavery. There weren't many human girls that would talk to a slave boy, she would and did. _She had made a major impression on him,_ and even though she was older than he, she was still close enough in age (especially since he was unaware of her royal status, she was just folks, then she was some kind of a servant, he could still relate, not finding out about her royal status until a relationship had already been well established) to be not unrealistically crushable. He even carved her a good luck charm to remember him by~ showing her his little crush going on there.
That is such a good point, sailorbychoice! Definitely a crush and a friendship there from the off that served as a motivation for him to win; although, the stakes were obviously much higher than he realised at the time, yes. Great insight, thank you! x
great video Vader is my favorite character of all time. I like to draw the mask because it's not supposed to show emotion yet it does. the fall of the chosen one. minipulated into the fall. rises out of the darkness by the love of his son. it's the best arc a character could have. Great job excellent ideas just really impressed.
Thank you, Christopher - so appreciate that! He's a brilliant character & you've captured his arc really well there; the chosen one, manipulated & then redeemed through his son. Great point about the mask - serves as a cover up, yet is so expressive! Vader goes through a lot of trauma, so you can definitely trace his choices. X
His story is a tragedy. I mean a real tragedy in the Classical sense of the term.
Anakin’s entire life was basically a tragedy.
This is where I absolutely disagree with Kenobists, who like to claim Obi Wan Kenobi is the most tragic character in Star Wars. Nope. He’s not. They usually come to this conclusion by adding up all the bad things that happened to him (and borrowing a few from others) and then proclaiming “but he remained good ins spite of it!” as if tragedy and trauma was a contest and whoever gets the most victim points wins.
Anakin was the most tragic character, at least in the prequel era. I don’t think there was a single point that was not characterized by trauma and pain.
He was born into slavery
One of his earliest memories was watching another slave’s chip detonate when he tried to escape
He was beaten by Watto from an early age. According to the novel of Revenge of the Sith, he remembered receiving his “worst beating” a the age of 4
He was forced to take part in a dangerous sport from an absurdly young age.
Whilst many people try to say he “liked” pod racing, and bring his up as “evidence” of how he had a good life, this is dishonest and misleading.
It was the equivalent of a 6 year old being made to take part in Formula One racing, It is highly questionable the extent to which a slave can be considered to “like” an activity their owner forces them to take part in
Anakin didn’t just lose friends, what happened in some cases was worse. They were sold to cruel owners
According to one (now non canon source) he once saw children the same age as him being transported to Jabba the Hutt’s palace in dirty filthy cages.
Anakin witnessed things no child should ever witness, he experienced things before the age of 9 no child should ever experience.
In the end, his mother saw Qui Gon Jinn as the only way to allow her child to escape from that life. Even if she could not be free, she at least wanted her child to have some semblance of a better life.
Imagine that for one minute. Your life is misery, trauma, violence and pain. It is so bad that you come to believe the only way to save the person you love from it is to give them to someone else, probably with no chance of ever seeing them again.
In spite of that, the Anakin we “meet” in the Phantom Menace was a sweet, kind, selfless little boy who only ever wanted to help people. Even when he learned Qui Gon had not come to free slaves, he still wanted to help him.
He travelled all the way to Coruscant (and was not even given a change of clothes) but even then only asked about others and apologized for being a problem.
Even when he became a Jedi, his trauma did not end.
He was separated from his mother and lost his primary caregiver Qui Gon within a week.
Obi Wan was 25 when Qui Gon died, and this was probably the first real traumatic event of his life.
I’m going to say this right off. If you get to 25 without losing anyone who means something to you, or suffering trauma then you are probably privileged or just luckily
Obi Wan was privileged. For all his fans go on about his “tragic” life, he didn’t have to face anything like that little boy did. His grew up in a safe, stable and secure environment on a wealthy planet and had the best education available.
The worst he had to worry about was ending up in the agricultural corps . For Anakin it was a good day if he want to bed with a full stomach and was not beaten.
Anakin wasn’t entirely wrong about him. He’d never been a slave. He’d never been beaten for making a mistake. Never crawled beneath threadbare blankets, starving, and fallen asleep with his mother’s tears on his cheeks. He didn’t remember his mother. He’d been raised in the Temple, safe and loved. I have compassion. I have empathy. What I don’t have are scars.
