Skip to main content

star wars - Why does Darth Vader raise his prosthetic arm when channeling the Force?


Many Force users channel their powers (pull, push, lightning) through their hands. But in the case of Darth Vader, this does not seem to make sense. Because there is nothing there. His limbs are prosthetic and contains no midichlorians. Could there be a reason other than writer oversight?


Triggered by: Why does Darth Vader need to use a targeting grid?



Answer



I know of no canon answer, but I would guess that it has more to do with mental focus; for example, when force choking someone, he's basically using Telekinesis crush the target's throat. For the purposes of focusing it, it's probably easiest to visualize a hand doing the task. Then, as it crushes, it's not simply compressing, but rather simulating the action of fingers bending inward; using his own hand, both being controlled (albeit by servo-moters) and visible in front of him helps him properly visualize what he's doing.



The same idea applies to shoving motions when doing a Force Push, and grasping motions to summon a light saber; in each case, what he is doing with the force is a mimicry of what his body is doing. Given that, even via prosthetic, the ability to do the tasks physically is something long since learned, I think he's doing it physically and using the force to extend the reach via what amounts to simply a remote, invisible, force based hand.


Could he do it with no gesture? Sure; but using a physical gesture as a template removes the need for extra thought to makes sure he's doing it properly. (If he's going to choke someone by imagining a loop around their neck and tightening it, he has to consider where the cord comes together, is it simply constricting, or being pulled tight, etc. But imagining his hand doing it requires no thought.. he's done it physically many times.)


Another aspect may be the intentional limitation of force use. Much like the question Why does Q click his fingers, I think Jedi develop personal gestures or use mimicry to focus their powers to limit themselves; without some 'trigger' for the powers, what accidents could be caused by stray thoughts, for a strong force user? (A passing women inspires a dirty thought? The passing lady gets goosed. Feel a sudden urge to shove someone out the window? It happens.) A minor version of an action to be performed on a larger scale WOULD tend to give your actions away slightly, but would make it much harder to accidentally perform a force based action.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

What is Tolkien trying to say in this letter?

In a draft of a letter, later recorded as #246, Tolkien makes a strange statement. I am interested in the first few sentences of the letter, but I will include the remainder for the sake of context. In the 'Mirror of Galadriel', 1381, it appears that Galadriel conceived of herself as capable of wielding the Ring and supplanting the Dark Lord. If so, so also were the other guardians of the Three, especially Elrond . But this is another matter. It was part of the essential deceit of the Ring to fill minds with imaginations of supreme power . But this the Great had well considered and had rejected, as is seen in Elrond's words at the Council. Galadriel's rejection of the temptation was founded upon previous thought and resolve. In any case Elrond or Galadriel would have proceeded in the policy now adopted by Sauron: they would have built up an empire with great and absolutely subservient generals and armies and engines of war, until they could challenge Sauron and destroy ...
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Was Galadriel's temptation of Boromir instrumental to his fall?

We know Galadriel tempted the members of the Fellowship, did she tempt Boromir with visions of taking the Ring and saving Gondor? In the books, Boromir willingly accepts the judgement of the council that the Ring should be destroyed, but after the meeting with Celeborn and Galadriel his personality seems to change. Was the temptation offered by Galadriel in some way responsible for Boromir's fall? Answer It's likely, but not certain I believe it is likely Galadriel tempted him with the ring, and in doing so re-ignited a pre-existing idea to take the ring, but to be clear lets break this down into three parts. Boromir at the Council of Elrond Boromir after setting off Boromir after being tempted Boromir at the Council of Elrond Boromir pleas for the ring to go to Minas Tirith, to help Gondor in its defense against Mordor. “ Why should we not think that the Great Ring has come into our hands to serve us in the very hour of need? Wielding it the Free Lords of the Free may surely...
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - What is the difference between Diffindo and Sectumsempra?

In the Harry Potter books, Diffindo is called the 'Severing Charm' and it’s most commonly used to cut ropes and the like. However, in the last book Hermione uses it on Ron but misses, creating a 'slash in his jeans' and his knee gets cut, causing him to 'roar in pain'. We've only seen Sectumsempra used once on screen when Harry directly uses it on Malfoy in the sixth book, but there it's mentioned that he is 'waving his wand wildly'. Wouldn't Diffindo, if used in such a fashion also cause a similar effect? Similarly, if it was able to cut Ron, it would also be able to, say, chop off an ear (George's)? In that case, how are these two spells different, except for Sectumsempra seemingly used exclusively to hurt humans? Answer While Diffindo and Sectumsempra both can be countered by other spells, Diffindo is far more easily countered. Reparo, a relatively common spell, can completely reverse its effect when used once. “He pulled the old cop...
Post a Comment
Read more