Star Wars -- Attack of the Clones

[butterfly]

The Star Wars dvds arrived a whole four days early. Dude! Sweet! Plus, I have pre-ordered RotS, so I won't have to do anything in November. It will just magically appear. Yay.

This is one thing that I have heard complaints about since AotC first hit theatres and that is Jango's helmet. 'Dude,' people would say, 'why doesn't his head fall out when Boba picks it up? Continuity error like woah!'

However, I have noticed that Jango's head flies out of his helmet in the shot after Mace decapitates him. It's when we can just see the shadow of the helmet -- if you look carefully (and slow the picture down) then you can see a second shadow separate from the helmet-shadow and fly off to land off-camera (also, Jedi twirls look so pretty in slo-mo).

And wow, Anakin does go on about Obi-Wan, doesn't he? ("Obi-Wan would be very grumpy if he saw me doing this.") He brings him up all the time. ("Obi-Wan is holding me back!") When it really doesn't have anything to do with anything. Apparently, Obi-Wan is just on his mind a lot. This is something that will not change ("Obi-Wan has taught you well." he says in RotJ, even though Luke is fighting better than he did last time and Obi-Wan's been dead for a bit.) as Anakin gets older and more... you know, respiratory-challenged.

Also, dude, the meadow scene is so perfect. Why did I not see this the first time? Oh, right, because I didn't care yet. Damn.

But yes, it has it all. It shows us why Padmé likes him (he's pretty, he makes her smile, and she ends up on top) and also why she's a bad choice as a potential mate (as she decides, actively decides, to ignore the whole 'yay for dictatorship!' thing). Enabler.

Obi-Wan isn't much better, of course. This time around, I noticed just how much he notices of the Anakin/Padmé thing and it's well, quite a lot. In fact, in the last shot at Geonosis, you can see him looking back at Padmé embracing one-armed Anakin. And then he allows Anakin to 'escort' her home. He so knew that she was now returning Anakin's feelings.

And I caught the moment! Where Obi-Wan says, "Good call," to Anakin and Anakin totally starts to light up... and then Obi-Wan adds, "my young Padawan" and it's like someone smashed Anakin's favorite toy. He really does just want Obi-Wan to approve of him without reminding him of how much he still doesn't know.

*sigh*

Comments

[selenak.livejournal.com]

However, I have noticed that Jango's head flies out of his helmet in the shot after Mace decapitates him.

I remember that being pointed out in one of the SW magazines, but you really need slow motion capturing to get it.*g*

Meadow scene: yes, exactly. Which is why I love it.

This time around, I noticed just how much he notices of the Anakin/Padmé thing and it's well, quite a lot.

With Anakin announcing "I'd rather dream of Padmé", it's not like he could miss any of it on Anakin's side, and yes, Padmé returning Anakin's feelings was obvious on Geonosis. Obi-Wan probably thought "don't ask, don't tell" was the thing to do, as opposed to asking and being forced to expell Anakin from the order. Sigh...

Where Obi-Wan says, "Good call," to Anakin and Anakin totally starts to light up... and then Obi-Wan adds, "my young Padawan" and it's like someone smashed Anakin's favorite toy.

Yep. Though they both get better at this. When Obi-Wan praises him in RotS (in their last goodbye as friends - wah!), there is no qualifying aftermath, and Anakin lightens up uninterrupted. I think what is important here that they're both in a period of transition. As long as Anakin was a child, they could have a clear-cut adult/child mentor/protegé relationship. But now Anakin is growing up, and yet still not an adult and equal yet, still quite young in some ways... and Obi-Wan realizes he's just 15 or 16 years older, not really the same generation and not really a different one, and has a rebellious teen on his hand, so emphasizes the rank and age difference. With a few years more in the future, there is more balance between them, but right now - transition, and both of them uncertain about their roles.

And yes, Anakin is Obi-Wan obsessed. You could write it off as an age thing in AotC (a la Connor saying "it's your fault my life sucks" to Angel in "The Awakening"), were it not for the fact that he brings Obi-Wan up in the OT on a regular basis as well as you point out. It never occurs to him Luke could have learned from anyone but Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan is the Master.