CLONE WARS GAMBIT: STEALTH by Karen Miller
Then in the years following The Phantom Menace, things didn’t improve much.
He was resented and often bullied by other children at the Jedi Academy which made Anakin socially isolated and lonely.
Then just to make matters worse, Palpatine got his filthy claws into him from the age of 12. When he officially started grooming him.
Oh, did I mention that happened with the official permission of his caregivers? Yeah, the Jedi basically allowed Palps to have access to a vulnerable child in their care.
As if being abused and enslaved for half his life wasn’t enough, Anakin had to then contend with being groomed by a predatory Sith Lord. Of course, he didn’t know he was being groomed but it was just another form of abuse.
Just to make that even worse, Anakin didn’t get any meaningful help or support for the psychological trauma that his childhood undoubtedly left him with. Like… nothing.
In TPM all that happens is he’s called “dangerous”. Instead of helping a child abuse victim all the Jedi did was judge him- and I suspect they didn’t do much different for the next decade.
They just tried to mould him into another cookie-cutter Temple raised Jedi. When he was angry, they just TOLD him not to be angry. They didn’t give him help or support, only platitudes.
When he was scared, they just told him “fear is a path to the Dark Side”.
At 19 (barely an adult) his beloved mother was brutally murdered and ended up dying in his arms, and he lost it. He lost it because had be been allowed to get to her sooner he could have saved her.
Why couldn’t he cope with loss? Because a 9 year old abuse victim, and a 19 year old abuse victim with psychological trauma does not deal with yet more trauma in the way a well adjusted, privileged and relatively sheltered 25 year old does, That is why (so stop bloody comparing him to Mary Sue Kenobi).
Then, just weeks later, he was thrown into the middle of a war. Oh, but he wasn’t just involved in a war.
HE WAS PUT ON THE FRONT LINE. He was knighted and put in charge of a division of soldiers and then had a Padawan trust upon him (without asking him) too.
At barely 20.
In the next 3 years he lost men, his best friend faked his death and used his response to make it more credible, and then his Padawan was framed for murder and was going to be executed.
And the Order she loved so much did nothing to protect her. They expelled her with little evidence. They failed to help her, and it fell to him (and he was judged for that too).
Finally, when things seen to be going right, he kills a Sith Lord and looks like he’s going to help end the war. He finds out he’s going to be a father, and then everything goes pear shaped from then onwards.
We all know how that ended.
So what was the saddest thing about Anakin? Take your pick.
If I had to pick one, I would say it was how that kind, sweet, darling little boy was failed by EVERY SINGLE ONE of the adults in his life.
Every character (with the exception of Padme) in Episode One was an adult and he’s basically the youngest major character in the entire prequel trilogy. (Only in the Clone Wars series is he replaced as the youngest by Ahsoka Tano who is 5 years his junior).
I do not believe that any adult, in the Jedi or anywhere else regarded Anakin as a human being who was simply valuable in his own right.
They were only interested in what he could do for them- destroying the Sith, fighting battles- becoming their apprentice, etc.
In the end, frankly I’m not surprised he ended up doing what was simply good for him, but it ended up consigning him to another form of enslavement. Being enslaved to evil and killing for 23 years as Darth Vader.
And worst his children being manipulated/lied to kill him .
Again a comment I liked before....
Wow! Incredibly detailed and well though through - THANK YOU, Yagiz. You are right; there is something very classical and mythical in his story. The trauma and abuse he undergoes is relentless. He is used by so many people in his life, even those who are supposed to safeguard him. Thank you for this brilliant and beautiful piece. Anakin's story is pure tragedy & he cannot manage the pain that saturates his life. Is Anakin your favourite character from fiction? X
@@susannalouise5502 Yes . He is my favorite character in star wars universe . And I have a brother who die hard obi- wan fan . You can imagine how much we fight about this . I don't like obi-wan because all the things he done to Anakin . And my brother doesn't like Anakin because what he has done . For him Anakin is just an arrogant , reckless , witty , possessive , abusive and crybaby person . He thinks everything in the star wars is his fault , but what about jedi , obi wan , ahsoka and padme ? They are sent him to corner . It is not his fault , if anyone have a life like Anakin . It is gone be like him . Even "I do everything right " obi-wan can be like him . I still don't like obi wan he even sent luke to kill Anakin . And even told lies to luke about everything .
