The Far, Bright Center

The barest flicker of persistent light.

[the-far-bright-center]

Welcome! This blog is dedicated to the original six Lucas Star Wars films, aka the Real Skywalker saga.

What I consider CANON (aka the complete Lucas saga):

The Prequels x Original Trilogy (+ certain deleted scenes and novelizations)

What I consider EXPANDED UNIVERSE (aka optional supplementary material that is informed solely *by* the Lucas saga):

Lucas-era Clone Wars, including the 2D Tartakovsky series as well as the 3D animated series (1-5 seasons ONLY).

Other Lucas-era EU material, including various tie-in novels, comics, concept art, art books, and so on (but only that which aligns with and/or supports the primary canon).

Occasionally, I may reblog the odd bits of 'new canon' I watched prior to distancing myself from Disney's Star Wars (ie Rebels and Rogue One).

**PLEASE NOTE: I do NOT accept Disney's version of Star Wars as canon and regularly share anti-Disney views.

[petaltexturedskies]

There is a theory that watching unbearable stories about other people lost in grief and rage is good for you—may cleanse you of your darkness. Do you want to go down to the pits of yourself all alone? Not much. What if an actor could do it for you? Isn't that why they are called actors? They act for you. You sacrifice them to action. And this sacrifice is a mode of deepest intimacy of you with your own life.

Anne Carson, from Grief Lessons: Four Plays by Euripides; Tragedy: A Curious Art Form

[the-far-bright-center]

“The happy ending of the fairy tale, the myth, and the divine comedy of the soul, is to be read, not as a contradiction, but as a transcendence of the universal tragedy of man.” 

— Joseph Campbell 

[the-far-bright-center]

" ... it is in this scene that the film’s awe-striking and unprecedented anachronism totally takes over: painting his images digitally, Lucas taps into our knowledge of Dante, of the legend of Faust, the Christian Hell and the Greek Hades, of the metaphoric burning of Icarus’s wings in the form of Anakin’s smoldering body. Appropriately, John Williams’s score moves further from Korngold-echoing whimsy with each successive prequel, and in Sith it acquires operatic overtones. Never one to divide “high” art from “low,” Lucas draws from every available well of visual representation to craft this uniquely digital genre entertainment, a film that is broadly drawn in its emotional strokes but rigorous in its cinematic grammar. The starkly outlined divisions established by the five preceding films break down in the Mustafar sequence, emphasized by the combatants’ matching lightsabers. It is almost as if we are watching the mythic Star Wars world burning down, an epic downfall of elemental gestures. We can no longer perceive this man, Anakin Skywalker, as an enigmatic monster in a robotic suit; not now that we have seen him weeping with rage at the network of choices and obstacles that led him to hell. If only every myth were graced with such far-ranging moral gradients; Anakin chooses evil, because it seems to him like the only right choice at the time. Now that is tragedy." — Mike Thorn, "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith: George Lucas's Greatest Artistic Statement?"

[satinsorrow]

tatooine two peice

[xcamber]

My latest commission!!

[87proofx]

Anakin Skywalker

[infiniteesun]

a friend requested i draw princess leia and i had a lot of fun drawing her. i'm still struggling with capturing likeness when drawing portraits but i think it's good to practice every once in a while

[tatooineknights]

RETURN OF THE JEDI (1983) Dir. Richard Marquand "If you will not be turned, you will be destroyed."

[mirrorofliterature]

actual anakin skywalker was not committing war crimes left right and centre, that's a TCW kids cartoon 'creators just wanted things to look cool' speciality. pre-fall anakin was a good person. for fucks' sake.

[bird-prince-art]

her brave knight

print here

[mirrorofliterature]

padmé is not in a forbidden marriage because she finds forbidden relationships titiliating but because it was the only way to be with the one she loves whilst they both keep on performing their duties

[palindroned]

Try not to lose it

[anghraine]

@fialleril, have you seen??

[fialleril]

#Luke has his priorities straight

#And a weapon isn’t a life

(via @fairandfatalasfair)

[weepingpresence]

by @ guazp5 on X / Twitter

[eldritchdemigodskywalkers]

yet another debate that has rocked the fandom for years

is shmi skywalker force-sensitive?

yes, absolutely

no, not at all

no BUT she became temporarily force-sensitive when pregnant with anakin

Remaining time: 4 days 18 hours

[mirrorofliterature]

One thing i feel everyone who watches atoc seems to never mention is that after the fire place scene Anakin never ever mentions the idea of him and Padme getting together again. He literally never flirts with her, stares at her romantically or does anything to say he wants to be with her. He literally was like “Okay i did everything i could. I give up” and Padme had to bring it up

100%! exactly: anakin is rejected by padme and respects her wishes, which is something I think demonstrates how much he loves and respects padme, as well as just being a decent human being.

