Star Wars III Revenge of the Sith is the 3rd Star Wars movie of the Star Wars saga  directed by George Lucas. Star Wars is a futuristic sci-fi fantasy collection of films orientated in space and the adventures of multiple characters. Generally the plot orientates around the fight between ‘Good’ and ‘Evil’ ; Jedi and Sith. More Specifically, in Star Wars III Revenge of the Sith the story mainly bases itself around the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. There is a war between the Sith and the republic + Jedi/Jedi Council. In the beginning of the film Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi save Chancellor Palpatine from General Grievous and Count Doku.  Later in the Film Anakin becomes good friends with the Chancellor Palpatine and Chancellor Palpatine’s manipulation of Skywalker results in Skywalker acting as a spy in the Jedi Council. Anakin in the finishing scenes joins the Chancellor Palpatine who is actually a Sith Lord and one of the most powerful. Together they take over the republic and kill almost all the Jedi and form “The Galactic Empire”.

It is clear that throughout the film Star Wars III Revenge of the Sith, directed by George Lucas that the idea of ambition is displayed and does this through the character Anakin Skywalker, played by Hayden Christensen. Anakin Skywalker develops a ambition for power due to seeing a vision of his wife dying and knowing that the only way to save her was to gain ultimate power. But in fact at the end of the film we find out that Anakin’s ambition for power was what killed Padmé. It’s stated in the beginning of the text that, “I sense great fear in you Skywalker, you have rage, you have anger” and from Yoda’s quote “the fear of loss is a path to the dark side.” the dark side being an aspect of the force and individuals who used the dark side draw their power from more intense, raw and darker emotions such as fear, anger, hatred, passion, and aggression. These characteristics prove that the dark side is a state of overwhelming ambition for power. Therefore these characteristics are the path to a dark ambition and Anakin Skywalker possesses many of these characteristics as stated by count Doku. This proves that George Lucas was clearly presenting the idea of ambition in Star Wars III Revenge of the Sith.

To me this is a difficult situation, and personally I would almost take all the same actions as Anakin or carry many of the same emotions leading to my own ambition. I would do almost anything to save the people I care the most about to be presented with an opportunity to do so I believe most people will jump and seeing the intensity of Anakin’s love for Padmé at the beginning of the film makes me realise that I would most likely have myself become corrupted by my ambition for power also and believe that many others would follow the same path. Although I do draw the line with killing hundreds of children and Jedi, I believe this was just a hyperbole type film technique.

The film of Star War III relates to the play of Macbeth in terms of the idea of ambition being presented in the text. In the play of “Macbeth”, the character Macbeth displays the corrupting effect of power through his ambition to become King of Scotland. Macbeth is willing to give up the safety of his entire country for knowledge of his future which he wants to find security in his place as king. This links to a quote in Star Wars from Chancellor Palpatine stating that, “Once power is gained, nobody wants to lose it.” And Macbeth actions to take his place as King driven by his vaulting ambition relates to how Anakin Skywalker does anything for the power he seeking including the murder of all Jedi Younglings which just like Macbeth was driven by his corrupt ambition for power.

Notes:

• Anakin truely turns to the dark side after he kills Mace Windo
• The Chancellor tells Anakin a story of a Sith Lord that had such power as to stop the death of the ones he loved and such power could only be harnessed with great knowledge of the dark side and it’s power.
• The death of count doku was the first indication of his hidden ambition for power, it was an action “that was not the Jedi way” this was Anakin’s first step away from the Jedi and towards the Dark Side and as state previously, this means that he will
• The quote “Once power is gained, nobody wants to lose it.” strongly relates back to the world around us with many people around gaining power the thing they fear most is losing that power.
• “Twisted by the Dark Side young Skywalker has become. The boy you trained gone he is, consumed by Darth Vader.” When Yoda talks about Darth Vader he speaks of him as if he is a different person entirely. This different person is Anakin’s dark ambition for power. It is not Anakin’s true person. The “boy you trained” is the true Anakin but he has been consumed by his dark ambition for power.
• With Anakin’s discovery of his child on the way, his love grows stronger and fear larger. He begins to see visions of his wife’s death in child birth as he is a Jedi these visions are truely of the future and with his past experiences with these visions with his mothers death he stops at nothing to protect his beloved wife Padmé.
• As “Only then will you be strong enough with the dark side to save Padmé.” As for Anakin to save Padmé he must have ultimate power and ultimate power can only be gained without the Jedi.

Quotes:

• “I sense great fear in you Skywalker, you have rage, you have anger but you don’t use them.”
• “that was not the Jedi way”
• “Anny I’m pregnant”
• “This is a happy moment, the happiest moment of my life”
• “Soon I will have a new appetence, one far younger and more powerful.”
• Anakin: “Your so beautiful.”
  Padmé: “Only because I’m so in love with you”
  Anakin: “No it’s because I’m so in love with you”
  Padmé: “So love has blinded you?”
  Anakin: “Hahaha, well thats not exactly what I meant”
  Padmé: “But it’s probably true”
• Padmé: “It was only a dream”
  Anakin: “I won’t let this one become real”
• Yoda: “Careful you must be when sensing the future Anakin, the fear of loss is a path to the dark side.”
  Anakin: “I won’t let these visions become true Master Yoda”
  Yoda: “Death is a natural part of life, rejoice for those around you, you transform into the force, morn them do not, miss them do not, attachment leads to jealousy, the shadow of greed that is”
  “What should I do?”
  “Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose”
• ” A Prophecy that miss read could have been” The prophecy is that the chosen One is to bring balance to the force. But that could have been miss read so that a balance of the force was to rise the Sith from the ashes.
• Anakin: “Is it possibe to learn this power?”
  Chancellor: “Not from a Jedi”
• “I feel lost. I’m not the Jedi I should be, I want more and I know I shouldn’t.”
•  “I found a way to save you Padmé.”
  “I’m not going to die in child birth, I promise you.”
  “No I promise you.”
• “If the Jedi Council kill me your chance at saving Padmé will be lost.”
•  “Just help me save Padmé’s life, I can’t live without her.”
• “Once power is gained nobody wants to lose it.”
• “Only then will you be strong enough with the dark side to save Padmé.”
• “Twisted by the Dark Side young Skywalker has become. The boy you trained gone he is, consumed by Darth Vader.”
• “Love won’t save you Padmé, only my new powers can do that.”
  “At what cost. Your a good person, don’t do this.”
  “I won’t lose you the way I lost my mother. I am becoming more powerful than any Jedi has ever dreamed of and I’m doing it for you. To protect you.
• “I am more powerful than the Chancellor, I can overthrow him, and together you and I can rule the galaxy, make thing the way we want then to be.”
• “I don’t believe what I’m hearing, Obi-Wan was right. You’ve changed.” “I don’t know you anymore.” “Your going down a path I can’t follow. “
• “Your anger and your lust for power have already done that. (Taking Padmé from Anakin)”
• “Till now, you have become the very thing you swore to destroy.”
• “If your not with me, them your against me” “Only a Sith deals in absolute.”
• “You we my brother Anakin, I loved you. “
• “Medically she is fine, but we’re losing her.” “She has lost the will to live.”
• “It seems in your anger, you killed her.”

Ideas:

• Future dystopia
• Good and evil
• Power of love
• Manipulation of the desperate
• Ambition