@@yagzguven8099 , Anakin's been my favorite character since childhood. Still is. Also, you should tell your brother that long essay you wrote about Anakin. I hate when people like to pick on Anakin, who has serious trauma. They don't know what it's like to be Anakin.
@@yagzguven8099 , or you can show him the video," The Chosen one "by Hero fan productions and see if he still has the same mindset about Anakin.
@@kevinskywalker5539 Well , right now my brother changed his idea about Anakin , I succeded to make him Anakin fan . He finally see everything about Anakin . And the good person Anakin was .
( He finally join the darkside of the force ;) . )
The Jedi council's refusal to grant Anakin the rank of master while putting him on the council and giving him the task of spying on the Chancellor was the final push towards the dark side. He wasn't seduced as much as he was rejected by the people who he first trusted..the Chancellor just took advantage of the situation. After all he had accomplished, it wasn't enough. What more did he have to do? Would it ever be enough for the council to finally accept him? It would have been a better choice not to place him on the council until he was granted the rank of master because the original decision was done in a begrudging manner.
Love this point! He was rejected & insulted, yes... and that kind of social humiliation will trigger resentment & a need to find acceptance elsewhere. And as you said, he was being used to spy on the Chancellor! I always felt the Council undermined Qui-Gon Jinn as well... your thoughts? Great insight, William ~ thank you! X
@@susannalouise5502 in other words he was made to commit literal treason against the Republic, the head of state of which led to revelation that Palpatine was Darth Sidious, however I doubt that excuse would have held up in a court law even had they managed to arrest him
@tanio12 Agreed.
For sure… two massive blows of not getting the rank of master AND then sent to spy on Palpatine.
For years Anakin kept trying to earn the respect and trust of the Jedi only to be met with suspicion and distrust from them. The Jedi helped push him into the embrace of Palpatine, talk about a self fulfilling prophecy. The Jedi had become too dogmatic, too stuck in their ways, and arrogant for their own good. They became too subservient to a corrupt republic, and lost their connection to the living force. Qui Gon followed the living force, and he focused on the good in Anakin, rather than on his negative emotions.
One thing I always considered to be partially responsible for Anakin turning in ROTS was the duty he had in war. It's implied at the beginning of ROTS that Anakin was away from Padme due to his responsibilities in the Clone War, emotionally isolating him. The lack of an intimate partner in wartime may have made him more determined to return to and protect his loved ones, no matter the cost.
And of course, a huge portion of Palpatines manipulation of Anakin occurs during ROTS when Obi-Wan is forced to depart his apprentice for Utapau. The war isolates Anakin from his intimate and semi-stable relationships- he has no one to properly express his feelings to due to his duties.
Something interesting to note is how AOTC held many parallels to the 1960's classic film 'Doctor Zhivago'. That film tends to deal with how the two main lovers are constantly separated/thwarted by the politics and war around them.
With this parallel in mind, it perhaps makes the ending to AOTC more tragic : Anakin and Padmes love is recognized in the films last scene via marriage but will now be disrupted by Anakin joining the Jedi in the Clone War, once again separating the lovers and emotionally isolating Anakin.
Anyway, that's just one of my takes on the intricate psychology behind Anakin. Great video :)
And that Anakin went to the dark side just to save his wife and unborn children
That is such an interesting parallel you’ve alluded to there! The emotional isolation and separation because of war and politics would certainly make you feel vulnerable. So many elements to Anakin’s psychological make up - thank you for this!
@@KaminoKatie - so true… Anakin was totally obsessed with saving Padme and their child. This fear cemented his decision, I feel.
Very well done video as someone with bpd I’ve looked towards anakin and his path to try to better myself and ways to avoid turning towards this darker shadow aspect of myself I’m an infj Meyers Briggs type but I’ve started to use my understanding of my own traumas to help others I use stuff like this video to help people
Thanks so much for sharing that, trunks711; really interesting that Anakin’s conflict resonated with you in that way. So impressive that you are working through your trauma & help others to do the same!
