Ah, it's wonderful to see incisive SW meta make it to LJ!
but it did seem to me that this prophecy, its actual meaning, and how it relates to Anakin's/Vader's actions in both trilogies wasn't that fully thought through, though perhaps extra material somewhere outside the cinema-versions of the movies, i.e. novelizations, DVD extras, whatever, might make things clearer.
Heh, from what I can tell, the way the prophecy developed is a pretty funny thing. In one of the old versions of the Ep4 script (SW apocrypha) there is a mention of the "Sun of the Suns" (http://theforce.net/swenc/arclist.asp?search=S) -- most likely referring to either Annakin or Kane Starkiller. Tom Veitch picked up on this while writing the Dark Empire comics in 1991, repurposing the text of a prophecy (http://starwars.wikicities.com/wiki/Chosen_One) to be about Luke. Then Lucas decided he wanted to make the prequels and picked up the prophecy concept again as a good plot device to wedge Anakin into the Jedi Order while giving him enough emotional problems for him to turn Dark. So, really, there's a pretty good reason a lot of fans will say Luke is the Chosen One aside from hating the prequels.
I fully expected to have picked up either prominent theories existing in the extended canon or brilliant, and thus widely accepted, fan wank that makes sense of it all, kind of like I pick up details from JKR interviews in HP fandom, even though I never read the interviews, just plenty of fanfic and sometimes, though less often, discussion posts. But so far I haven't.
While I wouldn't say that there is a generally accepted base interpretation of the prophecy, there is a fundamental framework to discussion that hasn't really cropped up on LJ. A lot of SW discussion is still on boards like tf.n, and theories there (which definitely include your run down) also take into account the very briefly mentioned division in the Light Side of the Unifying and Living Forces. These are the sides of the Force which are to be balanced, rather than Light/Dark. The Dark Side is completely unnatural, and the appearance of the Sith is a symptom of the imbalance between Unifying and Living rather than the imbalance itself.
Which plays into my own take on all of it, actually. The whole Unifying/Living conflict is reminiscent of the classical Japanese conflict of giri and ninjo. Giri is duty, and the Unifying Force represents a focus on the larger picture: the future, the good of others. Ninjo is a person's connection to other people (also, bloodshed with different kanji, but let's not go there, okay?), and the Living Force represents the present and the good of the few. Given Lucas's tendency toward drawing inspiration from Japanese samurai flicks, I don't put it past him to base the central conflict around Japanese principles.
The whole thing is a sectarian problem. The Jedi don't exalt the Force by giving up so much, they reject what it has given them. They are supposed to balance the good of the galaxy with that of individuals around them, instead of trying to go for big bang good at the expense the few (see: not doing anything about slavery in the Outer Rim, or letting the Senate dictate what they're up to). By saving Luke's life, Anakin manages to do great good for the galaxy and save an individual at the same time. So, balance. And, of course, the Jedi Order Luke builds won't use any of the previous philosphies that messed the Jedi up.
Oddly enough, that still leads me to agree with your conclusion. Anakin fulfilled his destiny in both RotS and RotJ, because there were multiple routes he could take as well as two things he had to accomplish. He had to change the Jedi (although he didn't have to kill them) and he had to eliminate the Sith, since they were just exacerbating all the problems the Jedi had in interpreting the will of the Force. Except I disagree insofar as the Jedi's interpretation of the prophecy. They only got it half right. If they'd gotten it all the way, they would have been able to accommodate Anakin's emotional needs, thereby reforming and embracing the Living Force without Anakin taking an active hand in the matter.
no subject
but it did seem to me that this prophecy, its actual meaning, and how it relates to Anakin's/Vader's actions in both trilogies wasn't that fully thought through, though perhaps extra material somewhere outside the cinema-versions of the movies, i.e. novelizations, DVD extras, whatever, might make things clearer.
Heh, from what I can tell, the way the prophecy developed is a pretty funny thing. In one of the old versions of the Ep4 script (SW apocrypha) there is a mention of the "Sun of the Suns" (http://theforce.net/swenc/arclist.asp?search=S) -- most likely referring to either Annakin or Kane Starkiller. Tom Veitch picked up on this while writing the Dark Empire comics in 1991, repurposing the text of a prophecy (http://starwars.wikicities.com/wiki/Chosen_One) to be about Luke. Then Lucas decided he wanted to make the prequels and picked up the prophecy concept again as a good plot device to wedge Anakin into the Jedi Order while giving him enough emotional problems for him to turn Dark. So, really, there's a pretty good reason a lot of fans will say Luke is the Chosen One aside from hating the prequels.
I fully expected to have picked up either prominent theories existing in the extended canon or brilliant, and thus widely accepted, fan wank that makes sense of it all, kind of like I pick up details from JKR interviews in HP fandom, even though I never read the interviews, just plenty of fanfic and sometimes, though less often, discussion posts. But so far I haven't.
While I wouldn't say that there is a generally accepted base interpretation of the prophecy, there is a fundamental framework to discussion that hasn't really cropped up on LJ. A lot of SW discussion is still on boards like tf.n, and theories there (which definitely include your run down) also take into account the very briefly mentioned division in the Light Side of the Unifying and Living Forces. These are the sides of the Force which are to be balanced, rather than Light/Dark. The Dark Side is completely unnatural, and the appearance of the Sith is a symptom of the imbalance between Unifying and Living rather than the imbalance itself.
Which plays into my own take on all of it, actually. The whole Unifying/Living conflict is reminiscent of the classical Japanese conflict of giri and ninjo. Giri is duty, and the Unifying Force represents a focus on the larger picture: the future, the good of others. Ninjo is a person's connection to other people (also, bloodshed with different kanji, but let's not go there, okay?), and the Living Force represents the present and the good of the few. Given Lucas's tendency toward drawing inspiration from Japanese samurai flicks, I don't put it past him to base the central conflict around Japanese principles.
The whole thing is a sectarian problem. The Jedi don't exalt the Force by giving up so much, they reject what it has given them. They are supposed to balance the good of the galaxy with that of individuals around them, instead of trying to go for big bang good at the expense the few (see: not doing anything about slavery in the Outer Rim, or letting the Senate dictate what they're up to). By saving Luke's life, Anakin manages to do great good for the galaxy and save an individual at the same time. So, balance. And, of course, the Jedi Order Luke builds won't use any of the previous philosphies that messed the Jedi up.
Oddly enough, that still leads me to agree with your conclusion. Anakin fulfilled his destiny in both RotS and RotJ, because there were multiple routes he could take as well as two things he had to accomplish. He had to change the Jedi (although he didn't have to kill them) and he had to eliminate the Sith, since they were just exacerbating all the problems the Jedi had in interpreting the will of the Force. Except I disagree insofar as the Jedi's interpretation of the prophecy. They only got it half right. If they'd gotten it all the way, they would have been able to accommodate Anakin's emotional needs, thereby reforming and embracing the Living Force without Anakin taking an active hand in the matter.