I mean that’s really why I love Star Wars, besides that space is great. Luke Skywalker has zero toxic masculinity-type issues. He goes to Vader in Return of the Jedi willingly and immediately starts telling him he doesn’t have to live his life filled with hate, and they can just drop the whole thing and leave together. He extends this invitation to a horrible man who has done nothing but hurt him, but Luke is stronger because of his contact with his emotions, his love and acceptance of those around him, the bonds he has with his friends. And it works. Vader, this seven-foot-tall cyborg in a mask who hasn’t had human contact or felt the sun on his face or felt love in twenty-three years, realizes that he has been living wrong. It’s a triumph of softness over might, and it couldn’t make me happier.
This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender.