I think on some level, we can all connect with Anakin’s shadow self & his fear. I love his character BECAUSE he has depth & flaws... like all of us, aha! X
Great vid! I never watched Star Wars and you still kept me engaged in Anakin's progression to the dark side!
Oh my gosh - thanks, Kwassi! Feels great to hear that you were engaged with the vid. You're in for a treat when you get round to watching Star Wars.
Love this type on thing.
And I fill you did a grate job at representing the charectuer.
Thank you kindly, Saiaku-sama! Wanted to represent the key parts of Anakin as best I could, so appreciate that.
I’m only 8:42 into this video and I think I know where you’re going with this and it’s brilliant observation you’re doing here. Anakin must choose between guilt of conscience or resentment of denied or refused potential. He has no good option here and is thereby forced by fate or destiny to infuse himself with the dark side. This is so good. Okay. I had to interject before I lost my train of thought. I’ll watch the rest of the video now.
Wow - love your observation, Kristopher! Anakin definitely feels conflicted between his conscience & the denial of his potential. The humiliation from the Jedi Council triggers resentment & a need to feel valued elsewhere, which Palpatine offers. You're right - there is no good option here. X
bone of the best videos ive seen on this tbh
Wow! What an incredible compliment. Really appreciate that; thank you, Tommy. Xx
FullFatVideo 's comment led me here. He's right, nice Anakin video :)
Behave! Thank you for that… appreciate it!
The story of Anakin /Darth Vader is a perfect description of how a narcissist is made. People aren’t born narcissists. They are made into narcissists, usually by other narcissists and ritualistic abuse. I know. I was lucky to have survived just that. Not all of us become narcissists. But sadly many do. The dark side is very real and I think George Lucas was a genius💕
Thank you for sharing this. I totally agree with you; sustained abuse & trauma absolutely impacts your behaviour & your psyche. I am so sorry that you have had to go through that. George Lucas definitely tapped into something profound & meaningful X
More of borderline personality disorder than narcissism in my opinion
You can explain it really good and it’s easy to understand, what I really like.
Hey Susanna! Just came across your content. We’re all big Star Wars fans. The psychology and the fall of anakin is truly a tragic thing, but very compelling at the same time. Love your work. We just started up a podcast on our channel and was wondering if you had any advice on how to grow our channel? Thank you so much. ❤️
Thank you so much, WuzLads! Really appreciate that! His fall is such a compelling and tragic thing, yes. I'm definitely going to have a looksie at your podcast, for sure. We should collaborate & do something together. x
I've often wondered if Lucas could have gotten his inspiration for Anakin from the Hercules mythology. The two characters have much in common.
could u tell me the story? ( in short)
@@tommytommy7535 I suppose Anakin is something of a tragic Greek hero. Both wrapped in their own mythos/prophecy. Both born to mortal mothers as demi-gods (Anakin was born of a kind of higher power & Hercules of Zeus). Both exceptionally gifted. Both experienced tragic, doomed marriages. Both manipulated by a powerful being (Hera & Palpatine). As well, they both performed noble & heinous acts.
@@susannalouise5502 thanks
@@tommytommy7535 you’re very welcome, Tommy. 😊
also I think it is also incredibly important to note the extreme hypocrisy that he experienced in his time as a Jedi, such as being told that only the Sith dealt in absolutes which in of itself was a moral absolute, in some ways the Sith and the Jedi were no different from each other, though the Sith at times would seem more honest and less hypocritical overall
For sure… the dichotomy of the Jedi is to explore the light side of the force & reject the dark side completely. Ironically, there is an element of absolutism in the Jedi philosophy. Feels like well-meaning repression.
@@susannalouise5502 there is a passages from the novelisation of revenge of the sith that makes some of the dialogue less wooden
Awesome video!!! Looking forward for the video on the Jedi order
I think we all have a little bit of Anakin in all of us. Some people have better luck with life though. Losing his mother broke whatever good was left in him he was just playing the "good" role until his fall.
And about obi wan
“He did his best, but alone it was hard. Without him Anakin would turn out much worse. “
Utter garbage. Anakin lived the first 9 years of his life without Obi Wan, and did he turn into a pyschopath? Nope. He was a sweet, kind, friendly little boy. This idea that Anakin didn’t have a moral bone in his body and required Obi Wan to keep him on the straight and narrow is absurd.
