Revenge of the Sith secrets exposed

More later, but some interesting material referenced over at Instapundit

1. Balance of the Force

I've always wondered about this, ever since Episode 1. Why would the Jedi Council want "balance" to a force that is supposed to be helping them (ie the good guys - the relativistic assertions of Anakin Skywalker aside). Here's an answer:

The prophecy was that Anakin (Darth) will restore order and balance to the force. How true this turns out to be. But none of the Jedi can begin to understand what this means. Yes, you have to get rid of the bad guys. But you also have to get rid of the Jedi. The Jedi are, after all, the primary supply source and training ground for the bad guys. Anakin/Darth manages to get rid of both, so he really is the hero of the story. (It is also interesting which group of "Jedi" Darth kills first, but that would be telling.)

The public choice economics of Star Wars: A Straussian reading

2. Midichlorians

Midi-what? Mito-whosia? Yep, didn't understand this arcane Lucasian concept until this insight either. Seems to make sense (although not much in George Lucas' universe stands up to close scrutiny. the New Testament gospels are completely airtight in comparison):

Chancellor Palpatine lets Anakin know ... that he once knew of a Sith Lord able to manipulate Midichlorians to the point where he could create new life with them and also prevent death.The Phantom Menace seemed to indicate that Anakin was immaculately conceived. He had no father. His mother simply became pregnant and raised the boy.In one fell swoop, Lucas reveals to us that he had a plan all along. No, Anakin isn't the sci-fi version of Christ. It turns out his mother was essentially raped, through the manipulation of Midichlorians by Darth Sidious....

Juicy Cerebellum

More discussion of this over at Jonathan's Ink

3. Relativism and absolutes

Directly from Instapundit, and confirming the confusion in George's and every other committed and casually ironical postmodernist mind about even the concept of certainty, let alone the possibility of it:

... In fact, the Kenobi "Only a Sith thinks in absolutes" line is deeply ironic, since immediately afterward Anakin/Vader plays the moral relativism card, responding that while Obi-Wan may think Palpatine is evil, that's all a matter of opinion: From his point of view the Jedi are evil. The NYT editorial board couldn't have done it better!

...and as a quote from an Instapundit reader puts it succinctly:

You're right about the unintentional irony in the fact that Anakin/Vader plays the relativist card soon after the "only a Sith thinks in absolutes" line. I'd argue that the irony is further deepened by the fact that Obi-Wan's line is itself also an absolute statement.