Kylo Ren Syndrome: A Political Commentary

Kylo Ren Syndrome: A Political Commentary

This is more of a political commentary rather than an attempt to find the truth behind the future of Star Wars.

Kylo Ren, Ben Solo, was raised by the republic/resistance, he was raised to fight against the empire. With this, comes a ton of baggage. Since birth he is taught to fight for what he is told is right, and take down the evil empire. At some point, un seen by the viewers of the 7th film, he chooses to join the empire. In Star Wars terminology, he is "seduced by the dark side of the force.” Once behind enemy lines, he goes along with all the day to day nonsense that comes along with being the empire i.e. eliminate whats left of the resistance, massacre innocent people, do what he’s told without questioning his leaders etc… He does it all. However, I believe, which I’m sure any moderate Star Wars-phile would agree with, he is having a constant internal struggle.

Kylo fights internally and externally with himself and others throughout the entire film and it manifests in childish outbursts of anger, talking to a dead man’s helmet, and ultimately killing his own father. I believe that the reason for this is that he holds multiple views on the world he lives in. He does not see it as one side being 100% completely correct. Due to the constant whispers and orders from Snoke and the dark side he see’s the benefit of a world with no jedi, no resistance, no one but an all powerful empire. An empire that has the ability to wipe out and entire planet, an entire race, destroy anything in their way, by a simple push of a button. It’s power that feeds this desire, but more importantly it’s a feeling of SAFETY. With just the empire, and no alleged “enemies,” him and his people can feel safe. Which is understandable, everyone wants to feel safe, right? But, gaining safety by these measures, is without question very wrong. Now to the other side… While this is all going, Kylo still has feelings from the resistance, he see’s the positive of the opposite side as well.

This is speculation, but, this is how I saw it… Deep down Kylo knows the empire is wrong. What they’ve created, the hate they are based on, it is evil, it is simply the wrong way to live life. Finn see’s this early on, escapes, joins the resistance, you know that part... But Kylo. Kylo is stuck. He has outwardly made it very clear on his position, he’s team dark side. But as I stated previously, inside that confused mind of his, he knows the resistance is right, the empire is evil, what he’s doing is wrong, and this is violently eating away at him. This is what leads to his insanity. Doing things like seeking advice from an inanimate helmet, whipping out his light saber, destroying shit, and ultimately murdering his father. This is all comes from his mental state. Living in a world that is so divided, and holding thoughts that support opposite sides has led Kylo to simply lose his fucking mind. With this being said, I feel as though viewers understand this. They understand both sides of the force. They see the positive and negative of both. Empire/Sith = power, evil, security, thats simple. The Jedi/Resistance/Republic, which inherently is a little more vague, makes this a tiny bit harder… But they want peace, they fight for what’s right, they are the good guys. (They’re hollywood good guys though, they don’t exactly have any negatives, but they have limits, until the end of course, then they’ll do just about anything they need to, to get what they want,but I digress…) Back to Kylo, and my overall point.

Anyone living on this planet, and who has seen Star Wars can agree there is obvious overarching political commentary. Duh. Today, as of February, 2017, we are living in a world as divided as the god damn galaxy far, far, away. Not just as divided, but pretty similar as well. I don’t have the energy to write a whole paragraph about the current political climate. You all know whats going on Left/Liberals vs Trump Supporters/ Republicans. Yes, very oversimplified , but stick with me, if you’re still here...

We live in a world where if someone supports ANY ASPECT of the right, that someone is deemed a supporter of fascism, misogyny, hate, islamophobia, homophobia, etc.. you know the drill, you’ve seem it a million times by now. This may in fact be the truth. Supporting even the smallest facet of President Trump, may technically make you a supporter of this real world evil empire. The Left has made this clear, if you are not with them, and I mean actively with them, you are apart of the problem. Now I’m not going to try to show the positives of the right or the negatives of the left, or vice versa, it’s pointless. It starts fights, nothing gets done. Or at least, so far nothing gets done. So, forget about that. This is about Kylo Ren. Remember?

Here we go, please for all that is holy, please hear me out…

Imagine if you will, a modern day Kylo Ren. Imagine someone living in todays political climate, who has views that support both the liberal left and the Trump supporting right. QUICK don’t say they’re automatically a Trump Supporter. Don’t. Please… Maybe they think abortion is murder, but at the same time they understand that Women deserve the right to safe abortions. Maybe they want people to be allowed to immigrate to this country, but they see some benefit to a 90 day hold on immigration to asses the situation, but then again they feel sick to their stomach about the people held up at the airport. Maybe they hate political correctness, but still totally support transgender men and women using whatever god damn bathroom they want. Maybe they can’t stand man-hating feminism, but they know that thats an extreme, and the majority of feminists truly just want to be equal in the eyes of everyone. Maybe far left people annoy the shit out of you, but then the far right is way, way to racist to even consider identifying with. Maybe like Kylo Ren they have outburst of anger against one side or the other. Maybe like Kylo Ren they just have no fucking clue how to feel. Maybe like Kylo Ren they see the security of supporting an evil super power, but still don’t feel safe because they know deep down the Resistance is right. But they are torn and hurt that they have a label hanging over they’re head, people screaming at them saying they are vile, and fascist for thinking something. This leads to anger, which leads to hate, which leads to…

There are people out there like Kylo Ren. Maybe not his degree, but on a smaller scale. Having thoughts that support both sides can eat you up from the inside out, and hurts exponentially more as both sides are labeling you one way or the other. This entire rant is not in support of either side. It’s a plea. A plea to listen to people. Listen to the Kylo Ren’s of this world, not to bring them over to your side, and not to bash their thoughts and feelings. Just simply understand. Understand people are having thoughts that don’t align with yours. They don’t need to be forced onto one side. They need to be allowed to operate in the middle with out being a nazi. Yes, I will admit this is mostly directed towards people on the left. But it applies to both. Tump Supporters/The Right shouldn’t toss people off to the side if they feel very strongly about a classically liberal stance. Yes, there are those who know where they stand, and stand there proud. But we should not force people onto different teams. I know this may seem like an impossible task, but I beg you. For my mental health, and the mental health of all of those dealing with what I will dub “Kylo Ren Sydrome” please don’t insist someone’s a “libtard” or “fascist.” I will own up and admit yes. I do this. If I hear some liberal statement, my mind places that person in a box in my head. But I shouldn’t. I’m working on it, and recent personal events in my life have shown me that it can be proven wrong. If I can be proven wrong, allow yourself to be proven wrong

My final statement. Yes, Trump’s policies aren’t looking good, and what the Left want’s may come off as too much sometimes. This isn’t about the real political issues. This is about people. People have lots of thoughts going throughout there mind, and it weighs down on them, and it hurts them. The world might be falling apart, it may be. But people have a plethora of problems and things going on in their head 24/7. They’re in pain, they’re struggling. Just try not to make it worse. But, I don’t know. That’s it.

-N