How The "I Don't Like Sand" Line Could Have Actually Worked
Whether you are an avid Star Wars viewer or have only seen the movie in question once, the short monologue of Anakin Skywalker's disdain for sand has been engrained in our culture for better or for worse. Through the two-plus decades since the prequel trilogy's release dates, new and old fans have critiqued Lucas's portrayal of Darth Vader's origin story, from his early days as a slave to his rise in the ranks of the Jedi, only to be an enforcer to Emperor Palpatine and his dictatorial regime. At best, it's poorly written. At worse, it's contrived and reduces Darth Vader to that of a lovesick teenager. While his early portrayals are not what some fans might have thought, looking back at a more critical lens, not all of his moments are so horrible. Unfortunately, sometimes the transition from paper to screen doesn't provide the feeling the writer intended for their audience.
To understand the particular nuance of what Anakin is talking about when Anakin first meets Padmé at the age of nine and herself as a teen, he compares her to an "angel," - an alien species with inhuman beauty hailing from the moons of Iego. He views Padmé in this light, having spent the majority of his life in misery on the planet of Tatooine. Until Padmé entered his life, Anakin had not met someone whose appearance and skin was unaffected by frequent sandstorms and hard labor.
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Being called an angel symbolizes not only her beauty in an ugly world but also a life Anakin had not yet dreamed of - one of comfort and riches. Meanwhile, Anakin has known nothing but hardship. Having been sold into slavery with his mother, Anakin had no luxuries nor means of escape from his ordeal. Where even the water was regulated, Tatooine and its barren landscape are an inescapable prison.
Consider this: Padmé Amidala comes from Naboo and is born into money. Living in the Mid Rim world of the Republic, Padmé was raised in an environment where the greatest forms of law and civility reign supreme. She had little, if not any, hardship to face and overcome in her life. It is implied that Padmé had the necessary resources to attain nearly everything she had set out to accomplish.
Suddenly she is introduced to a nine-year-old enslaved person in the Outer Rim territories. Law and order don't exist to the extent she was raised in. Even if it did, it wasn't enforced. Shmi's assertion of having to survive in a world where the Republic "doesn't exist" throws Padmé for a loop. While aware of lands outside the Republic's influence, truly stepping foot in the "inner city" version of space brings Padme out of her privileged bubble. Despite this, Padmé's privilege is not portrayed negatively.
When she first meets Anakin, the Clone Wars haven't yet started. Like her power as Queen, her knowledge of those suffering was limited. In fact, her first interaction with Anakin is her (unknowingly) insulting him. He is quick to inform her of his name, showing incredible inner strength and the desire to change his fate at such a young age. This strength allows Anakin to survive his desert home long enough to leave and start his training to become a Jedi. His change isn't the only significant one.
Padmé is one of the few characters in power not benefitting from the war. She doesn't make money selling weapons to both sides of the war or selling enslaved people; she earns her money by working for the senate. Padmé could have stayed a Queen and lived a comfortable life, stayed in her safe little bubble, and done whatever else she wanted. Instead, after meeting Anakin as a teenager, Padmé chooses to use her privilege to make an actual change in her world. She becomes a senator, experiencing firsthand the corruption of her fellow senators.
Both she and Anakin grow and experience the eventual Clone Wars from both sides, fighting both politically and physically. Meeting again after ten years, they come together at a time when Padmé is marked for death due to her choice to get involved in politics. It's now Anakin's turn to protect her. There were few Jedi Masters, and Knights were the majority of the Jedi Order. Anakin and Padmé act as refugees with few resources after her ship explodes to avoid detection from those wishing to seek death on the two. From there, they hide out in a lake house - in one moment of calm, memories of Anakin's childhood home flood back to him.
On Naboo, Anakin is surrounded by beauty, flora, and water. To him, Naboo is the paradise he would have never had the chance to experience during his previous life as an enslaved person. To Padmé, the lakehouse is a place of her childhood where she spent time with close friends. One of her favorite past times was swimming on the beach. To her, sand reminds her of the beach.
In contrast, sand reminds Anakin of his past life. Where there was nothing but sand for miles around, where its "rough and coarse" texture would whip and scratch at his face and hands, any area of exposed skin. Every day for nine years. For protection, many on Tatooine covered their bodies as much as possible as means of protection. Suddenly, Anakin doesn't have to protect himself from his surroundings as much. As he mentions, everything now is "soft and smooth." Even the sand on the beach has a softer feel due to the water. It's not out to hurt him. It lays there, unmoving at the mercy of the waves in Naboo. Meanwhile, the sands on Tatooine have a more sinister undertone.
The sand symbolizes the oppression of slavery on Tatooine. Thinking about it, a sandstorm occurs when Anakin offers shelter. While there is no one to literally whip enslaved people into performing their acts of labor, the sand stands in as their master. When Anakin is working, there are no sandstorms. When he is escaping, a sandstorm is sent to punish him for wanting to be free. Sands in the desert are unforgiving, whipping in the wind, causing pain and a sense of hopelessness. As an enslaved person in Tatooine, all Anakin knew and expected in life was hard work and pain. Then everything changed when Padmé and Qui-Gon Jin arrived.
While the subject of politics in Star Wars can be a bit on the nose (i.e., the relationship between the Rebels and the Empire, the Galatic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, and lastly, the Jedi versus the Sith Order), the subplot of love and relationships should be discussed further. It is the bond between characters that help to drive the main plot of the Star Wars universe: the concept of morality. The battle between nature against the machine, man and ideology, and of course, good and evil; Star Wars is more than what many give it credit for. If we can find more profound significance in a widely criticized scene in a poorly received movie, viewers can discover other beliefs. If the Clone Wars can come from the space between Episode I and Episode II, then George Lucas has more in store for us. When there's more, there's more to deconstruct, both good and bad.
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Source(s): Wookieepedia