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Buzz Aldrin and Luke Skywalker

Discussion in 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' started by Pobody's Nerfect, Mar 27, 2015.

  1. Pobody's Nerfect

    Pobody's Nerfect Jedi General

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    I was not quite two years old when the Eagle landed, allowing Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to be the first human beings to stand on the Moon. I don't remember the event, but it still had an effect on me. I remember hearing all through my childhood "If we can put a man on the Moon, we can do anything!" The event heralded an opportunistic vibe in America that defined my entire generation, much like September 11 defined the following generation.

    But the Apollo mission was abandoned after a few more Moon landings, and Neil and Buzz were quickly forgotten. This was before TMZ, before the Internet. Today, if you wonder what ever happened to a celebrity from your early childhood, it's pretty easy to find out. Back then? Different story.

    So I didn't know about Buzz's alcoholism or his depression until I heard a radio interview with a family member of his. And I'm paraphrasing here because I don't have the radio transcript, but the family member said something like "Buzz's problem was that once he returned from the Moon, there was nothing left to do."

    Good point. How do you top that? And a few years later, when you're forgotten and the hard reality hits you - you'll never again do anything so important, so fulfilling, or so satisfying - what can you do? When you know that you'll never top what you did, you'll never even come close, where do you turn? Alcohol? Suicide? Every American over the age of 50 can tell you where they were and what they were doing when Neil and Buzz climbed down the ladder and stood on the Moon. Hardly anybody under the age of 50 can remember either of their names or what year it happened.

    I think Luke Skywalker is a candidate for Buzz Syndrome, if you'll forgive me for making up my own name for a made-up a medical diagnosis. Luke saved the Rebellion, blew up the first Death Star, became the only Jedi Knight in the Galaxy, turned Darth Vader away from the Dark Side, and freed the Galaxy - all before he turned 30.

    That's impressive, no doubt. But what comes next?

    Eventually the adulation fades. Young people find new heroes, and after awhile nobody can remember if it was Luke Solo or Han Skywalker or what year the history books said the Battle of Endor happened.

    Will Luke handle the passage of time - with the accompanying fall from the pedestal - with more grace than Buzz Aldrin? Or are the rumors of Crazy Luke true?

    Personally I'm hoping Luke is changed, because it just seems insane to go through all Luke went through in the OT and NOT change. It's got to be one hell of a gut punch to find out your father is the Adolph Hitler of your Galaxy. There were real people on the Death Star he blew to bits. There's plenty of reasons for Luke to have PTSD and Buzz Syndrome, and I'll feel a little cheated if Luke is unchanged by all he experienced.

    But Episode VII is a Hollywood blockbuster sci-fi action flick, which means the good guys can kill the bad guys with impunity and come back for more in the sequel, so I'm not really expecting Luke to be changed.

    What do you think? Should Luke be changed - maybe even broken - by his experiences? Or should the next movie keep the same indomitable hero spirit that made Star Wars so much fun in the first place? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
     
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  2. Willybobo

    Willybobo BEES!

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    Really enjoyed your post, Pobody! Thanks for sharing something personal and opening up a new lane of thinking.

    I don't think Luke will be suffering from Buzz syndrome as you dubbed it. Sure, he may be forgotten but hopefully he has stayed busy.

    I'm going to make a broad generalization now: the most damaging thing to a man is not being robbed of fame or fortune, but of purpose, challenge, and responsibility.

    If anyone has ever had a family member retire from their work, you may have seen this firsthand. So much of our identity is tied to what we do in life, day in and day out, and when that's no longer there, we lose purpose and often feel aimless.

    Retirement is fun at first but can quickly become a bullet train to Depression. A strong support system consisting of family, friends, and former colleagues can help make sure we remain emotionally healthy.

    Just as important though, is taking on another mission. Dedicating oneself to a new purpose is what makes life its own reward. That could be a new part-time job, a new hobby you could never get to during your career days, or simply becoming the greatest mentor to the future generation.

    In closing, I think Luke doesn't care if the galaxy has forgotten him, or whether he can ever top himself. He is surrounded (hopefully) by people -- and force ghosts -- he loves, and certainly has a renewed mission in life as Jedi Master Luke Motherfriggin' Skywalker (I love typing that). You could even argue what he's done in the past, amazing as it was, may pale in comparison to what is yet to come.

