The Hardships of a Sith Lord (PDF)

Adv Physiol Educ 40: 234 –236, 2016; Illuminations doi:10.1152/advan.00026.2016. The hardships of being a Sith Lord: implications of the biopsychosocial model in a space opera Ron...

Adv Physiol Educ 40: 234 –236, 2016; Illuminations doi:10.1152/advan.00026.2016. The hardships of being a Sith Lord: implications of the biopsychosocial model in a space opera Ronan M. G. Berg1 and Ronni R. Plovsing2 1 Department of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, Frederiksberg and Bispebjerg Hospitals, Frederiksberg, Denmark; and 2Department of Intensive Care 4131, University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark Submitted 3 February 2016; accepted in final form 11 March 2016 CASE STUDIES from popular culture have proven to be useful ingly, Skywalker’s enrollment in the Sith Order is part of a tools for conveying various physiological concepts to under- carefully planned coup d’état arranged by Palpatine to subvert graduate physiology and medical students (16). This motivated the corrupt and bureaucratic Galactic Senate and replace the us to use Anakin Skywalker, also known as Darth Vader, from Republic with a more well-organized and meritocratic Galactic the Star Wars saga to teach respiratory physiology (1, 12). Empire (9). Based on a careful reassessment of the events that take place a Due to his controversial change of careers, Skywalker, as long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, we have furthermore the new Sith Lord Darth Vader, soon clashes in a light saber found that Episodes I–VI (Table 1) of the acclaimed space duel with a former Jedi Master of his on a volcanic planet. opera may provide a means for integrating the biopsychosocial This results in a near-fatal outcome for Darth Vader, who model in the respiratory physiology classroom setting (4). loses several limbs in the fight and, furthermore, inhales From our analysis, it is clear that a critical aspect of the Star volcanic fumes and suffers severe third-degree burns and Wars saga that has largely been neglected until now is Darth consequently develops acute respiratory failure. Even Vader’s vulnerability beneath his fearsome exterior, which though appropriate diagnostic chest imaging is not provided likely renders him particularly susceptible to various emotional as would be required here on Earth (5), we have recently stressors and contributes to a deterioration of his lung function. asserted that Darth Vader fulfills the diagnostic for acute In Episodes I–III, we learn that Skywalker’s journey from an respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) at this stage (1). He extremely fit and athletic Jedi Knight to the severely physically nearly passes away, but Palpatine evacuates Darth Vader in disabled Darth Vader is above all an emotional one. Skywalker time for medical droids to perform extensive surgery, plac- sets off as a highly talented member of the monastic Jedi ing him in a life-saving whole body armored suit, which Order, which serves the Galactic Republic as a peacekeeping functions as an advanced bilevel positive airway pressure paramilitary elite unit. The course of events is, however, system that supports his intrinsic breathing both during complicated by Skywalker developing severe emotional prob- inspiration and expiration (12). lems in his youth, probably due to a borderline personality As is often the case in survivors of severe ARDS, Darth disorder (3, 6), although the applicability of this diagnosis in Vader subsequently develops chronic lung disease, and as Skywalker’s case remains the subject of intense scientific we reencounter him two decades later, it turns out that the debate (3b). His emotional problems lead to numerous conflicts treatment with the whole body armored suit has been main- with his Jedi Masters, and Skywalker repeatedly violates Jedi tained during all the intervening years. From this stage, Code, for example, by getting married and (even worse) by there is furthermore evidence of a progressive decline in conducting an unauthorized massacre on a whole village in a fit Darth Vader’s pulmonary function. Setting aside the marked of rage. fluctuations that are well accounted for by his activity level In the midst of all this hassle, Skywalker’s close friend, (1, 12), there is a clear trend of an underlying increase in his Sheev Palpatine, who is Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic respiratory rate (Fig. 1). Resting respiratory rate is known to Senate, manages to persuade him to resign from the Jedi Order. increase with the severity of chronic lung disease (2, 8), and Even though Palpatine has a somewhat odd habit of laughing since this gradual increase in respiratory rate is otherwise loudly at the most unfortunate