[Jordan]

I don't think we've covered this ground yet. Was Anakin forced to train?, or did he do it on his own free will. It seems to me his entire reason for joining was:

a) He had no choice

He thought it would be wizard


Qui Gonn never really gave him a choice in the matter. One minute he was a slave, the next he was being torn from his mother and everything he knows. He never once protested, he just kind of went with it, and next thing you know it, he's a faggin' Jedi!

Luke wanted to be a Jedi Knight. He explicitly said it. I can't remember word for word what he said, but he did beg Yoda to train him.

Any how, I figured this would be a good topic since we've covered almost 99% off SW turf.

This post has been edited by Jordan: 30 January 2005 - 08:02 PM

[Hannibal]

I think because little Darthy was a little kid, the "choice" is irrelevant. Can little kids of 10 years old make a wise and mature decision to join the army and become a green beret? Who in their right mind would think a little kid has any wisdom to know what he's doing? George Lucas I guess, for all Jedis start out as little kids. This is moronic. I don't care if the Dalai Lama was chosen at 8 years old, or if little kids in Guatamala form guerilla rebel units, its insanity to allow CHILDREN to be trained for combat, let alone occult/paranormal powers.

I say with age comes AT LEAST the possibility of wisdom.

Children are children. Let them play.

[barend]

i'm just waiting for the TV series, when there will, no doubt, be a five year old that yoda tells is too old to start training...

i get the idea that yoda midwifes the kids he trains... and further more that it is the first step in the training...

to be a jedi, bounce, you must learn to overcome! hmmm? *drops baby*

[jariten]

The backbone of Anakins character arc consists of this idea of choices. Without boring anyone with quotes from the film, Anakin is presented with a clear choice about wether to go with Qui Gon or stay with his mother. He arguably has more of a choice than Luke did, who was left with nothing. So i'd say that yes, he wanted to be a Jedi. Ok, so I lied, heres a quote

"I had a dream I was a Jedi, I came back here and freed all the slaves"

[HK 47]

I think Lucas in his usual clumsy way tries to use vague ideas "fate" and "destiny" to explain Anakins choices. We all know he's gonna become a Jedi, perhaps that is enough in his mind. Would have been more interesting if he chose to become a Jedi because of an important incident in his life. Like Luke losing his aunt and uncle to the Empire "There is nothing for me here now, I wanna learn about the Force yadda yadda".

Anakin however: "The boy has a midichlorian count almost as high as Master Yoda!"
And yeah, he probably thought it would be wizard too.

[Paladin]

Anakin was more or less recruited like every other Jedi kid... discovered with a whoop ass midichlorian count, and he helped the Jedi out when they needed it, and they just gave him a choice as whether to stay or come with them. Anakin promises his mom that he would free her some day... and comes too late. But that's a different issue.

I think that Anakin's 'choice' here was pretty basic and dull. There was no emotion or anything. The scene that he looked back at his mother and tried to act as if he couldn't bear to leave her was pretty weak, and I think far more should have been done.

[Chefelf]

I think the reason Anakin becomes a Jedi is pretty clear. It's the same way we all decide what we're going to do.

Some day (when you're ten years old) a guy with a beard comes by and tells you that you should probably go off and do something. Then you shrug and say, "Okay." Then you go and do it.

And on that day you become a man.

[J m HofMarN]

Chefelf- I laughed heartily at that post, something I havnt done for a while.

Barend- Forget a five year old! Yoda seems to think everyone is too old, I think it will go something like this:

-Baby pops out of the womb, Yoda looks at it-

Yoda: Too old you are. A Jedi you will not be...

Mother: But master Yoda, he was born six weeks premature!

Yoda: Oh crap, be in trouble I might. Fine, tell the truth I will. Be arsed to train the brat, I cannot.

This post has been edited by J m HofMarN: 31 January 2005 - 03:58 PM

[Helena]

I'm inclined to agree with what most of you have said - he was nine years old and just thought it would be cool to go around levitating things and waving around a glowing sword. (I imagine the idea of escaping slavery wasn't that unpalatable to him either, although he did seem to have a pretty comfortable life for a slave). Qui-Gon really should have known better.

This post has been edited by Helena: 31 January 2005 - 05:35 PM

[Despondent]

In agreement. In addition, Liam Neeson should have known better.

Qui-gon was going through the motions Lucas had laid out,
as much as the "no father"/midichlorian-stud was
(while thinking of someone other than Shmi.)

[J m HofMarN]

You know, the fact that Anakin wanted to become a Jedi really dosn't say much. When I was ten years old I wanted to be a civil war general so maybe Obi Wan and Qui Gon should have made a little more certain of his and Shmi's decision. I mean they were faced with a clearly insane woman who thought she had been impregnated by god, and a kid who wants to be a Jedi today, but will probably want to be a two headed pod race announcer tomorrow and a fireman the day after. I think it was a bit negligent for them to just snatch him up and leave.

[Helena]

I mean they were faced with a clearly insane woman who thought she had been impregnated by god, and a kid who wants to be a Jedi today, but will probably want to be a two headed pod race announcer tomorrow and a fireman the day after.

Or, indeed, a Sith Lord.