That child just had a natural desire to help others, even if they didn’t do anything for him in return. It was just instinctual for him. His mother was the major impact on his life until the age of 9, not Obi Wan. He says to his mom
“You’re always saying the biggest problem in this universe is that people don’t help each other”
He doesn’t say that with any input from Obi Wan, or put himself in danger to help Qui Gonn. He just did it because he wanted to, because he felt it was the right thing.
“And don’t compare losing a master ( who is like a father to padawan ) before his eyes and having last words from that dear person as a promise about someone else. Losing people that way is traumatic and everyone recover differently.”
Qui Gon was also the closest think Anakin had to a father. The only person who cared for and looked out for him when he was taken away from his mom, when everyone- including Obi Wan- was bad mouthing him.
Obi Wan does not have a monopoly on trauma. Anakin was traumatized by the loss of Qui Gon as well. Probably moreso in fact, because he was seperated from his mom, and then lost his father figure within a few days. He was barely 9. Kids don’t deal with trauma as well as adults do .
“Just imagining having your parent die, then getting to know about sibling you need to take care of suddenly and add to it the fact the very same child is after traumatic events, need different things than you yourself needed and on top of it everyone are either critical or against you taking care of him.”
Just imagine how that sibling will be feeling at having lost THIER parent as well. Again, Obi Wan does not have a monopoly on truma. Anakin lost a father figure and a protector when Qui Gon died as well. That is why he says with desperation in his voice “what will happen to me now?”
Imagine if that sibling is adopted, and the adoption process was not fully completed when their parents died. That kid is not going to know what will happen to him. He might end up back at the children’s home, or somewhere worse.
Obi Wan was already a Jedi. He wasn’t going to be thrown out of hte Order when Qui Gon died, but Anakin faced that very real possibility. They had not agreed to train him, and for all he knew, he would be abandoned in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by strangers. Or put in the care of a man who he had heard insulting him to Qui Gon, who didn’t seem to want him anymore than the other Jedi.
I’m trying to get you to see things from Anakin’s pespective here, not just Obi Wan’s.
“Fck, just looking as Quin-Gon ignored their hard beginning of apprenticeship and practically forsake him before council hurt.”
He did not forsake him. Obi Wan was 25. He’s not a helpless child, he’s a fully trained Jedi Padawan and an adult. Even Obi Wan himself agreed he was ready to take the trails to become a knight. Most Padawans had been knighted by his age, or even earlier.
“Heck, when he joined rebellion, he left Kenobi there just like that.”
Obi Wan was 14 when that happened. A trained Jedi Padawan, just like Ahsoka, so I am turning this back right on you. You shout and scream about how terrible Qui Gon was for abandoning a 14 year old Padawan, but have no issue whatsoever with Obi Wan expecting his Master to abandon a 9 year old just freed from slavery in a strange place, surrounded by strangers and with no means of getting him because “the boy is dangerous”.
You are also forgetting all the times that Anakin was told he was too attached to Ahsoka, for being worried about her when she was lost or suspected dead. She was a 14 year old girl, in the middle of a warzone, yet all the Jedi could say (including Obi Wan) was that she “could look after herself”.
“I stand by my opinion that he did the best he could without the help other Jedi didn’t give him.”
Well you can if you like, but its not tenable. Take for example Obi Wan’s reaction to Anakin’s dreams about his mother. To basically tell him to ignore them and they would go away. Compare that to how Yoda responded when Ahsoka told him she was having dreams about someone dying. Straight off, he said they were something to do with the Force, and told her to meditate so they would become clearer.
Obi Wan either did not seem to know Anakin’s dreams were from the Force, or if he did know, didn’t care and made no attempt to give him meaningful help or guidance with them. I think he knew: he’d been Jedi for years and must have heard about such things.
He did go to Yoda and other Jedi to discuss his Padawan various times. They were there to help him and offer advice. After he took on Anakin they accepted it, they did not just say “you’re on your own”.
I think obi wan try to break Anakin's attachment. But this only make it worse.