[lakester.livejournal.com]

About the 'yay for dictatorship!' thing

The Jedi Order, by now one of the most important influences on Anakin's life really isn't very democracy-friendly/anti-dictatorship. From the start the youngsters are given to the Jedi when they're far too young to make their own decision. The Master/Padawan relationship seems to be a 'one man who has the one vote' system. And particularly the Jedi Council doesn't appear to be elected, but the appointments made at the discretion of the current Jedi Council members. So the council provides the rest of the Jedi with instructions/orders, without much accountability to others. Anakin just goes from that to applying a similar system to the Republic.

Do you think Obi-Wan intentionally uses 'my young Padawan' as a stick to beat Anakin with, or is it just Anakin's (mis)reading of the situation?

[imadra-blue.livejournal.com]

Anakin's obsesso-love for Obi-Wan is almost as intense as his for Padme's. There was a lot of Obi-Wan-focusing in AotC, and even RotS. It's love, really. Poor, sad Anakin, he only wanted unconditional worshipping from all his subjects. Because he's so the King, you know.

[calicokat.livejournal.com]

I really need to sit down and watch AotC again. I have seen it the least times of all six movies now, and I haven't even gotten a bootleg copy of RotS to tide me over until DVD, I have just been throwing my money at it more times than anything is worth.

Padme is so horribly enabling. What was up with that "Everyone get angry" bit? Like... Hey, Padme, everybody gets angry! Not everybody slaughters women and children! ...of course, Obi-Wan isn't any better, with his tendency to indulge Anakin in things like becoming obsessed with certain Senators while at the same time otherwise passive-aggressively destroying his self esteem. Woe. You know, Anakin might have turned out better if his closest friends had stopped loving him so much and started, like, being responsible people.

[whitedestiny1x2.livejournal.com]

Awesome! I really should pre-order RotS but I'm really lazy so . . . *sheepish grin*

I have the AotC DVD but I can't push myself into watching it more than once. Omg, yes: . . . why she's a bad choice as a potential mate (as she decides, actively decides, to ignore the whole 'yay for dictatorship!' thing). Enabler. I was watching Padme's expression after that and she was like, "Um . . . *gapes* I'll pretend that I didn't hear that. Annie, let's have some tea. :)" -_- *sighs*

Hmm . . . I'd probably do the same thing though, so I shouldn't be a meany toward Padme. Me to Anakin: Um . . . *gapes* You're hot, let's have sex. *slaps self*

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

Actually, Anakin doesn't want to be king. When he offers power to Padme, and later to Luke, it an offer to reign as co-equals, and I get the distinct impression that he wants someone who will love him, cherish him, and tell him *what to do*.

[imadra-blue.livejournal.com]

It's a valid theory you have, but the feeling I got was this: I don't think he so much wants someone to tell him what to do, as he wants complete freedom. However, he does not like to be alone, and will happily share power with those special enough to deserve it, like Padme and Luke. He wants to be the sort of king that lies around eating grapes, occasionally giving edicts, but mostly letting the Queen do the real work. Anakin resents people in authority over him too much to be as submissive as wanting someone in charge of him. I think Anakin wants freedom from both responsibility and authority.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Anakin's obsesso-love for Obi-Wan is almost as intense as his for Padme's. There was a lot of Obi-Wan-focusing in AotC, and even RotS. It's love, really. Poor, sad Anakin, he only wanted unconditional worshipping from all his subjects. Because he's so the King, you know.

Hee. I was so close to comparing Anakin to Jareth here. 'Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave.'

'Cause it's interesting that before he has Padme, he talks about both of them to each other, a lot. He's all "I wanna dream about Padme," and "Dude, I am so thankful to be under Obi-Wan Obi-Wan's apprentice,".

