“I saw the conflict in you. It’s tearing you apart.” - Rey
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is the eighth episode in the epic Skywalker saga which continues the story of Rey, a young orphan woman from a poor and humble background who discovers she is endowed with the Force, a mystical quasi-spiritual power that can only be utilized by those who are attuned to it. In the beginning of the movie she arrives on the isolated planet Ach-Too in hope of receiving Jedi training from the once great Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. Much to her surprise, Luke refuses and shows his true colors as a cynical, pessimistic and grumpy loner who doesn’t want anything to do with saving the galaxy once more. Gone was the wide-eyed wonder and optimistic hope in the young Luke Skywalker we first met decades ago in the original Star Wars movie.
Of course, there are other characters and storylines - such as the overall threat of the fascist First Order inching in closer to wipe out the last of the noble Resistance. As these fantastic space battles and glorious lightsaber duels depict the classic story of good versus evil, it is the interior battle within the main characters like Luke and now Rey that has resonated with audiences and fans throughout the generations.
The Force itself is polarized by the Light Side and the Dark Side. Those who give in to fear, anger, and hate develop the Dark Side of the Force within them. Those who foster peace, contemplation, and hope grow strong in the Light Side of the Force. Rey is at a crossroads in her journey with this newfound Force developing in her. She is young, alone, and confused — like many teenagers and young adults these days — and is in desperate need of a mentor to guide her burgeoning powers. The young angst-ridden villain, Kylo Ren, is also at a similar junction as Rey, conflicted with embracing fully the Dark Side, like his famous grandfather Darth Vader, and resisting the glimmer of goodness that occasionally nags him in which his cruel mentor, Supreme Leader Snoke, calls him out for being weak.
As Luke Skywalker reluctantly guides Rey in the ways of the old Jedi religion, we realize that a person’s destiny and the choices one makes to define him or herself is not so simple as black or white, good or evil, Dark Side or Light. Reality is full of gray areas, and especially when it comes to forming a conscience, there will always be moral ambivalence. Kylo Ren is not a cardboard cut-out villain who is evil for the sake of being evil; he has shades of light and virtue in him, such as when he is compelled to show mercy and compassion. Rey, as well, is not a saintly fearless heroine; she is prone too to give into fear and anger and make the wrong decisions. Star Wars: The Last Jedi is essentially about the difficulty of building one’s character, which includes the duty to form one’s own conscience.
The now jaded and disenchanted Luke chose to exile himself on this far off planet in response to his guilty conscience of having a hand in forming Ben Solo (A.K.A. Kylo Ren), who was his former (and last) student, as well as his blood nephew. Luke feels responsible for the villainous monster that Kylo Ren has become now, feeding his brilliant student with infinite promises of the way of the Force only to lose his soul to the path of the Dark Side. This is the reason why Luke is so reluctant to train Rey, who like Kylo Ren before her, has so much power and potential with the Force within her. Kylo in many ways is the product of a corrupt or negligent formation. In society today, we see so many troublesome youth on the streets, who like any other child, have unlimited potentiality but were never given the proper opportunity to develop their character and build a solid moral foundation.
In the tradition of moral philosophy, it is the obligation of every person to build or form one’s own character and strive for moral goodness by cultivating virtues, attitudes and outlooks. It’s the basic values and convictions one acquires that ultimately compel a person to do what she or he believes to be right, hence the importance of formation. There is also an emphasis on the “ethics of being” in the sense that it is not about what one does but rather what one becomes.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi continues the tradition of the series to express this existential struggle of being and becoming, with characters like Rey and Kylo who display a doubtful but developing conscience, evident by the fear and uncertainty of their decisions. In a key moment towards the last act of the film, where Rey and Kylo seem to reconcile their differences as they fight alongside each other against Snoke’s imperial guards, they are faced with the difficult decision whether to make an unholy alliance to put aside institutions like the First Order and the Jedi religion and finally bring peace and order to the galaxy together. Ultimately, it is their respective moral formation that dictates their choice at that point, defaulting to the goodness or darkness that characterizes both of them.
In our contemporary situation, we cannot discount the importance of good formation and a solid moral foundation, which is best nurtured in a loving home environment. Hearing a police chief one time speak to the public about crime prevention, he explained that the root of society’s problems often sprout from the home. He urged parents and families to give due attention to the formation of their children’s moral upbringing. It is not a surprising fact that most incarcerated criminals come from broken homes, separated families, or abusive or negligent parental figures. As influencers of culture and society we must be aware and sensitive to this emerging millennial generation, a generation with so much power and potentiality — like young Rey and her growing awareness of the Force — but in dire need of moral guidance, lest it fall into the proverbial Dark Side.