    The way I see it, no matter what happens come December, the name Skywalker will be remembered for as long as we live. Hell yeah, Cantina brothers and sisters!

    May The Force Be With You.
     
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  3. MarsPhoenix

    MarsPhoenix Sith Psychiatrist

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    Words of wisdom.

    In my very humble opinion, if I am Luke & Leia at the end of Return of the Jedi, then Purpose, Challenge and Responsibility is just what has fallen on my shoulders. For one, Leia as the leader of the Alliance, war is not over yet and/or everything has to be reconstructed, Luke, to make sure Jedi don't go extinct since he's the last one standing... and secondly, they may feel having the moral responsibility to repair what has been done by their father.

    It's nothing but challenges...

    I think we may find overwhelmed and weary Luke and Leia... Luke, possibly because his quest for a padawan was unsuccessful...because The Force itself seems to be asleep (?!?!?!) unable to fulfill his promise to Yoda to pass on what he had learned. Leia, because 30 years after ROTJ, the war is still raging on, maybe people are making the same mistakes.... and she sees what everything she had fought for is still very fragile.
     
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  4. Grand Master Galen Marek

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    I only think the similarities is they both love space.
     
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  5. Stormagadon

    Stormagadon Cantina Court Jester
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    Very nice post!
    I don't entirely agree that Luke should be "unhinged" after the events of ROTJ, because I think he knew full well what he was doing when he destroyed the Death Star, killed the Emperor, and dealt with Imperial forces. That's all part of war, and I would expect any sense of trauma, PTSD, or any sort of mental breakdown to have happened after ANH or ESB (Space Hitler is your daddy takes the cake). So unhinged? No. Changed and affected? Yes. I don't think you can do through any those instances without being a different person than from before. I just don't want Luke to be completely different from when we last saw him, that's all.

    But seeing as this is Star Wars, I want it be easy to watch. It certainly can be heavy, but it shouldn't take away from the fun of it all. If Luke is unhinged, depressed, or anything else, I want to see him recover by the time the movie ends. That's one of the things that makes Star Wars, Star Wars. When it shows something realistic and sad, it shows the redemption or recovery of what was lost. That's what makes it fun, and a different sense of realism that a lot of sci-fi doesn't have anymore.
     
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  6. Voxx

    Voxx Jedi Hero of Legend

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    Congrats! This thread is the thread of the week!
     
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  7. Ziyos

    Ziyos Rebel Trooper

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    Well, Luke can establish a new Jedi order. That would be a huge achievement and would take a very long time, maybe even his hole life. So he has also a big function after the defeat of the emperor and Darth Vader.
     
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  8. Rebo

    Rebo Nearsighted Whill Guardian
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    Great Post. Makes me miss the "original" rating.

    I could definitely see Buzz syndrome working. But I’m more of a mind that it will turn out something the opposite. I don’t think Luke will be bored by the existence h found himself in after RotJ. But more that he will find that blowing up Death Stars and saving princesses is easy compared to the real work of building a government, attaining peace, and restoring the Jedi Order. I think we may find him changed and beaten down by just how hard the years after the “victory” were. That the world was not as black and white as he once saw and that killing the emperor was just the beginning of the work to restore the galaxy to more balanced state.

    But depending on what they decide to do as the backstory for TFA, either could work.
     
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  9. Darth Lexor Kai

    Darth Lexor Kai General of the Future Folk

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    interesting point Pobody. I keep my thread ideas in my phone and just about 2 weeks ago I was considering the affects of PTSD on the Jedi. It came to me after finishing the Clone wars cartoon, seeing how much suffering they witnessed and participated in. They are trained from birth to be able to handle such stress. they believed what they were doing was for the right reason. Luke on the other hand experienced some difficulty in his new found responsibility. he defiantly would have some trouble recuperating sanity after the war.
     
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  10. Grand Master Galen Marek

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    Luke would be expected to bring back the jedi order, the jedi way of life must come back.
     
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  11. remiel6

    remiel6 Rebel Official

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    First, great post. I would disagree about Buzz Aldrin being forgotten, but I would not disagree with your general post. I might add that this Buzz syndrome could be true of many of the OT characters. Han Solo could easily fall into this kind of thing.

    I think that it really depends on what happens in the immediate aftermath of ROTJ and the years that follow. A 30 year war is going to change the outlook of many people, all victories may start to seem hollow after a certain point in time. This is one of the curious things to me about setting this story 30 years later.
     
