Yoda: Grandmaster of the Jedi Order - Essay Example

Yoda: Grandmaster of the Jedi Order For movie enthusiasts and followers of the Star Wars Movies, from the seemingly unending list of characters, no one can forget the inimitable Yoda. There were actually six Star Wars movies, the first was viewed by the public in 1977, entitled “A New Hope”, set 20 years after Revenge of The Sith (Dodson 1). The character of Yoda appeared in the all the five star war movies except the first. For the purpose of this essay, the character of Yoda would be described in terms of providing a narrative visual representation of the physical traits, the personality characteristics, manner and style, and powers and abilities, among others. Character Overview Yoda was reported by Nick Maley, the Curator, CEO at YodaGuy Movie Museum and Just Imagine (Entertainment) Inc., to be created by a collaboration of three people: “Stuart Freeborn who headed the Make-up/Creature Effects Department and Frank Oz, who did an incredible job of bringing the puppet to life. Niether Frank or Jim Henson were directly involved in developing Yoda on a day to day basis. But without Frank’s supervision of the puppeteers Yoda would not be as much loved as he is. Stuart was the one who (with George Lucas), made all the key decisions” (Maley 1). Yoda was aptly described as a grandmaster from the Jedi Order, with eminent powers and abilities, with great wisdom and a distinct way of speaking that captured the audience’s heart. Yoda’s biographical description was concisely presented in Star Wars Fanon, as follows: “Born : 892 BBY Physical description Species : Unknown species Gender : Male Eye color : Brown Skin color : Green Chronological and political information Era(s) : Rise of the Empire era Affiliation : Jedi Order Known apprentices : Ki-Adi Mundi” (Star Wars Fanon) Physical Traits Yoda was created to be 27 inches tall and initially molded into a “spritely, tall, skinny, grasshopper kind of character into the old wise spirited gnome that we all know today” (Maley 1). With green skin and brown eyes, Yoda’s skin was intended to hang loosely below the cheeks. His face was reported to be patterned after that of Einstein where “the wrinkles around Einstein's eyes somehow got worked into the Yoda design. So did Einsteins wight hair” (Maley 1). The person behind his voice was Frank Oz, one of his creators. Personality and Characteristics As a grandmaster of the Jedi Order, Yoda manifested great wisdom and intelligence. His expertise in various fields of warfare enabled him to exhibit an adaptive and reactive personality, depicted as “emotional, though he preferred to remain stoic in front of the members of the Order in an effort to appear as wise as he could. This meant he would sometimes mask fear as well as happiness” (Star Wars Fanon 1). Further, due to his reaching a ripe age of 900 years, he was well informed of matters in the universe, to wit: “Yoda's personal experiences with this information taught him that it was best not to become involved with it or speak about it, as he believed it would only lead to dangerous situations for the Jedi Order” (Star Wars Fanon 1). Manner and Style The most distinct manner and style distinguishing Yoda as unique from the other characters in Star Wars is his backwards speech or putting a phrase (normally said first, at the back of a sentence or statement). Among his famous lines sourced from Think Exist (2011) are: “Do or do not... there is no try.” “Size matters not, ... Look at me. Judge me by size, do you?” “Named must your fear be before banish it you can.” Powers and Abilities As a grandmaster, Yoda was depicted to possess great powers in terms of exhibiting “the ability to sense the future through the Force, though he realized that ability was being clouded by the dark side after he was made aware of the existence of the clone army on Kamino. Neither he nor any other Jedi had previously sensed its existence. He believed it was important that this weakness be kept quiet, as he did not want potential adversaries of the Jedi Order to know that he and other powerful Jedi were losing their clairvoyance. Despite his powers, Yoda eventually walked with a cane for balance due to his old age” (Star Wars Fanon 1). He was depicted to have great abilities in battles with both Dooku and Darth Sidious, among others. He effectively trained three crucial Jedi characters such as Mace Windy, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ki-Adi Mundi. His long life could also be considered an ability and manifestation of innate strength and endured stamina that was gained through extensive training as a Jedi grandmaster. Coupled with wisdom, Yoda’s character depicted the possession of courage, a talent for forbearance, humility, and the power to discern the most appropriate action in terms of adversity, among others. Conclusion The character of Yoda, conceived and designed to be an instrumental part of the Star Wars saga was hereby described through the provision of narrative visual representation of the physical traits, the personality characteristics, manner and style, and powers and abilities of a diminutive being, who despite the small stature, was magnanimous in heart and wisdom. His ability to exude a positive aura from innate goodness, courage, power and distinct expression of language gained the appeal of audiences worldwide. Yoda, despite his character having died at the age of 900, would continue to live in the hearts and minds of all Star Wars enthusiasts for as long as one can remember. References Dodson, William. how many star wars movies were there and in what order were they in? . 2011. 9 October 2011 . Maley, Nick. The making of Yoda part I. 16 January 2010. 9 October 2011 . Star Wars Fanon. Yoda. n.d. 9 October 2011 . Think Exist. Yoda quotes. 2011. 9 October 2011 . Read More