Absolutely right - his relationship with Obi Wan is so loaded. Your point about him dismissing Anakin's Force dreams again speaks to the repression he endures. He is used, empowered, indoctrinated & groomed by so many big players. This fosters a suppressive pattern, which means he look elsewhere to express his trauma. X
well now there is also the effects of fighting in the Clone war to consider, Jedi ideals do not necessarily line up with military expedience, with both sides utilizing large numbers of expendable proxies to fight a galactic war, it is worth noting that Anakin's deeds during the conflict netted him the epithet "The Hero With No Fear" and he was often mentioned alongside Obi-Wan Kenobi whom also obtained the Epithet "The Negotiator"
Brilliant point, yes! The Clone Wars was a very revealing episode for Anakin; feel that his honorific title of ‘The Hero with no Fear’ emphasised his instinctive resourcefulness & intensity.
Such a contrast to Obi~Wan’s more discreet & diplomatic approach. I love them both, though! I’m curious, what do you like most about Anakin, Keith?
@@susannalouise5502 I like that he is More tragic victim than actual villain in a lot of ways, in that he tried so hard to live up to Jedi expectations yet tragically often fell far short of the Jedi degree of emotional detachment
Anakin could have become the god of the force if he was trained to be a grey Jedi
For sure… he definitely walks the line of light & dark but was made to repress his feelings. Do you think that emotional suppression was part of his shift to the Dark Side?
@@susannalouise5502 emotional supression was the only reason he turned to darkside IMO.
In AOTC, we see him tell Padme that attachments are forbidden, and he became attached to everyone he knew that's why he went through a lot of trauma when he lost them, and afterwards he uses the trauma as hatred and anger when he becomes Vader.
If Qui-Gon had trained him to become a Jedi, he would've been the most successful and powerful jedi of all time. He needed a father figure not a brother figure to assist him.
Anakin is basically a demigod if you really think about it
I also think that he had a point when he said that in his point of view the Jedi were evil, and also hypocritical, quoting Obi-wan "Only the Sith Deal in absolutes" is in of it self an absolute state ment
Agreed. There is a hypocrisy running through the Jedi Council. I feel their intentions were good, but became clouded as they entangled themselves in politics/conflict & were manipulated by Palpatine.
Great content and beautiful eyes as always
Aaww, thank you - very kind, Ryan!
This is great. Thank u!
Thank YOU, Brian! X
Anakin & I have alot of common
*Fatherless
*Selfless
*Content with being poor with only a mother to be my only friend
*I get attached very easily to someone who treats me like a "son" or "brother" which has attracted many would be "palpatines"
*No padme*
*I've had 2 mentors very akin to "Obi Wan" but we've parted ways
I'm very athletic & in great shape & could probably succeed in sports if I truly went for it
I'm very conflicted with my emotions to a tee
Thank you so much for sharing this... definitely a lot in common with you & Anakin, for sure.
Totally agree that our formative years shape our attachment styles.
What do you like about his character? As well, does sport help you to release & manage your conflicted feelings?
Do you have a lightsaber as well?
Good work!. Wish this much thought went into the making of the Newest star was series!!.
Baha! Genuinely tickled me; so happy you enjoyed my video! Am uploading the 'Psychology of Mando' tomorrow... hope you enjoy that one as well x
@@susannalouise5502 ahh haha (hug)! okay sweet!. i'll check that out too :) !
Well Anakin had post traumatic stress disorder at the age of nine. Not a good thing at all
Agreed
Darth Vader is in good shape.
I have really appreciated watching your video. Do you think that on top of severe traumas that Anakin might have some mental disorder as well ?
Great question… maybe - Anakin does present some of the criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder. His dissociative episodes and impulsive nature perhaps point to to that. What do you think?
👍🏻
I believe Anakin suffers from BPD.
D’lamamte ~ interesting observation… Anakin does present some of the criteria for BPD. Dissociative episodes (after his Mother dies for example) and his impulsive nature do point to this. What do you think?
@@susannalouise5502 yes he fits quite a few of them especially the ones you mentioned. Darth Vader as a whole can be considered a disassociative episode.
Yes. And later on anger issues
Sounds like it is mistaken for symptoms of CPTSD, which can be very similar to BPD traits.