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  12. TheFettMan

    TheFettMan Rebel Official

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    I think Luke in TFA will either have a early scene where everything goes FUBAR then he goes into hiding or he will feel betrayed/used then go underground until the young cast compels him to act/get involved.
    Luke, like Gary Cooper in the classic film; High Noon, may be in the climax then have a larger role in EP8.

    It has been widely reported that TFA's only known IMAX scene is early in the movie(in Tatooine). Luke's action & possible lack of action might be a part of this event.
    I lean towards Luke failing or falling way short. This tragic act might cause his spiral into depression or to hide from more powerful enemies.

    Stand-up comic & actor: Paton Oswalt does a funny but true bit about how Luke changed between TESB & ROTJ.
    In the comedic act, Luke returns to Dagobagh, talks to Yoda & says; "I get it, I failed because I wasn't ready."
    Yoda would say; "NOW, you are truely a Jedi because you understand what it takes." (yoda)
     
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  13. Grand Master Galen Marek

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    I would like to see Luke make a major error during a mission at the start of TFA were 6 of his padawans are killed, it causes him to leave the jedi order in Leia's hand for the time being.
     
  14. TheFettMan

    TheFettMan Rebel Official

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    A giant FU to the TFA would be for Luke to have a "nightmare" or "force vision" in the start of TFA where Tatooine is devastated BUT it's just a bad dream, :rolleyes:.
     
  15. Ziyos

    Ziyos Rebel Trooper

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    Totally agree! (r2-d2)
    Han Solo is best canditate to get into those things.

    So, what happens after ROTJ?
    Luke → builds up a new Jedi Order
    Leia → becomes Senator or even Chancellor
    Han →becomes a smuggler again

    From Rebel General back to an ordinary Smuggler. That would cause depression!

    image.jpg
     
  16. Pobody's Nerfect

    Pobody's Nerfect Jedi General

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    Except Han doesn't have to come to terms with the fact that Darth Vader - yes, that Darth Vader - is his father. That's some serious therapy right there.
     
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  17. Grand Master Galen Marek

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    I don't think Han worries the past knowing Vader is dead, could you imagine the chaos if he married Leia while Anakin was alive, Im having a vision of another memorable force choke that would happen right now.
     
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  18. 77th

    77th Force Sensitive

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    I Remember Alexander the Great after conquering almost all of the known world at the age of 33

    "When Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept for there were no more worlds to conquer."

    I guess we always expect that great man deliver great deeds and immortal exploits, but sometimes is not easy to live for others high expectations, like the tormented aspects of the very succefull autor who cannot continue to explore his work, being afraid he can never do better than what he already has done (tihs was very nicely portaided by Oscar Wilde).

    There's an entire division of psichology dedicated to this anxiety problems.
    --- Double Post Merged, Dec 22, 2015, Original Post Date: Dec 22, 2015 ---
    If Han married Leia while Anakin/Vader was still alive then the whole Bespin situation at the Breakfast Table could happen every year in the Hollidays ;)
     
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  19. Pobody's Nerfect

    Pobody's Nerfect Jedi General

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    So we're two movies into the ST now and Luke Skywalker has passed away. Luke's arc wasn't what I expected (see my OP above) but I think it was in character.

    The OT began with Luke taking up his lightsaber. It ended with Luke throwing down his lightsaber. TLJ began with Luke throwing it down again, then ended with Luke taking it up again.

    Luke's story began with a hologram of a Princess asking for help. It ended with a hologram of Luke helping the Princess.

    I don't think Buzz syndrome was responsible for Luke's decision to find the most out-of-the-way planet in the Galaxy and go there to die, but the reasons he did were, to me, believable.

    Was Luke's emotional state of mind what you expected? On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being not at all what you expected and 10 being Luke acted exactly like you thought he would, how close was Luke's emotional state to what you expected?

    I'm going 7/10
     
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  20. Cunir

    Cunir Rebelscum

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    I think Luke has got a bit of Neil Armstrong in him as well... he seemed to shun as much of the limelight as he could and tried not to talk about it (at least, not in public). that's more like how Luke ended up. But then he went all Buzz on us.

    What must have made it worse for Buzz was that he did this incredible thing alongside Armstrong, but he always had to play second-fiddle to him. He was like the Ringo of the Apollo landing.
     
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