The Emergence of Grey in a Never-ending Black-White Struggle

Darth Vader: Haz Wayne's All-Time Greatest Villain

Meeting a Friend from a Not-Too-Distant Past

Far from being the Bellatrix due to the likeness of name, DP Bella has earned a new reputation in Haz Wayne's World. Last night meet found a new Hermione, a worthy allusion to an excellent character, who more often than not, is plagued with unwarranted claims of 'one-dimensional-ness' (winks) in Rowling's pages. Bell-Hermione got me reflecting on a philosophical question on the problem of Grey in the simple notion of Black and White.

The Dichotomy of Good and Evil

The all too common battle, or should i say war, between the forces of good and evil has existed for as long as history can trace, stretched back even longer than Moses can say "Let my people go!" to Pharoah Rameses. These days however, even in our most mundane of lives, the black and white is, more often than not, not as easily defined as it used to be. The tension between what's right and what's not can no longer be seen as two large opposing entities, but rather, two supreme extremes. These extremes however has an interweaving effect that flows to and forth, constantly creating a grey area that is very much intangible and illusive in nature. This becomes problematic in the widely-accepted definitive notion of White vs Black.

The Many Different Faces of Grey

The problem with the shades of grey is precisely the fact that they are shades, thus not defined. Many a times we encounter situations that force us to choose between a lesser evil for a greater good. If that is the case, what is to stop one from doing good in the name of evil? For some of us, our intellectual outview of life and things are now challenged by the very basic fundamental of values that we hold dear, that which we hold on to in defining ourselves.

The might of our intellectuality seem to overwhelm us with complex situations that seemingly no ordinary black-white notions to provide with a solution. We must not allow the illusive and mysterious nature of the grey areas to continue tormenting our very being. Would a return to old-school dogmatic but clear division of right and wrong be the ultimate answer to an increasingly complex life, or is it just the transition to adulthood that shakes the fundamentals of beliefs? If the latter is so, then the solution would be to hold on to the fundamentals regardless. Though you and i know such convictions are not as easily accomplished.

Haz Wayne's Greatest Villain of All Time

That being said, Haz Wayne honours Star Wars movie character Darth Vader, whose first debut appearance was in 1977 in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. While seen merely as the tool of the evil Emperor in the Star Wars original trilogy, the addition of the prequel trilogy demonstrates the fall of Anakin Skywalker, in which he succumbed to the dark side. The holisticity of the character is detailed with the fact that the person whom many thought was the villain is actually the victim. He was a character who had lost everything, from his beloved wife and children, and would later be redeemed by his son Luke Skywalker.

In the famous last scene of Star Wars Episode IV: Return of the Jedi showed the death of Vader, in which he admits to Luke that "he was right" about him, for there was "still good" in Vader, as echoed by Padme Amidala before she died in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Darth Vader illustrates the grey that could exist even in a black-white struggle within the self. For this it makes him more human, than most of the other villains that appeared in the media.

As such it is an honour to confer upon Darth Vader, the title and recognition as Haz Wayne's All-Time Greatest Villain, in hopes that it would inspire all, of the power of Grey that could bring the Black back to White, more than any one-dimensional villains like his master Darth Sidious, Harry Potter's Lord Voldemort or LOTR's dark lord Sauron could ever dreamed of.