The Watching Artist wrote:But you've glossed over the points I made about Anakin.
Apologies for the glossy reply earlier, I was on my lunch break and thought I could knock out a quick one. Ahem.
The Watching Artist wrote:Those are events that are not specific to being a moody teenager, the desire to control/obsess/save loved ones could be at any age.
I agree, which is why I didn't identify that desire as being specifically teenage. I spoke more generally about the fear both characters have about their places in the world, a common experience through teenage years, and that they respond by lashing out against guiding forces (alternatively, against the norm/what came before to stand out. Alternatively alternatively, rebelling against your parents because they just don't get you, man).
The Watching Artist wrote:But it is at least a clear motivation for the character. He wants to do good because he loves someone and thinks he should be powerful enough to do that. Kylo though.... he wants to be bad because? Because he is teenager?
I touched upon it in my initial post, but for me the reasons are twofold; he feels betrayed by those he loved (at Luke because of his failure in training him, and at Han and Leia for putting him in Luke's care), and that he feels unable to live up to his parents and uncle's legacies. He feels the world expects something from him, when he hasn't even figured out who he is. He's alienated and turns to a source that says "it's OK, you're not wrong, they're wrong". It's targeted radicalisation of a vulnerable person, same as the young Western folk who decided to go fight and die for ISIS. And that vulnerability of his sense of self is most common amongst teenagers.
---
I haven't seen The Clone Wars or any additional material featuring Anakin so I don't really have a sense of him beyond the prequels, but as presented there in the primary text he is a bratty teenager. Lines like "from my point of view the Jedi are evil" are pure foot stomping petulance. It's not even that the idea behind that line is necessarily wrong or that there isn't a debate to be had on Jedi ethics, it's that the speaker doesn't care about that; it just reads as contrariansm for the sake of winding up the other party.
Not that having characters act like that is an inherently bad choice, it can be interesting to explore. The difference is how the surrounding film treats those characters. Anakin is presented as doing the right thing because his love for Padme is so strong (an equally naive starry eyed take), so you should inherently root for him despite him being a dick. Kylo is not lauded by the films, he's looked down on, and it encourages the audience to pity him which ultimately (I think) leads to a genuine care for the character.
I never said Anakin is a bad character, or even that the basic story beats he goes through in the prequels are bad. He is poorly realised however, and I think Kylo is a far better version of that basic role (given the structural similarities they share). Anakin done properly.