I’m Not Racist, But Yes I Am: Prejudice and the Dark Side of the Force
Star Wars undeniably has a lot of problems with race. In the Original Trilogy, the only black man in the galaxy is a traitor who sells his friends to the empire. Though the prequels are more diverse, the Heroes have British or American accents, while the Bad Guys (at least in Episode I) have Japanese accents, and the Primitive and Annoying characters speak in some sick caricature of Patois. While the Clone Wars and Rebels spinoff series have further diversified the series and fixed many things from both trilogies, the race-based problems persist.
Despite the series’ lack of consideration for people of colour however, the portrayal of the Dark Side of the Force throughout the films and the Clone Wars series is an effective analogy for racism (as well as sexism, homophobia, and in fact, any other aspect of our being that makes us uncomfortable).
In The Empire Strikes Back, Luke initially believes that there is no darkness within himself: having studied with Obi-Wan and Yoda, he was likely already aware of the latter’s famous philosophy on fear. Yet in conversation, he stated that he was “not afraid.” Yoda, having already recognized and overcome with his own inner darkness, knows better, and tells Luke as much. Later in the movie, Luke ventures into a cave that is “strong with the Dark Side of The Force,” where he encounters a vivid illusion of Darth Vader. Believing the illusion to be the real thing, Luke ignites his lightsaber first, and in the brief ensuing duel, decapitates Vader. The front of Vader’s helmet is then destroyed, revealing Luke’s face.
After Luke’s encounter, he realized that there was darkness within himself, and that this darkness could consume him if he wasn’t consciously trying to control it — which is exactly what happened to Anakin in the Prequels.
The key difference between Anakin’s story in the Prequels and Luke’s in the Original Trilogy is the former’s unwillingness to acknowledge his own darkness. When he is brought before the Jedi Council in The Phantom Menace and asked by Yoda if he is afraid, he responds “no, sir.” When Yoda elaborates, stating matter-of-factly that Anakin is “afraid to lose [his mother],” he evades the question, asking “what has that got to do with anything?” At the conclusion of Episode I, Anakin remains willingly oblivious to the fear inside him that eventually sends him down the path to the Dark Side.
A major recurring element of Attack of the Clones is Anakin’s frustration with his master, Obi-Wan. They constantly exchange verbal blows, with Anakin believing that he is ready to become a full Jedi and Obi-Wan believing that he is still too emotionally immature. Obi-Wan recognizes that Anakin is not in control of the darkness within him, while Anakin still believes that this darkness does not exist. Anakin’s emotional turmoil eventually culminates in the massacre of an entire village, yet he still tries to deny that the darkness is there.
By the time Anakin recognizes the darkness within himself in Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine has already manipulated him into embracing it and letting it consume him.
Like every human being, Luke and Anakin have flaws. They have darkness within them. Luke recognizes it and is eventually able to overcome it, while Anakin, because he failed to recognize it, is consumed by it until, as it seems to everyone except Luke, there is nothing left of the original person.
While the Star Wars films show two cases of young, relatively inexperienced people facing tests by the Dark Side of The Force, the Clone Wars series displays a similar test for Yoda, the Jedi Grand Master.
In “Destiny” (Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 6 Episode 12), Yoda visits a far-away planet to learn a new Force technique from five priestesses, who put him through a series of tests. The first test requires him to conquer the darkness within him, and he is initially skeptical about its value:
SERENITY*: You must know yourself. Your true self. And then, let go. [Gesturing towards island] On that island dwells all that remains unconquered. What, in your existence, some call evil; otherwise known as Fear, all which must be finally overcome before the journey can be taken. Free yourself, you must.
YODA: A Jedi master, I am. Know all that dwells within, I do. Mastered my weaknesses and conquered my fears, I have.
*(NOTE: The five priestesses are all named after emotions, and Serenity is the one that most frequently interacts with Yoda.)
Upon reaching the island, the darkness within Yoda manifests itself physically as a shadow duplicate:
Yet despite his claim that he “Know[s] all that dwells within,” Yoda, much like Anakin, initially fails to recognize that the creature is, in fact, him:
SHADOW YODA: Yoda… Yoda… Yoda…
YODA: Show yourself!
SHADOW YODA: Yoda hates me, yessss…[he charges at YODA and tackles him to the ground] Yoda plays not with me anymore. [He picks YODA up and flings him into the air] Yoda thinks me not worthy. [He grabs YODA from behind, they struggle, YODA throws SHADOW YODA off and blasts him into a rock with The Force.]
YODA: [brandishing walking stick] Yoda recognizes you not.
SHADOW YODA [laughing]: See not what is inside Yoda?
YODA: I choose not to give you power.
SHADOW YODA [slowly advancing]: And yet you spend your days in the decadence of war. And with that, I grow inside you. Know your true self; face me now, or I will devour you.
[YODA charges at SHADOW YODA and jumps into him; they struggle briefly. SHADOW YODA throws YODA up to the top of a cliff, then leaps up after him.]
[They struggle again, with YODA gaining the advantage this time: he stands on top of SHADOW YODA and pressing his walking stick against his adversary’s throat.]
YODA: Part of me, you are not.
SHADOW YODA: Part of you, I am. Part of all that lives. [He flips himself on top of YODA, throws him into another rock, jumps after him, pounds heavily on his back, then begins choking him] Why do you hate what gives you power? [He delivers seven quick blows to various parts of YODA’s body, then, with another punch, sends him flying onto a rock ledge, climbs up, and begins approaching.] Yoda thinks me not worthy.
YODA: Recognize you, I do. [SHADOW YODA charges at YODA on all fours, but YODA stops him mid-leap, holding him in place with The Force.] Part of me you are, yes. But power over me, you have not. Through patience and training, it is I who control you. [He pulls SHADOW YODA towards himself with The Force; SHADOW YODA tries to run away, but is unable.] Control over me, you have not. [He grabs SHADOW YODA’s head.] My Dark Side, you are. Reject you, I do.
[Light erupts from SHADOW YODA’s face, then from his whole body, which dissolves in the air.]
Like Luke, Yoda eventually recognizes that the darkness is a part of him, and is able to overcome it. Yet Yoda’s battle shows that the struggle with darkness is a continuous one. Yoda is nine hundred years old, and has presumably been meditating and studying the ways of The Force since he was very young. Yet there is still darkness within him, he still struggles to recognize that it is there, and he still struggles to overcome it.
Throughout the entire series, there are many people who have given themselves over to the Dark Side, all of whom believe the Dark Side to be more powerful than the Good Side, though this idea is quickly dismissed by Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back: its powers are merely easier and more seductive; its users more willing to use them.
Just like the Dark Side of The Force, racism (and sexism, homophobia, any other kind of prejudice, or indeed, any kind of personal flaw) is actively embraced by many people, simply because it is easier than dealing with it. Just like the Dark Side of The Force, it can be overcome once you recognize it and make a conscious decision to reject it, as Luke did. Just like the Dark Side of The Force, it can consume you, as it did Anakin, if you fail to recognize it. Just like the Dark Side of The Force, dealing with it and controlling it is a struggle that lasts your entire life, even if you live for nine hundred years, like Yoda.
In case you couldn’t guess from reading this, I am a pretty big Star Wars geek. Feel free to comment here, or to tweet me @omically if you want to discuss anything further, suggest a new detail that I possibly haven’t thought of, whether it strengthens or contradicts the analogy, or even just to geek out about Star Wars in general. Conversation is welcome: let me know if you think my ideas about prejudice and personal flaws are great, way off the mark, or anything in between.
