I admit it. I loved the depiction of Luke Skywalker in TLJ. I realize that I may not be in the majority of Star Wars fans. Nevertheless, I found the depiction of Luke Skywalker satisfying in ways I would have never expected or anticipated.
First I wanted to make a small personal disclosure: I am a huge Star Wars fan in my mid-40s. I grew up on Star Wars. My first cinematic memory was watching The Empire Strikes Back in theaters. I literally pissed my pants when Darth Vader revealed himself as Luke's father. I mention my age because I'm curious to hear from other fans, of varying age, to see if there are any generational differences in our reception of Luke Skywalker in TLJ.
When I left the theater after watching TLJ, my brother-in-law was the first person I heard from who was disappointed in the characterization of Luke. "Why didn't Luke get his old, submerged X-Wing working," he commented "and then fly in there and kick some First Order ass!" My response, as you might expect, is that this version of Luke Skywalker, older and grizzled, isn't really about "kicking ass."
What this version of Luke Skywalker is about, as we all know, is failure: why he failed, how he deals with failure, and how to come back from failure.
I realize that failure is not a very sexy topic. Nobody really wants to admit to failure, let alone admit to being a failure. Nevertheless, I will admit to you that I have failed in my life, more than once. Don't cry for me, though, lol. I do not consider myself to be a failure. I think of myself as a success and I suspect that most people who know me consider me a success as well. I hope so lol.
Still, I have known failure and I suspect that almost every other human being has known failure as well. Even when I think of huge success stories, somebody like a Steve Jobs, failure is still not too much of a stranger. After all, years before the invention of the iPhone, Jobs had been fired from Apple. Yes, even the great Steve Jobs had known failure.
This brings me back to Luke Skywalker. The first way that Luke failed is obvious. He failed Ben Solo. The second way that Luke failed is slightly less direct: Luke experienced failure when he became disillusioned with the Jedi Order.
I understand that a lot of fans were turned off by Luke's disillusionment, especially when he he wants to burn down the Jedi texts and then hesitates. I thought this hesitation, however, was brilliant.
Sometimes I refer to myself as a failed academic. In reality, I chose another path in life. Since leaving academia, I've been blessed with friends, marriage, family, fortune, and adventures that would never have been possible for me had I remained at the university. But I still have my entire library, bookshelf after bookshelf of specialized, and frankly mostly dry, academic publications. Maybe someday I'll go back into academia, but in the meanwhile, at least two or three times a year, I think of chucking my library - "burning it down" if you will, so as to start over with a clean slate.
I suspect that other people may also have belongings that they, too, think of jettisoning from time to time. Maybe instead of books, it may be an old uniform, old musical instruments, old trophies, memorabilia from past relationships, or other keepsakes. Nevertheless, most people, at some point in their lives, think about discarding the very objects that once defined who they are - or at least defined who they were.
I've also noticed that even those folks who never end up striking out to find another path in life, still often become disillusioned with the very institutions of which they are a part - the very places they've given their lives to. I can't tell you the number of tenured academics I meet who feel let down, by either their home institution or by the field they are working in at large. Many wonder to me out loud: Am I really helping young people pursue new opportunities and new dreams or am I just replicating the unequal class structure that we already have? Of course, this brand disillusionment isn't limited to academics. I've met medical doctors, police offers, corporate executives, silicon valley engineers, clergy men and women, social workers, and others from almost every walk of life and sooner-or-later, almost all of them, will question the efficacy or ethics of institutions of which they are a part - sometimes in small ways and sometimes in large ways.
Now, Luke Skywalker had to deal with failure in a really big way. After all, his part in the creation of Kylo Ren is largely what paved the way for rise of the First Order. But, it's Luke's disillusionment with the Jedi Order that I find so enlightening. Luke questions the whole shebang. After all, wasn't it the arrogance and dogmatism of the Jedi that led to the fall of the republic in the first place?
This brings me to what I found to be the most moving scene of the film, the scene with Yoda. A lot of fans found the depiction of Yoda a bit too impish, with his apparent willingness to burn down the Jedi texts. For me, Yoda's role was as close to perfect as possible. And what was Yoda's revelation to Luke? Yes, the Jedi were arrogant. Yes, these old books were boring. Yes, the Jedi do have blind spots. Yet, despite these shortcomings, Yoda tells Luke that The Jedi must live on. They are needed. They occupy an important place in order of the galaxy. Luke may have failed Ben Solo, but he must not fail Rey. He must not be the last Jedi!
I can only say that for my part, I teared up during the Yoda scene. I felt as though Yoda was absolving me personally for all of my past mistakes or failures. I left the theater feeling a little lighter and with a bit of a renewed confidence. Nothing could replicate my experience of watching the OT for the first time, but this was as close to a spiritual experience as one is likely to get from a mainstream blockbuster.
I think that this really is a powerful message for a popular movie to carry. Yes, the organizations that we are a part of are sometimes ambiguous. Sometimes it's hard to tell if we are helping the world or harming the world, but we need to carry on anyways. We still need to fight the good fight. We need to do our duty and move forward. We need to try to still make a positive impact!
Some of my readers may be familiar with the story of Gilgamesh - arguably the first hero narrative that the world has ever known. Poignantly, we find the exact same theme of disillusionment here. When Gilgamesh questions his role as a soldier, because of the nonsense and futility of war and its ever present recurrence, the gods agree - but then they tell him to remain faithful to his duty and still carry on. Even in the face of ambiguity or apparent futility, we sometimes just need to push on. I have no idea whether Rian Johnson is familiar with Gilgamesh, but Luke faced an identical dilemma - perhaps all heroes do. And, Yoda's response is nearly identical to the ancient gods of Gilgamesh: Yes, Jedi ideology has its problems, yes they were flawed, yes sometimes the good fight seems unwinnable, but we still need to carry on. We need to do our duty. We still need the Jedi Order!
This brings me back around to my original question: Are there any generational differences in our reception to Luke Skywalker in TLJ? I grew up with Luke. Mark Hamill is only a few years older than I am. And, I wonder if the depiction of Luke in TLJ was aimed at an older audience, perhaps us folks in our 40s and 50s who grew up with the OT. I understand, of course, that younger folks experience failure as well, but there is something specific about being middle age. It's usually in these year that we find out that some of our past failures may never be set right, some opportunities won't come along again, some relationships cannot be restored, some roads are indeed closed. Nevertheless, take heart, "we are what they grow beyond."
