Posted by TheMojoPin at 208.1.219.2 on November 16, 2001 at 16:18:06:
In Reply to: A Mythological reading of Boba Fett... posted by CaribbeanKangaroo (S.Townsley) on November 16, 2001 at 16:05:34:
Let me just say this: WOW. I've done a lot of studying into ancient Roman and Greek mythology, and actually just finished "Paradise Lost" for a class a week ago, so everything you're saying is pretty much dead on. Very, VERY impressive...if this is what Lucas was going for, well, more power to him, but somehow I doubt that...
: It's weird that I find myself defending Boba Fett, because I really don't buy into that whole "Cult of Fett" thing. It's the same with Wedge. Nice character, good actor...the universe doesn't revolve around him, though.
Great, I'm lost again...who the hell is Wedge? Is he Chunk's ("Goonies") long-lost cousin or something? Or maybe Hunk from "Voltron"?
: I'm going to try and answer this in the mythological sense, so you'll have to transcend the superficial layers of watching the films and try to see this with me, here:
: It's not so much that Fett is a factor in the films as much as a *presence*. (At least in the later episodes...I'm sure his role in the earlier episodes will be expanded, elaborated upon.) Fett is a Nemesis/Shadow Figure. In Greek mythology, Nemesis was the "hitman of the gods". (Actually, Hit-*woman* is more accurate, but *details*...) When the gods decided that a particular mortal was to suffer a particular fate, it was usually up to Nemesis to do the deed.
I see the Nemesis comparison, but he almost has a bit of the Furies going for him as well, if you look at the complicated Skywalker family history, losing one's definition of "maternal bonds," and assume what may happen in the upcoming episodes...
: Boba Fett is also a shadow-reflection of Han Solo, in that he represents what Solo *might* have been--Cold blooded, in it for the money. Boba Fett is not the singularly opposing force in "Star Wars", like Satan might be in "Paradise Lost"...however, Satan has named-minions in "Paradise Lost", each of which represents one or more factors of evil (i.e., Sloth, Greed....)
So maybe it's more apt to say he's like a physical manifestation of the Castle of Pride and its inhabitants from "The Faerie Queen"? But I like the idea of him being Solo's shadow...and if the Milton analogy holds, does that make his fellow bounty hunters like the other demons cast down in "Paradise"? And if he really is just a clone, that opens up ALL kinds of comparisons to Sin and Death...
: So, it is appropriate that Solo dispatches Fett--even in the manner that Solo does, because after his own resurrection, Solo's commitment to the cause is confirmed, and he has abandoned any possibility of becoming that shadowy-self.
But then what does it mean that he vanquishes Fett in such an accidental manner, and essentially blind, with the assistance of his best friend/life partner? I'ts not necessarily a concious explusion of his "dark side" then, is it?
: As for the Sarlaac...well, in a manner, it is supposed to represent that which men fear most: The *vagina dentate* - the "vagina with teeth". It is a Jungian/Freudian symbol which is chosen to represent the idea that most men fear being separated from their penises. Absolutely true.
I've always brought this up, kinda jokingly, though "Jedi" is VERY full of sexual imagery...the Sarlaac...the bondage themes...the very phallic appearance of Jabba the Hutt and his very physical domination of the women around him, and how that imagery is reversed when Leia strangles Jabba...the fact that Luke is essentially saved by the very vaginal Sarlaac with the help of his phalic-shaped droid erupting a very phallic-like weapon from its head...there are certainly some issues here...
-TMP