The Psychology of Darth Vader Revealed

[Nutso]

http://www.livescience.com/culture/psyc ... 00604.html

The Psychology of Darth Vader Revealed
By Jeremy Hsu, LiveScience Senior Writer
posted: 04 June 2010 09:57 am ET

Anakin Skywalker's eventual transformation into Darth Vader might have more to do with psychological issues than the Force, researchers hint.

The tragic hero of the "Star Wars" prequels displays patterns of instability and impulsivity in the second and third films that make him an obvious candidate for borderline personality disorder (BPD), according to French psychiatrists and psychologists.

The researchers also suspect the traits exhibited by Skywalker might make him more appealing and relatable to teen fans, given that teens may also display certain characteristics of borderline personality disorder.

"I had watched the two prequel movies ["Attack of the Clones" and "Revenge of the Sith"], and it was during my residency in psychiatry while trying to explain borderline personality disorder to medical students that I thought of Anakin," said Eric Bui, a psychiatrist at Toulouse University Hospital in France.

Bui and his colleagues first presented their diagnosis at the annual convention of the American Psychiatric Association in 2007. Now, their letter to the editor titled "Is Anakin Skywalker suffering from borderline personality disorder?" is slated to appear in an upcoming issue of the journal Psychiatry Research.

Skywalker hit six out of the nine borderline personality disorder criteria as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV). He only needed to meet five criteria to qualify as suffering from the disorder.

A great disturbance in the Force

For instance, the future Darth Vader showed both impulsivity and anger management issues as an overexcited, lovelorn Jedi. He went back and forth between idealizing and devaluing Jedi mentors, such as a humorless young Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Abandonment issues also surfaced. Skywalker had a permanent fear of losing his wife, Padme Amidala, and he went so far as to betray his Jedi mentors and companions to try to prevent her death.

Two displays of dissociative episodes took place when Skywalker tried to distance himself from stressful events. The first episode took place after he slaughtered a local tribe of Tuskens responsible for his mother's death. A second episode occurred following his murderous rampage among young Jedi trainees, as he voiced paranoid thoughts about Obi-Wan Kenobi and his wife.

Lastly, any "Star Wars" fan would recognize Skywalker's identity issues and uncertainty about who he was. His fateful turn to the dark side and change of name to Darth Vader could represent the ultimate sign of such identity disturbance, the researchers said.

The future Darth Vader would also still qualify as a "borderline type" under the revised guidelines of the DSM-V, which will serve as the new bible for psychiatry.

"From what we know of the future DSM-V, Anakin is a "good" to "very good" match to the future BPD," Bui told LiveScience.

Searching for balance

Skywalker's case of borderline personality disorder has proven useful for both Bui and Rachel Rodgers, a researcher at the Center for Studies and Research in Applied Psychology in France. They have used the "Star Wars" example to teach their students for the past few years, and noted that such a famous fictional example could spread awareness.

The researchers also suggested that the success of the "Star Wars" prequel films might partially rely upon how teens can relate to the troubled Anakin Skywalker. Only adults can be diagnosed with to borderline personality disorder under the current DSM-IV guidelines, but Bui and Rodgers pointed to several studies that suggest the disorder is fairly frequent among teens.

Either way, the situation in the "Star Wars" prequels seems clear to Bui. He pointed out that the emperor's dark and destabilizing influence upon a young Skywalker might have even exacerbated the symptoms of borderline personality disorder.

But like any good doctor, Bui also has a treatment recommendation.

"I believe that psychotherapy would have helped Anakin and might have prevented him from turning to the dark side," Bui said. "Using the dark side of the Force could be considered as similar to drug use: It feels really good when you use it, it alters your consciousness and you know you shouldn't do it."

[Tyyr]

It seems to be sort of a "duh" kind of thing. I don't think anyone really ever considered that the dark side of the force did it all. The kid pretty obviously had major issues.

The researchers also suspect the traits exhibited by Skywalker might make him more appealing and relatable to teen fans, given that teens may also display certain characteristics of borderline personality disorder.

Love that line.

[Tsukiyumi]

I find it somewhat disturbing that I have that exact disorder...

[Deepcrush]

Emo...

[Tsukiyumi]

Emo...

Hardly. I only get upset about other people's problems.

[Reliant121]

Psh, either your very caring.


Or a pussy



(I joke, I'm the last person to talk)

[Sionnach Glic]

So it could all have been avoided if the Jedi Order just paid for a damn psychiatrist.

I find it somewhat disturbing that I have that exact disorder...

Let me know when you can throw lightning bolts around, then I'll be worried.

[Nutso]

So it could all have been avoided if the Jedi Order just paid for a damn psychiatrist.

Or maybe they could saved Anakin's mommy from Tatooine.

[Mikey]

So it could all have been avoided if the Jedi Order just paid for a damn psychiatrist.

Or if Obi-wan, you know, just maybe checked to make sure he was dead.

[Captain Seafort]

So it could all have been avoided if the Jedi Order just paid for a damn psychiatrist.

Or maybe they could saved Anakin's mommy from Tatooine.

Or, even better, stick with their initial decision and not try and make a Jedi out of him in the first place.

Or if Obi-wan, you know, just maybe checked to make sure he was dead.

By that stage the damage was done and the order was dead. Killing Vader in that duel would probably have made matters worse, as Vader's replacement would have killed Luke on Bespin (either in the duel or on his approach).

[Nutso]

So it could all have been avoided if the Jedi Order just paid for a damn psychiatrist.

Or if Obi-wan, you know, just maybe checked to make sure he was dead.

It really is all Obi-Wan's fault the Jedi were hunted to extinction. It really is...

[Mikey]

By that stage the damage was done and the order was dead. Killing Vader in that duel would probably have made matters worse, as Vader's replacement would have killed Luke on Bespin (either in the duel or on his approach).

From the POV of Obi-wan at the time, he showed no inkling of prescience as to what would happen in Luke's adulthood at Bespin.

[Nutso]

So it could all have been avoided if the Jedi Order just paid for a damn psychiatrist.

Or maybe they could saved Anakin's mommy from Tatooine.

Or, even better, stick with their initial decision and not try and make a Jedi out of him in the first place.

Or if Obi-wan, you know, just maybe checked to make sure he was dead.

By that stage the damage was done and the order was dead. Killing Vader in that duel would probably have made matters worse, as Vader's replacement would have killed Luke on Bespin (either in the duel or on his approach).

Was there someone else who could have hunted down the Jedi like Darth Vader did? Serious question since I don't read books.

[Tyyr]

I dunno. From what I know of there wouldn't have been. So while his replacement might have sucked exterminating the Jedi would be a long shot.

In other news, I lay it at Qui-Gon's feet first for bothering with the kid but then for leaving his mother behind. If he hadn't been a douche the whole thing could have been avoided.

[Captain Seafort]

From the POV of Obi-wan at the time, he showed no inkling of prescience as to what would happen in Luke's adulthood at Bespin.

True, but this is a matter of trying to propose better solutions based on our knowledge, not theirs. In any event, even with Obi-Wan's knowledge it was clear that killing Vader wouldn't make a blind bit of difference - the Empire had risen and the Empire was gone.

Was there someone else who could have hunted down the Jedi like Darth Vader did? Serious question since I don't read books.

There were quadrillions of them at the very least - the Imperial Armed Forces. Vader's role was high-profile but by no means essential.