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What "Teaching With 'Star Wars'" Says About Anakin and Obi-Wan in 'Attack of the Clones'

Star Wars Lessons We Can All Learn From

By Culture SlatePublished 4 years ago 4 min read
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The summer of 2020 is mercifully almost over. By now, you and your younglings have spent more than 100 days in togetherness bliss. No doubt, everyone is feeling an extra special sense of restlessness due to the prolonged lockdown. There are even some days you may have loved them a little less, especially when your four-year-old flushed a brick down the toilet. Not your angel? Maybe just the one I know.

Let’s face it. You cannot wait to send your little ones back to school. Chances are, though, that they are going to be home a little bit longer. Many schools around the country will prolong their usage of virtual classrooms into the fall semester. This means more time together. Yay!

If you have not done so already, perhaps this is the best time to introduce them to the awesomeness that is Star Wars. Of course, it would be great if there was a way to teach them life lessons, too. After all, as a responsible parent and lover of all things Star Wars, you are duty-bound to your Padawan to teach them everything about our favorite galaxy.

Enter Teaching with Star Wars! On Wednesdays, Teaching with Star Wars over at StarWars.com has been using the stories of our favorite universe to teach life lessons to younglings. The following lesson is one such example. Let’s take a look together.

The Lesson

This lesson explores the relationship between Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones. While they have mutual respect for each other, they are comfortable enough with each other to ask bold questions whenever they have disagreements. Such respect and admiration is indeed a positive thing. However, it can also lead to heated debates like the ones shown in Attack of the Clones. The lesson is that it is okay to disagree with one another, but it is not okay to be disagreeable about it. There is a better way to have a debate and discussion.

The movie brings the Jedi and Senator Padmé Amidala into a hot pursuit of Count Dooku on the planet Geonosis. Padmé falls out of their aircraft and lands on the planet’s surface. Anakin wants to stop and recover Padmé, while Obi-Wan intends to continue to pursue Dooku. He knows that if they can capture him now, the war itself may actually be prevented before it begins.

Anakin is insistent to the point of being insubordinate to his master about Padmé. He does not reveal his secret motivation for this concern. He is secretly in love with Padmé and dares not disclose this fact to his Jedi instructor. It is forbidden for a Jedi to fall in love.

The reasons for the argument are not significant to the lesson. Instead, the approach to it by Jedi and Padawan is what is explored. Anakin’s attitude can be seen as being disrespectful to his master. His insubordination is such that he is in danger of being expelled from the Jedi Order. His love is dividing his attention between the person he loves and the path that was chosen for him.

Obi-Wan is focused solely on the mission at hand. There is nothing else that matters. After all, the fate of the entire galaxy is at stake. To borrow from another space classic, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few…”

He threatens Anakin with expulsion, refusing to show him any empathy. Anakin continues his belligerence. It is only after Obi-Wan points out that Padmé is perfectly capable of taking care of herself that Anakin calms down. He points out that she would not have wanted them to stop for her. She, too, sees the bigger picture.

Anakin backs down from his stance, not out of fear of his master, but because he realizes that Obi-Wan is correct. He understands and respects, albeit begrudgingly, his master’s view. Obi-Wan exemplifies what it means to be a master.

He does not view this argument as a permanent stain on their relationship. He suspects Anakin has feelings for Padmé. Rather than call him out, Obi-Wan respects his young apprentice's emotions. He does not report this conversation to the elder members of the Jedi Order.

This is a teachable moment for both master and Padawan. Their relationship is greater than this one moment. It is how you go about having a discussion that matters more than the subject matter itself.

Talking to your Padawan

Ask your youngling if they have ever been in a similar situation. Have they ever had a disagreement with a person in charge? What about the times they have disagreed with you? How did you both handle it? What did you both learn from it? Have them breakdown the situation as best as they can. The implications of their disagreement may seem small to us. How they handled it then, and your discussion about it now, will undoubtedly shape their relationships going forward.

Other Lessons

Here are a few other links from Teaching Star Wars you may want to check out:

Leia’s Empathy and Acceptance in Star Wars: Return of theJedi

Lando’s Choices in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Written By Leana Ahmed

Syndicated From Culture Slate

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