Today, we look at the strange argument that The Last Jedi is somehow a cynical movie.
Knowledge Waits is a feature where I just share some bit of pop culture history that interests me that doesn’t quite fit into the other features.
Recently, there was a viral meme arguing that Lucasfilm’s recent movies (specifically Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) were too cynical in their treatment of the returning older characters, that they were all miserable and failures.
Forgetting the other two for a moment (and this is not to say that I agree with them, just that I’m not talking about them at this time), the example of Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi is just an unsupported take on the character and film, as The Last Jedi is plainly NOT a cynical film. Instead, it is specifically about the power of hope in dark times.
The key problem is that people attribute sayings of characters in the film to be affirmative statements, when they are not, and one notable instance where the statement is clearly NEGATED by the events of the film.
Firstly, Kylo Ren’s “let the past die; kill it if you have to” statement is treated as if the film agrees with him. It does not. He’s a bad guy, the film actively does NOT agree with him.
Secondly, DJ’s “Finn, let me learn you something big. It’s all a machine, partner. Live free, don’t join.” Again, the film introduces a nihilistic position…and then REJECTS it. Finn actively rejects DJ’ nihilistic position, and then Rose later stops Finn from sacrificing himself in vain, because it DOES matter whether he lives or dies and fights another day.
Finally, Luke Skywalker is in a bad place in the beginning of the film, and he says some harsh stuff, mocking the idea of him being some big hero. He mocks Rey when she looks to him to help the rebels, “You think what? I’m gonna walk out with a laser sword and face down the whole First Order?”
But then later in the film, that’s PRECISELY what Luke DOES do. He walks out with a laser sword and faces down the whole First Order, allowing the remaining Rebels to escape and continue the revolution.
And, of course, the film ends with a stable boy recounting to his buddies Luke’s heroic deed before demonstrating Force capabilities. In other words, hope is very much springing eternal in this film. Heck, Rey specifically saves the Jedi books that were seemingly destroyed. The past actively did NOT die.
The Last Jedi is a hopeful film that is not cynical. Kylo Ren is a tragic figure, true, but he’s also the bad guy of the film, so, well, I dunno, man, the bad guy can have a tragic background. That doesn’t mean the film overall is not optimistic. You can like the movie, you can dislike the movie, whatever, I don’t particularly care, just don’t say that it is a cynical movie, because it isn’t.
If anyone has any pop culture bit that you’d like me to discuss, drop me a line at brian@popculturereferences.com.
Amen to that, Brian. I still think TLJ is one of the best films of the whole saga, which outclasses not just the other two of the sequel trilogy, but a couple of prequels’ (we all know which ones).
Yes, it’s probably not what you were expecting, but neither was TESB at the time, and yet.
Of course it’s sad to see Luke so bitter and defeated, while we were all expecting to see him in blazes of glory, but please name a Jedi of his times who did not end up slaughtered, consumed by the dark side, hidden, grieving, gulity, regretful: he and Obi Wan at least were able to die (old and tired) heroically, only to give hope to the ones who remain. Only Ashoka and Rey might go a different road, but we still have to see if they are actually Jedi in the usual sense.
After watching 9 movies i can tell the sense of the saga is exactly to narrate the end of the Jedi era, not the force, not hope, just the Jedi: discovering that a noble, millennial institution has finally become old and outdated.
I think it is not by chance that the only main force driven character who never accepted to become a Jedi, Leia, is also the only one who *never* gave up hope up to the last moment of her life.
I hate TLJ with passion.
I’ve chatted with friends for all the reasons I hate TLJ.
But I’ll agree that it isn’t cynical.
But having Rey intuitively out duel Luke with a light saber? It completely goes against the 979 film where Luke needs to practice with a blast shield over his eyes to learn to use the light saber properly. It’s not a cynical movie, but a horrible “Mary Sue” movie.
The movie has its cynical moments, like the speech from Del Toro’s character, but I will agree that the overall tone of the film was not.
It wasn’t a good movie, but it had its moments. The scene where Luke explains the Force to Rey felt like it was dropped in by another director from a better movie, and the moment where Rose saved Finn was great. I kind of wish she’d had a larger part in the final movie of the installment because she was like one of two characters who were still likable after this movie.
The way I described this trilogy of movies to a friend was that Abrams loves Star Wars but doesn’t understand how it works. Johnson understands how Star Wars works but doesn’t like it.