Though Lucas managed to get enough on the screen that with a bit of personal input from older viewers, we pretty much got what it was all about.
Where I was getting to is that in TPM, Lucas portrayed Padmé has someone who was already fairly mature emotionally. That's to be expected of someone who's a competent diplomat, you can't do those duties without a great understanding of human beings and relationships. Leia was more "coherent".
But it's no big deal. This was almost "decorative" as far as Lucas was concerned. The way the relationship went, and who the characters were fit perfectly the mythology, but he knew the specifics of the relationship were quite beyond the comprehension of 10 y.o. and he didn't put much more than touches here and there (the same way he dealt with pretty much all the aspects of the movies that were out of reach for his target audience). It would have been more problematic if Lucas had decided to rely primarly on the relationship to explain Anakin's downfall, but he didn't make that mistake (and no doubt would have written that story differently ha dhe made that choice) and with the loss of the mother (which he made awful enough) he put in a traumatic experience that spoke directely to the kids, and from which they could follow the rest, including Anakin's later obsession with losing Padmé. People can say what they want of Lucas, but he is a rather good "author" for kids, and has always got a lot of flair for what will appeal to them (yup, even with Jar-Jar). A lot of the stuff he dealt with is also pretty "serious" (some pretty fundamental and heavy themes in SW) - he just had the genius to wrap it all up into something that worked great for kids.
Where I was getting to is that in TPM, Lucas portrayed Padmé has someone who was already fairly mature emotionally. That's to be expected of someone who's a competent diplomat, you can't do those duties without a great understanding of human beings and relationships. Leia was more "coherent".
But it's no big deal. This was almost "decorative" as far as Lucas was concerned. The way the relationship went, and who the characters were fit perfectly the mythology, but he knew the specifics of the relationship were quite beyond the comprehension of 10 y.o. and he didn't put much more than touches here and there (the same way he dealt with pretty much all the aspects of the movies that were out of reach for his target audience). It would have been more problematic if Lucas had decided to rely primarly on the relationship to explain Anakin's downfall, but he didn't make that mistake (and no doubt would have written that story differently ha dhe made that choice) and with the loss of the mother (which he made awful enough) he put in a traumatic experience that spoke directely to the kids, and from which they could follow the rest, including Anakin's later obsession with losing Padmé. People can say what they want of Lucas, but he is a rather good "author" for kids, and has always got a lot of flair for what will appeal to them (yup, even with Jar-Jar). A lot of the stuff he dealt with is also pretty "serious" (some pretty fundamental and heavy themes in SW) - he just had the genius to wrap it all up into something that worked great for kids.
I saw that relationship as someone who never got to be a kid, being drawn to a guy with a certain emotional immaturity. He's a Jedi, which in their world/galaxy conveys a certain level of respect and awe, as well as disproportionate capability and competence. The Force, after all, is not some One-Poweresque ability that can be readily misused or abused in ignorance or carelessness - it requires discipline and some kinds of emotional control, regardless of whether you are good or evil. Therefore, by all the rules and social perceptions, Anakin is mature and capable and her peer in ability and responsibility, and therefore somewhat acceptable, unlike the typical kid her age (assuming Luke in the beginning of aNH is typical of kids their age in Star Wars), but at the same time, he has this very innocent view of right and wrong that he even applies to politics, and an openness and lack of reserve, an irrepressibility, as it were, that is very much outside of her social experience. For someone who has had to keep it all buttoned down, and been exposed to the ins-and-outs of practical politics (a subject that Bismarck compared to sauage-making, in that you don't want to examine the process too closely), and realities of the limits of political idealism (such as she articulates in the first film), that kind of attitude is an interesting novelty, and combined with the isolated & idyllic circumstances of the courtship, followed closely by the life-or-death stresses of their subsequent Geonosian adventure, could very plausibly lead to exactly the sort of impulsive & romanticly secret marriage that occurred. This is a literal Romeo & Juliet story, not in the popular usage as an example of forbidden love between irreconcilable backgrounds, but in the tradition of Shakespear, who was writing about two stupid hormone-driven kids who dove into a disatrous relationship far too fast and caused widespread tragedy.
While Anakin & Padme might not have, in the course of the films, any sort of reasonable basis for an appropriate & genuine relationship, if one recalls that their marriage was NOT a healthy thing, but rather the means of his inevitable fall to the Dark Side, then, seeing it in the light of an impetuous and immature union, it is just fine. The problem is, there is not much portrayed of this story, and the pieces are largely left for the viewers to put together on their own. It should have been more explicitly portrayed as the doomed & foolish course of action it is in hindsight. Instead, whether through the fault of the acting, writing or directing, it looks like a superficial, plot-driven romance that you get in the typical Disney cartoon or fairy tale.
While Anakin & Padme might not have, in the course of the films, any sort of reasonable basis for an appropriate & genuine relationship, if one recalls that their marriage was NOT a healthy thing, but rather the means of his inevitable fall to the Dark Side, then, seeing it in the light of an impetuous and immature union, it is just fine. The problem is, there is not much portrayed of this story, and the pieces are largely left for the viewers to put together on their own. It should have been more explicitly portrayed as the doomed & foolish course of action it is in hindsight. Instead, whether through the fault of the acting, writing or directing, it looks like a superficial, plot-driven romance that you get in the typical Disney cartoon or fairy tale.
What if Episode 1 was good?
28/02/2012 05:11:40 AM
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Talking people are annoying, especially when their first idea is stupid
28/02/2012 01:51:50 PM
- 577 Views
Re: Talking people are annoying, especially when their first idea is stupid
28/02/2012 02:12:37 PM
- 700 Views
Are you talking about the guy with the deep thick voice who affects a stupid tone?
28/02/2012 06:29:15 PM
- 506 Views
Errrr you're not really addressing the video
28/02/2012 02:55:46 PM
- 683 Views
Re: Errrr you're not really addressing the video
28/02/2012 04:22:16 PM
- 725 Views
Because 7-10 year olds are really into trade regulation?
28/02/2012 07:42:43 PM
- 451 Views
Qui-Gon is the protagonist if you absolutely need one (though I don't know why you do)
28/02/2012 10:59:23 PM
- 500 Views
Actually, I didn't get that far. The guy annoyed me so much I shut it off after the last point
28/02/2012 06:45:43 PM
- 546 Views
Hah, I do!
28/02/2012 07:55:52 PM
- 444 Views
Re: Actually, I didn't get that far. The guy annoyed me so much I shut it off after the last point
15/03/2012 02:10:17 PM
- 500 Views
Re: Talking people are annoying, especially when their first idea is stupid
28/02/2012 03:16:48 PM
- 555 Views
I'd really like to see some discussion with Lucas being challenged
28/02/2012 08:05:16 PM
- 552 Views
There is little to none canon that doesn't get signed by Lucas and his little helpers
28/02/2012 10:30:34 PM
- 438 Views
Re: There is little to none canon that doesn't get signed by Lucas and his little helpers
29/02/2012 12:48:54 AM
- 485 Views
I mean, the Solo/Leia love story wasn't particularly complex
29/02/2012 06:42:37 PM
- 465 Views
Re: I mean, the Solo/Leia love story wasn't particularly complex
02/03/2012 06:06:48 PM
- 596 Views
I thought the Padme-Anakin relationship was kind of plausible, just not addressed well in the films
02/03/2012 08:52:52 PM
- 485 Views
Indeed..
03/03/2012 01:10:29 AM
- 500 Views
Who here thinks they could make a better Episode I ?
06/03/2012 06:43:58 PM
- 449 Views