STAR WARS

Jedi Droid Tricks

I imagine you would be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't think that the original Star Wars trilogy was a story about Luke.
It is the central theme of this work that this story is about lord Darth Vader.
The scene where the droids show up at the family homestead vividly makes apparent that this story is centered around Anakin, not Luke.
In a nicely framed shot, tightly bunched together, are Anakin's droids, step-brother, and son.

The droids are brought directly to the Lars ranch.
This isn't an accident or good luck - they have no doubt been sent here by direct order of Lord Vader.
There seems to be some confusion between Owen and the Jawas but the Jawas just kinda roll with it.
I can imagine them saying to one another, 'hey, we were told to bring the droids here. we deserve to get paid, right? Ok, so the guy takes the wrong droid. big deal - the customer's always right, right?'

There's a cute little moment where a bunch of Jawas are watching Luke.
When Luke turns in their direction, they panic and jostle each other trying to get out of the way.
Is there something they know about this family? This kid?
Like maybe this is the son of the King - the King who once hunted down the Tusken Raiders who kidnapped his mother?

The importance of these droids cannot be overstated (and I don't mean their importance as storytelling elements).

Threepio specifically is the royal emmisary droid.
Lord Vader's golden automaton who heralds the entrance and presence of the royal family.
He glitters gold showing his status as vanguard of Vader's royal entourage.
The wonderous creation of the King when he was but a child.

Artoo is the guardian of the regency, the protector of the bloodline, protecting Anakin since childhood.
Artoo has saved every member of the family many times over.
No ordinary astromech, he seems equipped with more spyware than one of Bond's vehicles.

Is it possible for a droid to pull off a Jedi mind trick?
There's nothing in the stated Force philosophy that excludes the possibility.
Use of the Force to "influence" the "weak-minded" is essentially using the power of suggestion.
Could a robot be programmed with formulaeic hypnotic suggestion routines?
I'll bet it could.
Keep in mind that C-3P0's self-stated "primary function" is "protocol".
This is a droid who is kept around to smooth things out for the royals.
He's so good at it that he's been kept around for decades.
More importantly, he was BUILT AND PROGRAMMED BY ANAKIN SKYWALKER!
Yeah, you bet Threepio can influence the weak-minded.

He tries twice to sway Owen, chattering like a used speeder salesdroid.
He rarely does anything so adaptly or intelligently.
He really - really - seems to want to get into this house.
Are we supposed to believe that this droid who serves the royals is fighting to win the bid on the vaporator translator job?

Owen just cuts him off, showing Owen is resistant to persuation (he wears the garb of a Jedi...).
Owen is pretty sharp, and no doubt always a little on edge from having Vader's kid around.
The big question here: Does Owen recognize the droids?
I mean, Threepio was around for YEARS, and R2 stopped by in Attack of the Clones, right?
He doesn't seem to (he completely overlooks R2 initially).
This would be in keeping with the general cultural flow of Star Wars - the Imperials relegate robots to background machinery, the Rebels nearly venerating them.
Owen is keeping Luke for Vader, so he's likely an Imperialist - he's watching out for people (Kenobi or Rebel hit squads), not droids.

Maybe Owen has yet to be informed of this delivery.
Is he bumble-fucking this transfer? or is he playing it incredibly cool, knowing these are Vader's personal droids?
I have no idea, but I do know that getting this many people involved who each have a lexicon of code they must use, things can get confusing.
Seriously, try to arrange an impromptu drug purchase, you'll see what I'm talking about.

When Owen chooses C-3P0 and another droid (R2-D4), Threepio looks hesitant and reluctant to be leaving R2-D2 behind.
He should be, they make a good team, and being seperated endangers their mission (to get the plans to Kenobi).

R2 starts to shake and rock side to side.
The Jawas understand what the droids are capable of.
They trip a remote control to freeze the droid in mid-action (an emergency shutdown/restart?).
Note that a Jawa physically places himself between R2 and Luke leading away the other two droids.
Was R2 charging up some kind of weapon?
The Jawas, who deal with droids all the time, felt the appropriate action was to jump in front of the robot and shut it down.

Too late, perhaps, as R2-D4 explodes at this point, a suspiciously convenient event that allows Threepio to start working on Luke.

Threepio uses techniques we will see Kenobi use on Luke as well.
First, there's a physical re-direction, a classic charasmatic tool.

Then, a hand gesture in Lukes line of vision, a mesmerist staple.
Luke is quickly 'guided' into doing the droids bidding.

"Uncle Owen! The robot said to buy the other robot!"
A flawless Jedi mind trick!
Luke doesn't even hesitate.
Luke's guard is down obviously, as he knows nothing of Owen's struggle; being caught between the last surviving Force wielders.
Kenobi and Vader are both heavy hitters and have a long history of mortal opposition - that's a lot of pressure.