jedimasterbac posted:Fair point, although it may not have been possible for them to leave with the Super Star Destroyer in orbit.
DarthStothe posted:While the Lando-racism point may or may not be valid, I'd say there are bigger issues of racism in the OT. I mean, at least African Americans are represented for a viewing audience. The Alliance is supposed to be this diverse coalition of countless species and races and somehow the only humans the audience sees for an extended time are caucasian (and Lando). Not to mention the fact that despite the myriad of species and races supposedly making up the Alliance, all the Alliance's leaders are mostly caucasian (Leia, Luke, Han, Crix Madine, Mon Mothma, etc...) -- with the exception of Lando and Admiral Akbar. And Akbar is an Indian name, so I guess there's some kind of attempt there but... really... who wants to make connections between their culture and this fish-thing that is only known because he yells "It's a trap." And why are Han Solo and Luke Skywalker leaders of the rebellion anyway? Sure, Luke and Han destroyed the Death Star, and did a bunch of fancy footwork, but where among the canyons of Tatooine did Luke pick up any strategic military skills? And Han is a smuggler by trade, sure he's got some tricks up his sleeve, but they make him a General (or some other kind of high ranking officer, I can't remember). Surely there are more qualified individuals out there who deserved higher rankings. Of course, this is a moot point because I don't think any of this subtext was intentional on Lucas' part, just a byproduct of the cultural climate in films. (All this, in my opinion of course)
Doc_Jedi posted:Traitor is a little harsh. The man had responsibilities.
jedimasterbac posted:Darthbane2007 posted:jedimasterbac posted:[quote=morpha2]First of all, when was Vader going to kill thousands of innocent people in Cloud City? This is not even hinted at in the film--it's a fan conception that caught on to exonerate Lando. More likely, Vader would have simply tortured and maybe eventually killed Lando for (heroically) refusing to cooperate. Agreed. The film really only hints to Vader wanting Bespin under Imperial control, not mass murder. But what's stopping him from doing that? For all we know, he could have turned them in for running a Illegal Tibanna Gas mining Operation.I'm just going by what's provided in the films. In that context, the Empire has little concern for whether or not someone is running an illegal gas mining operation. The Empire's concern is power; the more planets you have, the more power you have. Add to that, putting Bespin under Imperial control gives the Empire access to all of Bespin's resources.
Darthbane2007 posted:jedimasterbac posted:[quote=morpha2]First of all, when was Vader going to kill thousands of innocent people in Cloud City? This is not even hinted at in the film--it's a fan conception that caught on to exonerate Lando. More likely, Vader would have simply tortured and maybe eventually killed Lando for (heroically) refusing to cooperate. Agreed. The film really only hints to Vader wanting Bespin under Imperial control, not mass murder. But what's stopping him from doing that? For all we know, he could have turned them in for running a Illegal Tibanna Gas mining Operation.
jedimasterbac posted:[quote=morpha2]First of all, when was Vader going to kill thousands of innocent people in Cloud City? This is not even hinted at in the film--it's a fan conception that caught on to exonerate Lando. More likely, Vader would have simply tortured and maybe eventually killed Lando for (heroically) refusing to cooperate.
commander-oddball posted:is it racist at all that the only african-american guy in the origional trilogy is the traitor?
timmoishere posted:What Vader basically said to Lando was "We're here to capture your friends so that they will lead Luke Skywalker to me. Cooperate, and the citizens of Cloud City will not be harmed. When we're done, we will leave you in peace." Obviously, Vader rescinded the last part of the deal.
timmoishere posted:It's supported because Lando told the citizens to flee. He wouldn't have done so if he didn't think they were in danger. Plus there's also these lines: Han: "Well, aren't you afraid the Empire's gonna find out about this operation? Shut you down?" Lando: "It's always been a danger, but it looms like a shadow over everything we've built here, but things have developed that will ensure security. I've just made a deal that will keep the Empire out of here forever."
timmoishere posted:It is also supported on Wookieepedia:
DRush76 posted:Hey, George Lucas has his views and everyone else has theirs.
morpha2 posted:timmoishere posted:It's supported because Lando told the citizens to flee. He wouldn't have done so if he didn't think they were in danger. Plus there's also these lines: Han: "Well, aren't you afraid the Empire's gonna find out about this operation? Shut you down?" Lando: "It's always been a danger, but it looms like a shadow over everything we've built here, but things have developed that will ensure security. I've just made a deal that will keep the Empire out of here forever." He's talking about the security of the operation--as in, the mining industry that he has set up, not the lives of everybody on Cloud City. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Lando wouldn't care if they lived or died, but his first concern is obviously his own well being. If Han had asked "Aren't you afraid the Empire's gonna find out about this operation and KILL YOU ALL ONE BY ONE?" then you might have something. timmoishere posted:It is also supported on Wookieepedia: The film is the higher authority, I'm afraid.