times, he is one of the few unaccounted for in the narrative of Star Wars, it suggests mentally sane characters in the Star Wars saga (6) and func- that Darth Vader’s respiratory condition is gradually pro- tions as a father figure and moral compass to Skywalker. gressing to end-stage lung failure. Skywalker subsequently joins Palpatine in a competing mo- But what is the cause of this decline in lung function? To nastic society called the Sith Order, which is much more answer this question, it is pertinent to consider the mental and exclusive than the Jedi Order, at least in terms of membership, physical impact of the severe psychosocial stress that Darth because Sith Code dictates a “Rule of Two,” which implies that Vader is exposed to as a high-ranking official in the Galactic it only allows two members at any given time. While the Jedi Empire. Because of his whole body armored suit, one easily preach ascetic abstinence, the Sith Order strives to invoke forgets that he is, in fact, a severely physically disabled human actual changes in the real-life Galaxy, and its members there- being that furthermore has to struggle with a personality fore often show a great level of political involvement. Accord- disorder and the mental trauma of the untimely loss of several close family members. With this in mind, his psychological working environment is far from ideal. In Episode IV, it is clear Address for reprint requests and other correspondence: R. M. G. Berg, Dept. that Darth Vader’s change of careers in Episode III did not go of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, Frederiksberg Hospital, Nordre quite as planned. Two decades have passed, but Palpatine’s Fasanvej 57, Denmark (e-mail: [email protected]). coup d’état is not yet complete, and Darth Vader’s exact 234 1043-4046/16 Copyright © 2016 The American Physiological Society Downloaded from journals.physiology.org/journal/advances at CAPES-UNB (164.041.004.026) on September 14, 2023.  Illuminations PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESS IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY 235 Table 1. The first six Star Wars installments Title Year of Release Plot Outline Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 1999 Frustrated with the ever-increasing bureaucracy and corruption in the Galactic Senate, the secret Sith Lord, Senator Sheev Palpatine, manages to become Chancellor of the Galatic Senate with the help of a teenage queen. Furthermore, the child prodigy Anakin Skywalker is recruited to the monastic Jedi Order. Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones 2002 Chancellor Palpatine orchestrates a separatist movement that rebels against the Galactic Republic in order to provoke a civil war, so that he can receive emergency powers while a private building project of his can be commenced entirely unnoticed: a Moon-sized battle station called the Death Star. Meanwhile, Skywalker develops severe emotional problems and gets secretly married. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith 2005 As Skywalker’s wife becomes pregnant, the emotionally troubled father-to-be seeks comfort with Palpatine, who invites him to join the Sith Order. Although initially reluctant, Skywalker accepts and assumes a new identity as Darth Vader. Palpatine then transforms the Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire, declaring himself Emperor; however, he opts to maintain the Galactic Senate until the Death Star is completed. Darth Vader’s wife dies in childbirth; unbeknownst to Palpatine and Darth Vader, her newborn twins survive and are brought into hiding. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope 1977 Two decades after the events of Episode III, Palpatine’s Death Star is finally completed, which allows him to dissolve the Galactic Senate altogether. His totalitarian reign is now a reality but this triumph is complicated by the Rebel Alliance. Despite Darth Vader’s best efforts to stop them, the Rebels manage to blow up the Death Star. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back 1980 Darth Vader comes to the realization that he has a son and initiates an intense manhunt across the Galaxy to recruit him to the Sith Order. Darth Vader succeeds into luring his son out of hiding by taking his friends from the Rebel Alliance into custody. Darth Vader’s son nevertheless tenaciously declines his proposal of joining the Sith Order. Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi 1983 A second Death Star has been built, and Palpatine attempts to use it to demonstrate the superior force of the Empire to Darth Vader’s son. As Darth Vader’s son is not impressed and still refuses to join the Sith Order, Darth Vader has a sudden change of heart and brings Palpatine’s glorious career in Galactic politics to an abrupt end. Meanwhile, the Rebel Alliance somehow manages to demolish the fully operational Death Star with the assistance of a tribe of dwarf-like bears, and, as the Empire falls, Galactic citizens seem to lose all inhibitions and run recklessly into the streets and cause chaos throughout the Galaxy. responsibilities in the Empire are somewhat opaque to the at least $850 quadrillion in steel alone (3a), this must have audience and probably to Darth Vader as well. It is neverthe- a catastrophic impact on the Galactic economy with loss of less clear that his shift to the Sith Order has turned out to be a tens of thousands of jobs and decades of extreme poverty de facto demotion, since he is used as Palpatine’s personal with utter turmoil throughout the Galaxy. peon that has to do all kinds of odd jobs across the Galaxy, while Palpatine enjoys a seemingly quiet life in an undisclosed location. Furthermore, Darth Vader is neither well liked nor respected by other high-ranking officials, and military officers in the Empire express their obvious contempt toward him on several occasions and, furthermore, mock him about his reli- gious convictions. Apart from meditating in his personal cham- ber, Darth Vader mainly copes with this distressing working environment by clinging desperately to a management by fear strategy that involves threatening and executing several dis- obedient and/or incompetent colleagues and employees. As Palpatine finally manages to dissolve the Galactic Senate, his and Darth Vader’s common ambition of “bring- ing order to the Galaxy” is within reach (perhaps explaining the otherwise enigmatic title of Episode IV: A New Hope), but this dream is quickly shattered. Palpatine’s moon-sized Fig. 1. Evidence of progressive respiratory failure in a Sith Lord (n ⫽ 1). The battle station, called the Death Star, which is intended to y-axis shows the respiratory rate (in breaths/min). The solid line shows the ensure his totalitarian reign, turns out to be full of flaws respiratory rate at a given time; the dashed line is the trend line for the respiratory (14), just like we know from numerous oversized, presti- rate, which shows a clear increase across the films (Darth Vader’s death scene, gious, government-funded building projects here on Earth. where the respiratory rate ceases to 0, is excluded from the trend line). Of note, the This is discovered by the so-called Rebel Alliance, seeking respiratory rate reaches a nadir at 11 breaths/min in Episode V, when Darth Vader is having a seemingly comfortable conversation with his only friend, Emperor to restore the Republic, which manages to blow it up Palpatine, at a point where the friction between them is still trivial; it peaks in the through an otherwise unnoticed thermal exhaust shaft. Since same film at 46 breaths/min during a light saber duel with his son Luke Skywalker, the construction of the Death Star has an estimated cost of a situation that must be both physically and emotionally challenging. Advances in Physiology Education doi:10.1152/advan.00026.2016 http://advan.physiology.org Downloaded from journals.physiology.org/journal/advances at CAPES-UNB (164.041.004.026) on September 14, 2023. Illuminations 236 PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESS IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY As with politics here on Earth, such a disastrous develop- DISCLOSURES ment sets off a skyrocketing career for those responsible. No conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise, are declared by the author(s). Accordingly, Darth Vader has clearly become the honcho, an None irrefutable enforcer of the totalitarian reign as we reencounter AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS him in Episode V. Despite his promotion, Darth Vader most Author contributions: R.M.G.B. and R.R.P. conception and design of probably starts doubting the benevolence of his and Palpatine’s research; R.M.G.B. analyzed data; R.M.G.B. and R.R.P. interpreted results of aspirations to bring order to the Galaxy at this stage, where the experiments; R.M.G.B. prepared figures; R.M.G.B. drafted manuscript; Galaxy is expectedly in chaos despite their good intentions. R.M.G.B. and R.R.P. edited and revised manuscript; R.M.G.B. and R.R.P. Furthermore, somewhere along the way, Darth Vader realizes approved final version of manuscript. that he has a son. All of this clearly starts to wear on Darth REFERENCES Vader and Palpatine’s otherwise harmonic relationship and 1. Berg RM, Plovsing RR. Breath of the Sith: a case study on progressive provokes an unexpected turn of events when they, despite the respiratory failure in a galaxy far, far away. Physiol News. In press. 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