Afterwards, he's all -- "No, we don't need Obi-Wan," and "Padme, who?". Because he so doesn't want the people he loves to love each other, which is such a fucked-up way of looking at things. But dude, if Padme and Obi-Wan became real friends, that would take away from valuable time when they could be completely focusing on Anakin. And we can't have that. Instead, he wants all the people he loves to be always be thinking of Anakin and only Anakin.

[imadra-blue.livejournal.com]

But see, that is SO Anakin. He and Jareth have the same philosophy on life. Anakin is co-dependent liek whoa. He has to have someone with him, be it Padme, Obi-Wan, Luke, Palpatine. It's not a submissive nature, it's a desire for complete support and freedom. I kinda have the same complex. >.>

You are so right. Anakin is so painfully selfish and possessive. He wants to be the center of everyone's world, and doesn't evene realize he already is. I love what a brat he is. XD

[bell]

It's funny how much better a movie AoTC becomes in context of the whole trilogy! That meadow scene INDEED. Went from being pure, undiluted cheese to a lynchpin.

Anakin's... fixation, in this movie, on Obi-Wan isn't all that startingly. He's a huge part of his life, probably the biggest, and thus everything goes back to him. By the third movie Anakin's world has expanded (the war, his wife, his close friendship with Palpatine). What's weird is his fixation in the Empire Trilogy. By then it's been twenty years and ODD how much his mind lingers. <3

In AoTC Obi-Wan and Anakin are so snipy, as if they WANTED to hurt each other. What with all the "My VERY VERY young Padawan"s and how Anakin goes out of his way to undermine Obi-Wan's tutelage. But when push comes to shove and Obi-Wan says "I need you," Anakin is loyal. (And, damn, Obi-Wan really knows where and how to push.)

This time around, I noticed just how much he notices of the Anakin/Padmé thing and it's well, quite a lot.

*nods* Definitely.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

With Anakin announcing "I'd rather dream of Padmé", it's not like he could miss any of it on Anakin's side, and yes, Padmé returning Anakin's feelings was obvious on Geonosis. Obi-Wan probably thought "don't ask, don't tell" was the thing to do, as opposed to asking and being forced to expell Anakin from the order. Sigh...

Sigh, indeed. They definitely all made mistakes.

But now Anakin is growing up, and yet still not an adult and equal yet, still quite young in some ways... and Obi-Wan realizes he's just 15 or 16 years older, not really the same generation and not really a different one, and has a rebellious teen on his hand, so emphasizes the rank and age difference.

Right -- a lot of Obi-Wan's "very young Padawan"s do come off as a bit, well, insecure. He knows that Anakin isn't that much younger. But Obi-Wan's supposed to be the mentor, the Master.

And yes, Anakin is Obi-Wan obsessed. You could write it off as an age thing in AotC (a la Connor saying "it's your fault my life sucks" to Angel in "The Awakening"), were it not for the fact that he brings Obi-Wan up in the OT on a regular basis as well as you point out. It never occurs to him Luke could have learned from anyone but Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan is the Master.

"As wise as Master Yoda and as powerful as Master Windu." Yep.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

*sigh*

So true about the Jedi. I mean, dude, Anakin still has to call people 'Master'.

Do you think Obi-Wan intentionally uses 'my young Padawan' as a stick to beat Anakin with, or is it just Anakin's (mis)reading of the situation?

I think that Obi-Wan's doing it on purpose, but I don't think that he quite understands just how much it's bothering Anakin. Because he wants Anakin to respect him, he wants to prove to everyone that he did the right choice in honoring Qui-Gon's wishes and that's hard to do when your Padawan only listens when he wants to.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

He is a complete brat. The thing that's so sad about his love for Obi-Wan and Padme is that is doesn't seem to be enough that he's loved best (because I think that even he can figure that out), but he wants to be loved only (if Padme had actually had the kids and not died, and they'd gotten to be a family, I have no doubt that he would have been resentful about how much of Padme's attention they were taking up, even as he loved them very much).

