Batman, Spiderman, Superman.Not only does the suffix end with man; a strong denotation of male but they are usually protrayed with rippling muscles and disproportionately huge limbs.
There are occasionally only a few well known heroines in the comic world, but their fame is not as far reached or as memorable as male heroes (Ultra feminist group should start lobbying for equal sexual rights in this hero business.)Lets cite the case of a deprecated heroine; Wonder Woman, the all American girl with star spangled panties that was created in 1941 by Dr William Marston; a psychologist; for DC comics.
She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 (launched not in self title- a pity) and subsequently featured on Super Friends in the 70s & 80s with her sidekicks Wendy & Marvin and Wonderdog, none of whom had any special abilities (unless one counts the dog's unexplained ability to "talk" and reason)Super Friends also consisted of Batman, Superman & Aquaman.
Wonder woman did not stand a chance in these series and was shadowed by the obviously more favourable Batman & Superman.Before achieving extinction, her creators relaunched her in Justice League in 2000s ( minus the silliness of sidekicks and talking pets);yet another coalition of superheroes but not as a stand alone character !
From the comic standpoint she did not gain much grounds; however on National TV, she was made to shine by an ex-beauty queen, Lynda Carter from 1975 to 1979 until her fame fizzles away.
In this new millennium, with feminist rights gaining popularity, a new culture has emerged-Girl Power.This culture is spreading like wild fire and is evidently seen on TV; from the busty dominatrix Xena to violent little girls called Power Puff Girls who has death proclaiming stares !
This culture is here to stay and film producers are churning out more movies based on “kick-ass” female heroine who saves the day (i.e Alias ) to feed the masses.That leaves the once male dominated job of saving the world in the silver screen open to equal opportunity for females. Feminist group may still proclaim that female form is still being exploited due to the scarcely clad heroine. Besides, heroine have skin tight suits that has never failed to capture attention. In fact, that was the whole intention by the producers; to make it marketable and cater to the taste. You want women – you’ve got it- bigger and bolder.
With such confusion over which sex the hero /heroine should be, I would rather choose a nonhuman hero.
I am pleased to introduce to you my extra terrestrial hero -The Little Green Geriatric Alien.
He has been the much sought after personality who wins with brains and not entirely with brawn; that is because he has hardly any brawn to begin with.
Not sure who I am talking about ? I will leave you with more clues.He resembles Professor X in X-Men not in physical stature or resemblance but his ability to have psychic abilities, he resembles a pilgrim with strong knowledge of his religion and who has seen it all, he resembles the guru who has knowledge and wisdom normally depicted as a sage who lives in seclusion away from the unwelcome.
With this, I hope I have accomplished painting the picture of my hero as a graying old man who resembles Gandalf (LOTR); except that my hero is in serious need of hair.
He has distinguishable characteristics; a tuft of hair that is snowy white, 3 fingers and is only 2 ft 1 inch. With frown lines running across the forehead, there is no mistake that this is the person you trust for answers when you ask questions. If by now you still can’t figure out who this person is; you must have not been living on Earth. It goes by the title Master and is the beacon of the Jedis.Master Yoda, the unassuming creature from the unknown kingdom or species, has a mysterious character that can never be unravelled, just like its unfathomable knowledge.
From research , I have gathered that he was one of the Jedi Masters who ran the mobile academy aboard the starship Chu'unthor, and he left the ship's data tapes in the care of one of the natives when the ship crashed on Dathomir. (Star Wars: The Courtship of Princess Leia)
Although seemingly frail, Master Yoda demonstrates a mastery of lightsaber combat, known for drawing heavily on the Force to achieve extreme acrobatics. Yoda has demonstrated once and for all that size does not matter- another reason to be worshipped as hero.
Master Yoda is the most orthodox amongst the jedi, he upkeeps and reminds the jedi of the ideals of the order and staying in the good side of the Force. He does this effortlessly and manages to throw in some mischief and practical jokes. Master Yoda is also well known for his quirky sentence structure with object,subject and verb format; almost like the grammar structure of Japanese language. I suppose the creator of Yoda has in mind a wise Japanese sage when he created this character which is the core of the Star Wars storyline.
MasterYoda’s unassuming mannerism and soft spoken approach soothes the listener and often leave them intrigued with his statement. His approach to decision making and remarks made are quite in line with what Buddhism preaches. Take for example, “ Fear, hate and anger will lead to the dark side”. Explained in Buddist meaning, harbouring evil thoughts and intentions are going against the Buddha Dharma (Buddha’s Teaching) and will lead to bad karma.
