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| Taken from: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Padm%C3%A9_Amidala |
Staying up late with a newborn baby is one way to get
re-acquainted with movies and late-night television. I've been enjoying the nonstop
Star Wars marathons that have been running since May the 4th. It's been a while
since I've seen the prequels, and I have to admit I like them a lot better now
than I did when they first came out. Yes, I know fans are supposed to hate
them, and they do have flaws, but each one pulls me swimmingly into the drama
and mystery of this world that George Lucas created. I think they
"work" better now than I originally thought.
However, one glaring flaw gnaws at me. Perhaps it is because
of this newborn baby girl and our recent experiences with childbirth, but I
have been tuning in much more to the story of Padmé Amidala. She's the young woman who
marries Anakin Skywalker (the man who later becomes Darth Vader) and is the
mother of Leia and Luke.
At a young age, Padmé was princess and then later queen. She
was a highly-influential intergalactic senator who was an outspoken advocate
for peace and diplomacy during the Clone Wars. She survived several
assassination attempts and took part in her own share of gunfights and space
odysseys. She also more than held her own with the increasingly cantankerous
Anakin. They married in secret and she was pregnant with their twins.
So what happens to her? Here's where I'm going with this: At
the moment of childbirth, she simply dies... of a broken heart. Seriously. The
robot midwife cannot figure out why she dies, because her body has no physical
issues whatsoever.
I hate to stereotype anyone along gender lines, but is this
consistent with any woman you know? Despite her incredibly distinguished
career, despite being an international leader during the monumentally turbulent
times of war, and at the very moment her newborn babies need her the most, she
simply gives up and bails out on life. And why, you might ask? All because she
makes the comes to the realization (that I'm sure no other woman has ever had)
that her husband is actually an a$$hole. Really.
So to George Lucas, I say: It is easy to believe that this
story unfolded a long tie ago in a galaxy far, far away. It's easy to believe
that Jedi knights bring peace to a galaxy filled with robot droids, marauding
bounty hunters and conniving Sith lords. I find it entirely plausible that
there would be an intergalactic war between robot droids and human clones. But
I find it more than a little far fetched to think that this woman Padmé would
simply fall apart 100% at such a critical moment in her life all because of the
shock of discovering that the love of her life turns out to be a galactic jerk
of epic proportions.
Would that discovery be soul crushing? Yes. Might she go
through some post-partum depression and buyers remorse for her marriage?
Absolutely. But this woman has "survivor" tattooed on her soul. You
would think she would at least hang out another day to see what tomorrow brings.
And then another day... and another. I can imagine her wanting to run screaming into the hills of Naboo from time to time. But I can't imagine her just checking out so totally and so soon.
Just check out her bio on Wookieepedia.
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