ST Who's The Baddie?

Actually, yes.

While it may seem incredible to you, it's true.

 

So..............who's the baddie?

 

Amazing, isn't it? I'm happy this moment of nirvana produced laughter for you, much like the Buddhist monks.

Millions of parents, and yet we only have four distinct parenting styles.

Education is an invaluable investment.

That said....who's the bad guy?

 

These are archetypes, not stereotypes.

 

Stereotypes are closely related to archetypes but they're a bit different in execution and dealing with fictional versus non fiction.

 

Anakin is an archetype. So is Jar Jar. Creating a archetype is a way to universally connect to a wider audience.

 

How about an evil man who isn't a force user.

 

An archetype is just a vague mold that tons of past characters can fit into that people only noticed existed later. When you take the archetype itself, and just use that without actually writing a character with a personality you just end up with a one-not cypher to scratch off an entry on your "Do these things to make a good heroes journey story" list.

Somebody linked TV Tropes on the other page, and it's the same principle there. Alot of guys on that site seem to think that it's the tropes themselves that are compelling, rather than the ideas behind the tropes that people connect to.

 

The overarching point here is that the entire Star Wars saga has been based in classical mythological tradition, story, and character development, which are all based in historical templates that have been passed down from generation to generation.

Just because a villain is based in a traditional mold does not mean that there is no room for creativity...much like (drum roll) when us psychologists identify your strengths, your personality, your humor style, your parenting style...of course there is room for improvisation and elaboration. If you're wondering, I teach to my students that Psychology is a field of generalizations, not absolutes. There has always been, and always will be, exceptions to the rule.

That said, the reason we all fell in love with Star Wars in the first place is because we have heard that story before, and it's something that appeals to human beings in an almost universal nature.

To some degree, the ST will be an extension of this.

 

How about an evil force user who isn't a man?

 

How about an evil non-force user who isn't a man?

It'd be cool if we got a Admiral Cain, Captain Janeway, or Amanda Waller type villainess. But I'll take any villainess as long as they steer clear from seductress archetypes.

 

how about a scientific experiment to create the ultimate being

 

That would be pretty redundant, wouldn't it?

 

We've had two civil wars so I think the next threat could be extragalactic. That would tend to end any notion of a rogue Jedi pseudo-Sith (unless that Jedi is a traitor betraying the Republic I guess). The only thing is, without Dark Jedi/Sith, it could spell the end of lightsaber combat, which I don't see happening.

Looking at the way the previous trilogies have panned out, I can see the threat in this film being relatively local. Episode VII is essentially a new Episode I. The Vader story is over, so this new trilogy is starting again. If the 6-part Skywalker saga is one movie, then this is basically the sequel. That generally means a new story and a new threat and since it's a trilogy, it should build. With that in mind, Episode VII may be relatively small in scale. A local conflict against pirates or the Hutt cartels or something that escalates as the story moves forward so that by the end of the first movie, there's a victory in that local conflict but a much larger threat has been revealed.

That threat will likely have the Force but if it's not Sith (or fake Sith...sorry...dark Jedi) then rather than being about light vs dark, what if the next war (the series is called Star Wars after all) is a holy war of sorts? Alien invaders from outside the galaxy see the Jedi and the Republic as an affront to the Force. Make them religious fanatics who see the Jedi as heretics. In that scenario, it doesn't matter if you're a Jedi or a wannabe Sith, to these aliens you're an abomination. Only they know the true nature of the Force, only they have been given the divine right to wield it's power.

Just a thought.

 

The new villains will track down all the Jedi force ghosts and end the Jedi menace once and for all.

 

Can a brotha get an EVP session? I aint afraid of no ghost.

 

There must always be Sith, just like there must always be Jedi. It wouldn't be Star Wars without it.

However, Sith do not have to be bound to the stupid rule of two, nor do they have to be the main villains, or heck even the villains. I mentioned this before: It would be great if the Jedi are trying to help the republic against some threat, and they find they are over their heads, and so they petition the Dark Council of the Darths (tm) to assist them. Ofcourse, while the Sith are aiding them they try to use this favor to gain political advantage.

 

How about an evil female alien force user? We sure haven't had one in the films, in fact we haven't really had any evil alien force users in films since Maul isn't really an alien if you know your lore.

 

Oh, so now you are trying to make some kind of moral argument out of this. We all categorize people on a subconscious level. What differentiates the ignorant from the openminded is if you are willing to look beyond first impressions.

When you create a character, the first thing you know is also the "first impression", the vague outline. What now differentiates the good author from the bad is if you are willing to pour more work into that character or just run with the basic outline. A good author will give thought about the driving inner conflict of a character, his hobbies and his friends, his job, his dreams and so on. Often he will have a character behave in a way that contradicts what the outline states. The innocent fool for instance might show a cruel streak when he is seriously pissed off. The evil overlord loves his horses. Et cetera.

The reason we use templates is because the brain loves to categorize. When we look at different chairs, our brain will tell us it is a "chair" because it put it into the category "chair". It's similar with human beings.

That is why in fiction first impressions are very important. Only when the audience vaguely understands what a character is primarily about can you go into the deeper and more complicated stuff.

 

The beuty with Plagueis reborn could be that he would not have to look like Plagueis prime - if he reincarnate in the true sense of that word, he could be any race or gender and his true identity would be treated as surprise of sorts "I am your father" or "You are the Revan". So he could be cool concept in cooler looking body.