Master Yoda constantly reminds his protégé to avoid falling to the lure of the dark side and he often reminded them to control their mind. Controlling one’s mind is similar to seeking for inner peace and achieving enlightment as a Buddhist. In fact, the very term of light vs dark has strong connotation that Yoda or the Jedis in general were Buddhist monks who are trained to upkeep Dharma equivalent to the Shaolin monks; but armed with light sabers instead.
Light Side of the Force is constantly mentioned in Star Wars as in Enlightment in Buddhism, it simply means awakening of the mind and seeking to know the truth. Jedis also meditate to seek the truth and Jedis do not die; they simply become the force; as demonstrated in the ability of Obi-Wan to revive and teach young Luke.
Buddhist seek enlightment through meditation and their actions determine their karma. The most frequently mentioned term, Force as you can easily decipher simply means Karma. Going to the Dark force is attaining bad karma and staying in the Light side is practicing what Jedi / Buddhism preaches.
If we were to analyse Star Wars, we see that evil is triumphant until the very last episode where the root of evil is wiped out. I assume that many innocent lives were lost in the war and much suffering heard and unheard of is present. All this can be simply avoided if the real root of evil did not turn evil.
Anakin’s passsion to learn the dark side in order to revive his wife, demonstrates his lust and desire for power and selfishness. He strives to achieve his own goals and through this he has become ignorant to the truth and became an accomplice in the murder of Mace Windu which he later regrets.That was just the beginning of the immense suffering that awaits him.
Anakin is also extremely attached to the notion of his wife’s death which is inevitable. Despite knowing that being a turncoat there are no guarantee that he can bring back his dead wife, he still seek to try his luck; his logic probably drowned by his big fat ego (The Chosen One) .
In one scene, he is so blinded by his lust for power that Anakin chokes his wife and became highly suspicious and jealous over her loyalty and trust.As described in the dharma, strong attachmetnt only brings suffering. The story of Anakin and his wife is a clear example of this strong attachment.
Having awareness instead of attachment is the key to avoid darkening thoughts of attachment.The alluring Dark Side exist not only in Star Wars but here on earth in us. Every decision we make is capable of affecting the outcome of a situation. The path that we choose determines our fate and karma.In the words of Master Yoda, the Dark Side is not actually more powerful, but only quicker and more seductive. It can also be taxing to the body, as evidenced by Palpatine’s appearance by the time of Return Of The jedi.
Anakin could have simply avoided the insidious trap of suffering; but his ego and lust (tanha) for power and selfishness led him to the dark side. He could have chosen wisely and avoid suffering by choosing to follow the Noble Eightfold Path.( Buddhadharma; Dharma means law, doctrine, truth)
1. Right Understanding
2. Right Thought
3. Right Speech
4. Right Action
5. Right Livelihood
6. Right Effort
7. Right Mindfulness
8. Right Concentration
Which coincidentally is rather similar to Jedi’s Code :-
- There is no emotion, there is peace.
- There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
- There is no passion, there is serenity.
- There is no chaos, there is harmony.
- There is no death, there is the Force.
—The Jedi Code (Based on the meditations of Odan-Urr)
Lets study an excerpt from the conversation of
Episode I: The Phantom Menace
YODA: Fear is the path to the dark side... fear leads to anger... anger leads to hate.. hate leads to suffering. ( All the Noble Eightfold Path which is in Buddhadharma)
Anakin : What’s that got to do with anything? ( Ignorance)
YODA : Eveything. Fear is the path to the dark side... fear leads to anger... anger leads to hate.. hate leads to suffering.
ANAKIN : I am not afraid! ( More ignorance)
YODA : A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind. I sense much fear in you. ( Right concentration- Noble Eightfold Path)This phenomenon is already described in the Dharma (law, doctrine, truth); the 4 Noble Truth and Noble Eightfold Path.
Unfortunately for Anakin, he is blinded by sheer ignorance and followed the path of darkness with no return.Althought Star Wars lives in the realm of fantasy,I can assure to you that, in our daily lives we will come across people who resemble characters from Star Wars.
Master Yoda should serve as a reminder to us that we are all padawans each seeking to live our karma and making the right choices for our karma. For non Buddhists, perhaps it’s a time to view Buddhism with an open mind that Buddhism is a teaching that helps us live our life and withstand the test of time or science.
Trivia : Do you know that Yoda is derived from Yoddha, the Sanskrit word for "warrior."
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