Has anyone ever told you that you kind of have a resemblance to Carolyn Jones?
Wow. I love your accent
That's a cute pillow next to you
Having known people who have had the problem, Palpatine has always made me think of heroin.
Interesting comment, John… as in, the symptoms of addiction are similar to Anakin’s addiction to Palpatine? Hostility, mood swings, anxiety etc. OR do you mean Palpatine reminds you of those who use?
@@susannalouise5502 he reminds me of the addiction itself, and the voices that whisper in the addict's ear, even though they know that they are making a series of poor decisions.
Great job! I really enjoyed all of the points you made. A bit of constructive criticism; this video could have been more concise with a bit more editing i.e. Deleting duplicate statements. Overall however, I think you did a great job with this video and you explored and explained the psychology of Anakin very well.
Hey Michael, thank you so much for this. You are so right; need more refining & I am not so hot on editing, aha! I am taking that on board & trying to improve, for sure. About to release another vid & will go over it with your advice in mind. THANK YOU! x
But to get the full picture, we would need an analysis of Darth Vader's mind as well
Every Catholic in the room: "Ugh, not an immaculate conception... just a virgin birth... Big difference... Okay carry on."
Very nice breakdown tho.
Just looked this up… thank you for correcting this, Mark - big difference indeed! Thank you 🙏🏻
Your far from the truth. The jadi order were trying to help him cope with his emotions. Exploring anger leads to violence. He didn't know padami died. He didn't want to change and let go of attachment. You did not watch the movie at all. Go to college and get educated more because your far from the truth.
how is suppressing emotions coping
The Jedi were enforcing the suppression of emotion. The Sith were allowing the release of emotion.
The Grey Jedi suggested expressing emotion.
A balance of creative motion and harnessing emotional energy.
Explained well in this video.
th-cam.com/video/-Z0S0Z8lUTg/w-d-xo.html
OK, I am going to answer this question by proposing a hypothetical scenario.
Imagine, if you will that you adopted a 9 year old child from an abusive and disadvantaged background. Despite his circumstances, that child is a kind, confident and sensitive boy, but also very clearly troubled.
You put that child into the care of an older sibling who resents his presence and clearly doesn’t want him. Their relationship is not warn and affectionate, but competitive and tense.
10 years later, that child has wilted. He has become withdrawn, quiet, lacking in confidence. He’s occasionally prone to outbursts if anger, but he usually just retreats into himself.
You notice his so called “brother” never has a good word to say about him, and seems to be very prone to getting him into trouble at school by bad-mouthing him to his teachers, or reporting him for the slightest infringment.
You also have reason to believe the adoptive child is being bullied, but you don’t do anything about it and trust his “brother” to deal with it.
3 years into your relationship, you are approached by an older man in a position of authority who asks you to be allowed to have unsupervised access to that child, and threatens you when you refuse.
You relent and allow that it.
When that child becomes an adult, he ends up on drugs and joining a gang. He’s dead before the age of 25.
You conclude that you did nothing wrong, and that the abusive practices you enabled or allowed were not wrong. The child was obviously just sinful and you were trying to cure him. It isn’t your fault that he didn’t respond to discipline, didn’t do what his brother said, and trusted that abuser.
Think about it. If you allowed a vulnerable child in your care to be groomed by a predator, I think it can reasonably be stated that you failed and yes, betrayed that child. What they allowed Palpatine to do to a 12 year old child in their care is, to me, enough evidence that the Jedi outright betrayed Anakin . That alone.
It is another person's comment while I searched people think like me and yes they are right ....
@@yagzguven8099 I wholeheartedly agree with everything you said, the Jedi failed Anakin. They were too dogmatic, and stuck in their outdated code to help Anakin deal with his emotional trauma.
Sooo...
This is neat and all...
But the Prequels are some of the worst written schlock to come out of Lucasfilm basically ever. You are basing a...whatever this is...on that garbage.
The writing, story, characters, everything, are an incoherent stream of nonsense that somehow managed to make it onto the big screen. A for effort, but seriously, don't bother with Lucas, he's largely a hack and the OT was a flash in the pan, largely made amazing by the work of others. An analysis of Luke would make more sense, if you have to do star wars.
At least his writing was managed by people who knew what they were doing.