(guy who has only seen 2 star wars movies) is the dark side inherently evil or is it just different ways to harness power
so star wars as media is really simple there are bad guys and good guys and its never hard to tell who they are unless theyre morally ambiguous on purpose, but those are usually "smugglers" or "bounty hunters". so yes its evil.
But Also; the force is the name for metaphysical effects and extrasensory abilities some people seem innately attuned to, which makes them force-sensitive. the jedi were a religious order of force sensitives dedicated to studying and living in a way that they understood the force to welcome and prefer. this was mostly about self discipline and not cutting peoples heads off with laser swords to solve problems just because they got annoyed. with great power and all that. its lots of meditation and opening your heart and mind to the whims of the force and allowing great clarity to enter you. this is considered the light side of the force, and generally is about being an agent of the forces will.
wielding the force through the dark side is understood as sourcing your power and connection to the force through the strength of your emotions and convictions. not necessarily evil, though negative emotions are easier and quicker to draw upon in the moment. it is seen as the seductive path to power, because its easier than a lifetime of meditation and fighting inner demons and other gay shit. dark side awesome. too bad about all the cutting peoples heads off with laser swords because u got mad tho. it often gets said that dark side users consider the force to be a tool to master, and the jedi think thats bad
dark side users are often crazy traumatised but because it makes then more badass they never wanna work on themselves or get over it. because it makes them stronger. their fundamental instability and penchant for betrayal means its almost impossible for them to work together to achieve anything unless you are Emperor Palpatine who won at everything by only caring about himself and being the strongest badguy ever for mysterious reasons. when the empire took over after killing all the jedi, palpy set up an assassin department to hunt down surviving jedi, but theyre alllll ex-jedi or strange freaks that all use the dark side. so u can imagine the constant backstabbing and ineffectiveness
so by nature no, using the dark side is not evil, but its an easily slippery slope towards evil actions, because by necessity you draw strength from refusing to process anything. "i was hurt - i will not allow myself to be hurt again - by anyone" begins as a normal rationale, but it quickly devolves into pressing that mental bruise again and again. ritually upsetting yourself makes it easier to lift cars and throw them with your mind. being pissed off 24/7 makes it easier to not care when they crush innocents