[eldritchdemigodskywalkers]

#he's like. ok I played all my cards and she said no directly to me. i will yearn in silence I guess #it's why he's so flabbertigasted when she says she loves him in the chariot #he's math lady incarnate #ani.exe has stopped working (via @hopecomesbacktolife)

[roselani24]

Exactly!!!

I saw someone post a quote from E.K. Johnston’s Padme trilogy about Anakin apparently deciding he wanted to marry Padme at the Lars homestead somewhere between meeting them and wanting to know where his mother is (cause his visions have made it very clear she is in horrible pain/dying) after bringing back his murdered mother…like did Johnston watch AOTC??? Or read the original novel that came out by R.A.Salvatore??? Or even The Phantom Menace by Terri Brooks?? Anakin told Padme he foresaw them marrying in TPM after meeting her and yet he respected her discomfort and never said anything else about it. Instead he became her friend and did everything possible to help her and her companions (as a slave mind you with no way off planet yet). Prior to coming to Tatooine in AOTC, Padme made it clear in the fireplace scene she could not see them having a relationship and it’s implied getting married because of their respective careers. Anakin respects her decision and says nothing else about his love. The closest he gets is saying her presence is soothing as he meditates after the nightmare/vision that has Anakin deciding to disobey orders and going to Tatooine to check on his mother. His entire focus on Tatooine is finding Shmi. Padme is the initiator from this point in comforting and supporting Anakin because she does love him too. She just can’t admit it yet. Not until just before they are taken into the arena on Geonosis to be executed.

Why would Anakin be thinking he wants to marry Padme at the Lars homestead when all his focus is on his mother and finding out where she is and what has happened to her???

The poster of the quote seemed focused more on the relationship between Owen and Beru and Anakin’s supposed hope for his mom and Cliegg’s marriage. Which just doesn’t jive with Anakin’s behavior when initially meeting the Lars and hearing about his mother’s kidnapping by Tusken Raiders in AOTC. He is understandably worried, tense and suspicious of the Lars. Now I do think Lucas meant for Shmi being freed and then marrying Cliegg to be romantic, since they fall in love while she’s a slave and they pool resources to buy her freedom from Watto (EU-Tatooine Ghost). This acts as rewarding Shmi for her kindness and humility and bring in the Lars who will eventually raise Luke Skywalker. BUT I’ve read several convincing arguments that the freeing of Shmi and marrying her is questionable in terms of her consent since she was a slave. Which plays into Anakin’s suspicions of Cliegg Lars. Now unlike them I do not think saying someone is your wife/your husband to be a bad thing or even demeaning. And in fact in the movie I’m pretty sure it was meant to reassure Anakin that Shmi was free because it elevates her as someone precious and loved. And that Cliegg feels responsible for someone he loves being kidnapped and unable to save. Anakin is considerably softer and reacts to Cliegg’s retelling of what happened and how many people died trying to save Shmi, and Cliegg’s own injury —losing his leg— that prevented him from searching still. But Anakin doesn’t accept Shmi being dead and sets out alone to find her. Trusting Padme would be safe with the Lars, telling her they are good people before he leaves and that she’d be safe while he was gone. This shows how Anakin recognized the goodness of the family Shmi married in to. And that Anakin is still considering Padme’s safety as her bodyguard even as he goes after his mother. But he was still focused on finding Shmi not on suddenly deciding he wants to marry Padme when she has already shut down that option.

Johnston is yet another example of the writers post AOTC not getting Anakin Skywalker or his and Padme’s love and relationship. And why I will never touch her supposed Padme trilogy which presents such oocness for Anakin and Padme’s love and the worst possible interpretation of Sabe and the handmaidens ever.

And unfortunately it has infected fan spaces almost completely. Ugh!!

[mirrorofliterature]

this is exactly my feelings on that delightful passage to - I deconstructed it a few weeks ago!

[roselani24]

oh I’m sorry for missing it! I just read it and you did a much better job at breaking it down than I did, lol. Mine was a bit of rant borne from annoyance at just reading that bit of stupidity and it not leaving my brain.

Anidala is my OTP from childhood and I truly despise how their love story is treated nowadays.

[mirrorofliterature]

don't apologise! I enjoyed your rant and always love reading your additions. it is a very stupid passage, which is why I went to the effort of applying my literary analysis skills and properly deconstructing it.

[nesry-n]

"everywhere he looked, he saw only the face of the woman he loved beyond love: the woman for whom he channeled through his body all the love that had ever existed in the galaxy. in the universe."

— anakin about padmé, rots novelization

how do you expect me to be normal about them? how?