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Padme is so horribly enabling. What was up with that "Everyone get angry" bit? Like... Hey, Padme, everybody gets angry! Not everybody slaughters women and children! ...of course, Obi-Wan isn't any better, with his tendency to indulge Anakin in things like becoming obsessed with certain Senators while at the same time otherwise passive-aggressively destroying his self esteem. Woe. You know, Anakin might have turned out better if his closest friends had stopped loving him so much and started, like, being responsible people.

So true. Padme is all "I love him, therefore I must accept everything he does and if I can't accept something... I'll just ignore that it happened." Whereas Obi-Wan seems to think that if he can just get Anakin to be a good Padawan, everything else wrong will go away.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

I was watching Padme's expression after that and she was like, "Um . . . *gapes* I'll pretend that I didn't hear that. Annie, let's have some tea.

Hee, yes. It was kinda like that.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

It's funny how much better a movie AoTC becomes in context of the whole trilogy! That meadow scene INDEED. Went from being pure, undiluted cheese to a lynchpin.

Yes, it has undercurrents now. It fits.

Anakin's... fixation, in this movie, on Obi-Wan isn't all that startingly. He's a huge part of his life, probably the biggest, and thus everything goes back to him. By the third movie Anakin's world has expanded (the war, his wife, his close friendship with Palpatine). What's weird is his fixation in the Empire Trilogy. By then it's been twenty years and ODD how much his mind lingers.

Yes, exactly. It's that after twenty years, Obi-Wan is still The Guy that makes it stick out.

In AoTC Obi-Wan and Anakin are so snipy, as if they WANTED to hurt each other. What with all the "My VERY VERY young Padawan"s and how Anakin goes out of his way to undermine Obi-Wan's tutelage. But when push comes to shove and Obi-Wan says "I need you," Anakin is loyal. (And, damn, Obi-Wan really knows where and how to push.)

They do love and trust each other, definitely. They just, especially at this point, have terrible ways of showing that. They want to control each other. But yeah, when Obi-Wan needs him, Anakin is there, no matter what.

[imadra-blue.livejournal.com]

*nods* I agree completely. It's one reason I think Anakin wasn't so upset about the idea of his child dying, but tore up about Padme. he didn't know the child yet, and Padme was his. It's a shame we didn't get to se ehim play daddy, that could have been interesting.

[rabidfangurl.livejournal.com]

as he wants complete freedom. There is a quote, niggling in the back of my head, about choice and freedom and whether one implies the other.

What I think, honestly, is that Anakin really, really needs structure, but he also wants the freedom to be able to *refuse* orders. Giving him absolute freedom without boundaries would be overwhelming, as he wouldn't know what to do, but having to follow orders all the time grates on him. I think that's another reason he loves Padme: she doesn't *demand* anything from him. She asks for things, and he can choose whether to do them. That's what he wants, and what he needs. The stability of someone who will ask things of him, and the confidence in them to refuse if he wants to. Not that he really thinks he has that freedom with Padme, but he's closer to it with her than with anyone else save his mother.

I think it's why he fears Obi-Wan, and Obi-Wan's reactions. Because he can't refuse Obi-Wan actively without a very serious risk of rejection.

[imadra-blue.livejournal.com]

See, I agree with you, but what Anakin wants and what he needs are different things. He wants complete freedom, in my mind. But he doesn't need it, and deep down, he doesn't even really want it -- just the idea of it. He equates choice with freedom, and the reason I think he does that because Anakin is an all or nothing kinda guy. He think he can't have choice unless he has complete and utter freedom.

But you're right, he wouldn't know what to do with himself. And he needs the structure of someone else with him, someone he can rely on fall back on. And yes, even allow to make decisions and be dominant -- but all on his terms. Because then when he wants the power and the dominance back, they better give it quick-like.

And you make a great point about Obi-Wan and Padme. See, Obi-Wan is demanding, and there are serious consequences to be faced from actions involving him. Anakin knows this. Padme is the easier one for him to get along with. She doesn't demand, as you said, she asks. And she gives him a lot, too.