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Long-dead Religions
Oct. 25th, 2012 12:37 pmgreen_trilobite is watching the rest of Star Wars: The Clone Wars on DVD. I'm not wild about the animation, but the writing is good. The show spends a lot of time exploring the individuality of the clone troopers.
I've long since given up on Star Wars continuity, but this show does highlight an issue with the prequels -- not the Midiclorians (which the tv show wisely avoids talking about -- when the plot required it they referred to "Force-sensitive children") but the way *everyone* in the galaxy knows there are Jedi. There are hundreds of Jedi; many of the generals in the Clone Wars are Jedi; Jedi are sent out by the Republic to investigate things. But in A New Hope, which takes place about twenty years later, everyone acts as though Jedi vanished centuries ago and were probably just mythical in the first place.
My headcannon explanation is that the Emperor decided that it was in his interests that no one else believe in the Force, and therefore imposed this group-think, either through mind tricks or the more mundane method of "anyone who admits to remembering the Jedi either vanishes or simply discovers his career has sputtered and died."
Vader would seem to be an exception, but look at how he's treated in the first half of A New Hope: Apparently the initial publicity for the film promoted Grand Moff Tarquin (played by Peter Cushing, along with Alec Guiness, the only actor in the movie who was a big name at the time) as the primary villain, and Vader as his picturesque minion; which seems weird now, but it's actually in the script that way: the Imperial officers clearly regard Vader as a senile member of the old guard that they have to tolerate because he's a buddy of the Emperor.
ETA -- On a lighter note, I found this article on cosplay by Ashley Eckstein, the actress who voices AAhsoka Tano on Clone Wars, along with a picture of herself costumed and made up as the character.
I've long since given up on Star Wars continuity, but this show does highlight an issue with the prequels -- not the Midiclorians (which the tv show wisely avoids talking about -- when the plot required it they referred to "Force-sensitive children") but the way *everyone* in the galaxy knows there are Jedi. There are hundreds of Jedi; many of the generals in the Clone Wars are Jedi; Jedi are sent out by the Republic to investigate things. But in A New Hope, which takes place about twenty years later, everyone acts as though Jedi vanished centuries ago and were probably just mythical in the first place.
My headcannon explanation is that the Emperor decided that it was in his interests that no one else believe in the Force, and therefore imposed this group-think, either through mind tricks or the more mundane method of "anyone who admits to remembering the Jedi either vanishes or simply discovers his career has sputtered and died."
Vader would seem to be an exception, but look at how he's treated in the first half of A New Hope: Apparently the initial publicity for the film promoted Grand Moff Tarquin (played by Peter Cushing, along with Alec Guiness, the only actor in the movie who was a big name at the time) as the primary villain, and Vader as his picturesque minion; which seems weird now, but it's actually in the script that way: the Imperial officers clearly regard Vader as a senile member of the old guard that they have to tolerate because he's a buddy of the Emperor.
ETA -- On a lighter note, I found this article on cosplay by Ashley Eckstein, the actress who voices AAhsoka Tano on Clone Wars, along with a picture of herself costumed and made up as the character.
