Humor Is Star Wars morally corrupting?

[Linguofreak]

The title of this thread is something I've been wondering about for a while. Take R2-D2 for example: He's meant to look and sound so cute, but there's a sinister secret behind that. Apparently, all of his lines were so offensive that they bleeped out every bit of dialog he had. :lol:

 

[Andy44]

So R2 was like Kenny in South Park, whose every line is something so foul it has to be garbled during editing?

To take your posted question more seriously, I was actually thinking about this today as I walked through WalMart looking for some ever-so-scarce pistol ammunition:

Lots of people think Darth Vader is cool.

Rhetorical question: Why? Isn't he the embodiment of cold-blooded evil and tyranny? Didn't he and Grand Moff Tarkin commit genocide when they wiped out the entire population of Alderaan? Didn't he torture his own daughter, cut off his own son's hand, personally murder countless people by his own hand?

Answer to rhetorical question: Darth Vader is cool because he is a bad-asz. Tell me you wouldn't like to have the power to choke people over the phone. Or that you don't chuckle in admiration when he starts force-choking that smart-mouth general and says "I find your lack of faith disturbing."

Many people admire a bad-asz, good or evil. Especially if the bad-asz is only shown harming people who look like they deserve it, while the truly horrible crimes occur off-camera. Nobody saw the details of Alderaan's women and babies being incinerated by the Death Star, but we all saw him force-choking various arrogant boot-lickers.

Good guys often come across as dorky boy scouts. Mark Hamil's Luke Skywalker was a likeable-enough character, but he was a young punk. The good guy everyone thinks is cool is Han Solo, because he wasn't really a "good" guy. He was a self-serving smuggler and an outlaw, and he didn't even blink when he had to waste Gredo. And he got the chick.

Much of this parallels real life. Many people in Russia still admire Stalin. One supposes those people have either never seen photos of dispossessed farmers starving to death, or have turned a blind eye to the facts. Stalin "kicked azs", and people always admire a winner. And I have to admit that even I would rather have Vader on my side in a fight than a teenage moisture farmer from Tatooine.

So, is Star Wars morally corrupting? Probably not. But it is an interesting mirror of society.

Next question: do I waste entirely too much time thinking and writing about Star Wars? Maybe. Anyway, Wal Mart was out of pistol ammo, so I can use my range time for posting on OF instead.

 

[MJR]

Do you use shotguns?

 

[willy88]

Anyway, Wal Mart was out of pistol ammo, so I can use my range time for posting on OF instead.

Am I the only one that thinks that shopping at Wal-Mart for pistol ammunition alien and bizarre? Last time I checked, you can't buy gun supplies at Wal-Mart. Of course, I live in Canada...

Oh, err, Star Wars. Yoda and Obi-wan corrupt youth by teaching them to listen to creepy old men! Or something.

 

[MJR]

You can at K-mart. That is where the kids from the columbine got their ammunition. Hopefully they don't sell slugs though. Those are dangerous.

Yoda cracks me up when he talks though. Everything is always backwards.

 

[Ark]

Am I the only one that thinks that shopping at Wal-Mart for pistol ammunition alien and bizarre? Last time I checked, you can't buy gun supplies at Wal-Mart. Of course, I live in Canada...

Last Wal-Mart I was in had some ammunition. Actually, they had their shotgun shells out on a shelf, not even locked up somewhere.

 

[Andy44]

Am I the only one that thinks that shopping at Wal-Mart for pistol ammunition alien and bizarre? Last time I checked, you can't buy gun supplies at Wal-Mart. Of course, I live in Canada...

Oh, err, Star Wars. Yoda and Obi-wan corrupt youth by teaching them to listen to creepy old men! Or something.

Are you kidding? Wal Mart has the best price on ammo! Cheaper than most gun shops. It depends on what state you're in, and which area. Some Wal Marts sell long guns as well as ammo. They have an FFL license, just like any other firearms dealer.

Oddly enough, Target sells no firearm-related products...

As for Obi-Wan corrupting youth, I would have to kind of agree. He teaches kids to use knives and that firearms are evil. That's a good way to get people in trouble in a fight.

Like Han Solo said: "Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no substitute for a good blaster at your side."

 

[willy88]

Are you kidding? Wal Mart has the best price on ammo! Cheaper than most gun shops. It depends on what state you're in, and which area. Some Wal Marts sell long guns as well as ammo. They have an FFL license, just like any other firearms dealer.

Err, well, I am Canadian.

 

[adamb193]

Yoda cracks me up when he talks though. Everything is always backwards.

No actually Yoda is a speaking German and they translated without changing the word order.

 

[Andy44]

Back to my discussion. Here is the number one entry for "Darth Vader" on urbandictionary.com:

Here's the 1st definition by bigtones:
1. darth vader Anakin Skywalker's alter ego. Kills his wife, cuts off his son's hand, injects his daughter with galactic heroin, and throws his boss into a reactor trench.
Also killed countless random henchmen.

I wish he was MY dad.

 

[MJR]

No actually Yoda is a speaking German and they translated without changing the word order.

How do you know?

 

[willy88]

Back to my discussion. Here is the number one entry for "Darth Vader" on urbandictionary.com:

:rofl:

 

[Linguofreak]

So R2 was like Kenny in South Park, whose every line is something so foul it has to be garbled during editing?

Well, I've seen about thirty seconds to a minute of South Park in my entire life, but based on that, and what I've heard about the show, pretty much...

 

[bujin]

Yes, Star Wars is morally corrupting.

"It's possible he came in through the south entrance".

"Get in there you big furry oaf, I don't care what you smell!"

"Luke, at that speed, do you think you'll be able to pull out in time?"

"Size matters not. Judge me by my size, do you?"

The script is littered with morally corrupting lines...

 

[agentgonzo]

The script is littered with morally corrupting lines...

"You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought"

 

[Ghostrider]

Darth Vader is cool in the way the Godfather, Hannibal Lecter and Tony Montana are cool: they've got the power, they can do what they want and get away with it, and they're not afraid of getting their own hands dirty. They're the ultimate escapist fantasy. It's no wonder playing the heavy is always more rewarding than playing the good guy, you often get the best lines and the funnier stuff.

That said, I think that Han Solo is the best character in SW and a parallel to him was sorely lacking in the prequel trilogy. He's a mercenary, he's in for the money (mind you, it's to save his hide from Jabba the Hutt not to fly away to the Galaxy-far-away-equivalent-of-the-Bahamas) and he's primarly concerned with his immediate needs, which makes his character arc all the more interesting. He's no Jedi but he saves Luke's skin twice AND defeats Darth Vader. So much for your midichlorians, dudes. It also helps that Ford delivered a solid performance in a flick that is not exactly remembered for actorial skills. Mark Hamill's and Carrie Fischer's characters are pretty much one-and-a-half-dimensional and Alec Guinness wasn't left much to do with. The only other actor who delivered the goods in A New Hope was Peter Cushing, but as a Hammer veteran it was only to be expected.

 

[ar81]

It is morally corrupting. The smuggler is the hero. You admire the villain. And the empire likes to legally torture its prisoners...

 

[Andy44]

It is morally corrupting. The smuggler is the hero. You admire the villain. And the empire likes to legally torture its prisoners...

Well, this was a fun thread until Buzz Killington showed up.

 

[Linguofreak]

It is morally corrupting. The smuggler is the hero. You admire the villain. And the empire likes to legally torture its prisoners...

You *really* need to learn to recognize tongue-in cheek statements...