Opinion: Never Miss a Good Chance to Shut Up

By: David Gremillion

There are times when dialogue is needed. You have to hear Obi-Wan screaming “You were the Chosen One!” or get sucked in to Heath Ledger’s interaction with Batman in the interrogation room.

However, dialogue can be overrated, or worse, overused.

Luke Skywalker is whiny, arrogant, and ambitious; but put yourself in his shoes. In fact, that’s the whole point of Luke on Tatooine is to put yourself directly in his shoes. The apex of Luke’s time on that barren world is seen when Luke looks out toward the twin suns. Luke is trapped on a moisture farm on a desert planet. He’s frustrated, isolated, no friends, no life, and has more of a chance at finding ice than changing any of that. How are you supposed to feel about this whiny brat?

You know exactly how to feel, because every single person reading this has been Luke Skywalker at that moment.

Without a line of dialogue, without hearing Luke’s inner monologue, without even hearing Luke clear his throat, Luke communicates everything we need to know about this man as he stares out toward the horizon. I have no doubt that the great Will Rogers, whose quote I used for the headline, would have truly loved this moment.

At some point in our lives, unless you’re related to the Gates family, we’ve all felt what Luke is going through. We’ve all been at that low point in our lives, where nothing we do is working, we’re not moving in a positive direction, and we just feel…stuck. We begin to question ourselves, wonder who we are going to be, or if we’re going to be anybody at all. Have our lives been a waste? Will our future just be a waste? A thousand different thoughts and questions flood our minds.

In just thirty-six seconds, everything you’ve felt is seen on that farm boy’s face.

And it was done without a word needing to be said.

This article is an opinion piece and represents the views of the writer, and not the entire Star Wars Underworld organization.