“Only a Sith deals in absolutes”: Dialogising a Single Truth
Date
Authors
Westbrook, Fiona
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Walter de Gruyter GmbH
Abstract
Through a series of visual provocations from Star Wars’ Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, this article contemplates the allure and danger of a singular truth. Anakin Skywalker’s transition from Jedi to Sith Lord, Darth Vader, amplifies and breaks down notions of truth and lies, posing seductive simplicities and paradoxical tensions. These come to the fore in the battle which marks Anakin’s final transition from Jedi to Sith, with his former Master Obi-Wan Kenobi’s ironic, absolutist declaration “only a Sith deals in absolutes” (Lucas, 2005). This article explores how these scenes seduce viewers with the clarity of absolute thinking and undermine it through dialogic contradiction, signalling the allure and dangers of simplistic, idealised, certainty.Description
Keywords
3901 Curriculum and Pedagogy, 39 Education, 3901 Curriculum and pedagogy, Star Wars, absolutes, dialogism, Mikhail Bakhtin, istina, pravda
Source
Video Journal of Education and Pedagogy, ISSN: 2364-4583 (Print); 2364-4583 (Online), Walter de Gruyter GmbH, 10(2), 1-16. doi: 10.1163/23644583-bja10070
Publisher's version
Rights statement
Open Access. CC BY. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/