New Beginnings

I have been working on this post, my first post for The Cantina Cast, for a couple of weeks now.  Crazy things in life happen, but now I am off to a new start.  My son started school for the first time four weeks ago, and this milestone got me thinking about parallels in the Star Wars universe:  parallels revolving around New Beginnings in each new stage in our lives (and the lives of our beloved characters for that matter).

Throughout our lives we encounter new beginnings to new journeys, whether it is going to school for the first time, going off to college, getting married, starting a family, retiring, etc.  With each new stage comes new feelings and responsibilities.  Thinking back through the Star Wars saga, I noticed a trend of these same New Beginnings, complete with the emotions we all experience.

Episode I

Probably the most riveting and emotional scene for me is when Shmi watches Anakin walk away to join Qui-Gon on a new adventure.  You can see and feel the hesitation, the anxiety in Anakin’s good-bye.  Watching Shmi, viewers can also see anxiety, sadness, hope, and pride in her eyes and other body language.  Whenever I watch this episode, I can just feel the emotion as Shmi and Anakin say good-bye; however, now that I am a mother, this scene definitely has a more powerful effect on my emotions.  As parents, we need to learn to allow our children to grow and develop and, at the same time, allow someone else to teach them what we cannot.  The act of letting go for both parent and child signifies a major milestone and New Beginning for both parties.  Although much anxiety is involved, the experience is a one of growing for all involved.

Episode II

Although there are a few instances of New Beginnings in this episode, for me the most significant event is the marriage of Anakin and Padme in a secret ceremony.  Many people at this stage in their lives do get married…sometimes with the blessings of their friends and families, and sometimes not.  I can relate to how Anakin and Padme thought when getting married in a private ceremony, as my husband and I were married in our own private ceremony.  Granted, we were not married on Varikyno…rather, we were married in the “wedding capital of the world” (Las Vegas).  Like Anakin and Padme, we did not have the full blessings of our family or that of many of our friends, but we have made it work and have proven many wrong.  However, Anakin and Padme faced many challenges in their early days and years of marriage, and they did the best they could to make things work as well as possible.

Episode III

Now this episode is the beginning of the end of the Republic and the “birth” of the Empire.  However, perhaps the most riveting and most important event signifying these New Beginnings is Padme’s pregnancy.  At some point in most marriages, the couple decides to start a family.  With this decision comes great responsibility, anxiety, and any of a variety of other emotions.  I know that when I was pregnant with my son, I experienced an array of feelings and emotions, among which included excitement, anxiety, anticipation, and doubt.  I had somewhat of an idea of what to expect, as I also have step-children and care for children at work; however, I also had no idea of what to expect as a first-time mom.  I can only imagine what Padme was experiencing, as her husband was not present for the majority of her pregnancy.  The one thing that we know for sure, as the Republic was dying and the Empire was rising, the Rebellion was being formed, and the two New Beginnings that came out of the love between two individuals would become the New Hope for the new galaxy.

Episode IV

In this episode, several New Beginnings were occurring, but none quite as significant as that of Luke leaving Tatooine with Obi-Wan on “some damn fool idealistic crusade.”  At this time Luke is at the age that most of us in our modern world choose to go off to college, leave our parents’ home for a different reason, or join the military.  At this age, I chose to leave my parents’ home for college while my husband left home for the military, where he fought in the Persian Gulf.  Before Luke joins forces with Obi-Wan, Han, and Chewbacca, he had expressed the desire to leave Tatooine to join the Imperial Academy, to leave his life as a moisture farmer for something more.  However, little did he know that his New Beginning would come in the form of an adventure one could only dream about…fighting with the Rebellion against the Empire.

Episode V

It is not difficult for me to say what the most significant New Beginning is in this episode:  the Jedi training of Luke Skywalker.  At this point, Luke left the other Rebels to pursue an apprenticeship/internship as a Jedi on Dagobah with Yoda.  At this age, many in our modern society seek apprenticeships/internships/training in a specialized field.  Although dedicated to his learning, Luke senses something is not right with his friends…his family…and makes the decision to leave his training in the hopes of protecting those important to him.  I know many who have left their training to tend to family matters…making the decision to put their careers on hold for those near and dear to them.

Episode VI

This episode is the pinnacle of the Star Wars saga and contains several important New Beginnings:  it is the end of the Empire and the beginning of a new era, Luke had become a Jedi Master, and Leia and Han had indicated that a new start to their lives together would soon commence.  This is the time when the oppressive Empire had fallen, ushering in a new era for the galaxy.  In today’s modern world, we see oppressive regimes fall and new eras come into play, where new governments and countries are often formed.

We can now only anticipate what will happen in the next Trilogy…how the Prequel Trilogy and the Original Trilogy influence the Sequel Trilogy.

 

I realize that this blog entry is a bit long, and I hope that you all were able to hang in there with me to the end.  I am working on a more personal blog entry, to be published within the next few weeks or so, and hopefully it will not be quite as long as this one.  I want to thank you all for reading this first blog entry of my New Beginning as a featured blogger here for The Cantina Cast.

Until next time…May The Force Be With You All…Always