Lit A Bright Center: The Official Core Worlds Discussion Thread (Aftermath & Shattered Empire Spoilers)

Stereotypes irk me. All Core Worlds & worlders are not snobbish aristocrats who exploit others. Neither are all Rim Worlds and worlders backwater hicks who are exploited. The Galaxy is far more nuanced, far more diverse, and far more interesting that that. When people paint in such broad strokes, we lose so many finer details.

--Adm. Nick

 

Yes, but as the Onion once said - "Stereotypes are a real time saver."

 

Right and all Mon Calamari aren't smuggler-hating officers and ship-makers! Ppft!

 

I recall a Mon Cal smuggler in the early comics:

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Salmakk

(I re-read Wild Space Volume 1 recently)

 

But yes, I think the observation of the original movies treatment of the Outer Rim Territories versus the Core Worlds was something which deserved more treatment. Dac and Kashyyyk are planets which aren't "human centric" because they're in the ORT and the Core Worlds dismiss or exploit them because humanity extends outward from the Coreworlds and it's just another sign of their species-centrism that they attempt to marginalize the Outer Rim while expanding their own influences.

The Adventure Journals had an excellent examination of the Core Worlds and how they profited by the Empire's cruelties. Even alien races from the Core Worlds were marginalized with massive restructuring that made travel almost impossible for aliens ("papers please") while the humans were encouraged to abandon their local cultures for Imperial High Human Culture. A fact which almost completely failed except for worlds like Corulag (that basically HAD no culture until the Empire gave them one to adopt wholesale).

It still strikes me as a great injustice the territories in the Outer Rim were deprived of representation and influence because of the Core focus (specifically, CORUSCANT focus) of the post-Empire books. It's tough to take Jacen and Jaina seriously as heroes knowing they grew up the privileged children of Coruscant-life than the rough and tumble farmboy as well as smuggler's son of their family. It's why I never much cared for Tenel Ka as a romance because it's more rich powerful people marrying other rich powerful people.

I think the Prequels did touch on more of this, which makes me think it was originally part of George Lucas' vision since the Outer Rim territories and Separatists were so interested in divorcing themselves from the Core Worlds. Sadly, the revival of this in the Legacy of the Force series showed no interest in dealing with the second Separatists. Only continued focus on the Core Worlders and their drama.

 

Did Lucas even use the words Core and Rim, or was that an Eu invention?

 

Tenel Ka at least was kept in touch with the "rough and tumble" Dathomiri side of her family throughout her childhood.

"Sir, Luke is the best bush pilot in the Outer Rim Territories".

 

No, he just alluded to it a lot with words like, Naboo being a "Midwestern planet" and "bright center" and all that other stuff. Of course, the benefit of WEG was they compiled a lot of George Lucas' notes and off-hand comments and stuff for the toys into one coherent whole.

 

True, I guess I was disappointed to find out she was Isodor's daughter since rough and tumble Danthomir girl was awesome.

 

TPM also mentions the Outer Rim:

Anakin: "How did you end up here in the Outer Rim?"

 

The side materials also showed how Coruscant has it's own Senator while Palpatine represented like, what was it, 36 worlds?

 

The Solo's were rich? I thought they were just living of Han and Leia's government pay checks.

 

When I'm not putting down the people of Coruscant for being the parasites of the galaxy, I think it serves as the New York City or London of the galaxy. It most definitely has its own culture but it's the center of everything HAPPENING in the galaxy (in their own opinion).

You have your Old Money families who helped build the city, your recent immigrants, and your working class families who have potentially centuries of life in the city just the same. So, Ozzel and other Core Aristocracy can come from Coruscant just like Dex the Diner Owner.

So instead of a posh accent, Jaina should sound like Billie Piper.

 

The problem, though, is that both "Core Worlds" and "Outer Rim" are misnomers - the Tion Cluster is as old, if not older, than the Core civilizations - and as the BFT indicated, there's a whole section of the "Core" that is about as well-explored as the remote parts of the Rim.

 

I have to disagree. While I like Star Wars' diversity of cultures, I think there are a lot of similarities as well. I mean, you yourself complained about too many core worlds merely being an extension of Coruscant. Personally, I would go farther and argue that even in the Rim, there are broad similarities of dress, art, architecture, values, technologies in most non-homeworld planets, and even quite a few of the homeworld ones.
Truth be told, this is probably just because it is hard to come up with unique cultures, but in universe it is easy to imagine that thousands of years of cultural exchange have eroded many cultural differences...and Coruscant's central place in the Galaxy's economic, social, and political circles make it the source of the overculture.

I am fairly certain the Republic had a civil service before the Empire.

As for the divine monarchy...eh, despite the grandiose title, I think China was accurately rather unique because the Emperor was not considered infallible, and because it was one of the first ideological systems that argued that the monarch has a responsibility to run things well for the people, rather than people being his property. Under the Mandate of Heaven belief system, it was not only acceptable, but honorable and just to rise up in rebellion against an Emperor that brought suffering to his people. Combined with the open and meritocratic nature (if more in theory than in practice) of the civil service exams, I would argue....actually, I got kind of side tracked there. I like Chinese history - were I not feeling tired today, I would really chew everyone's ear off. But that is kind of off topic.

I would like to add that not long after writing that, it occurred to me that it might just be that everyone else has adopted Coruscanti culture, directly or indirectly, for various reasons. Plus, you make a good point about it having an cosmopolitan nature - I think it is noteworthy that despite being the probable human homeworld, it is less overwhelmingly human than a lot of other core worlds.

Middle class Coruscanti...you know, realistically they would be common, but come to think of it, a lot of the Coruscant characters we see there are either super rich living in the senate district, or struggling to make a living in the planet's underworld, whether figurative or literal.
Wait...no, I suppose we actually see a fair number of middle class characters and locations, especially in TCW, even if they aren't as important. Plus, that is kind of true of the saga in general: an even split between princesses and admirals on one side, and smugglers and farmboys on the other, with few in between.

Still, for all the talk of the world as a shining jewel...a lot of it consists of slums, and it seems to me at times to be the biggest haven of crime outside of Hutt space, with certain criminals like Ziro and Xizor flaunting their power and wealth there.

..........Rambling again, sorry.

 

Ah, but similarly when we're talking about the "Outer Rim" we're talking about the true backwaters of the Rim. Places like the Tion Cluster and Hutt Space have civilizations as old as most of the Core. Muuninlist and the Corporate Sector are centers of finance and commerce. Even Tatooine isn't a true 'backwater' as it lies at an important junction - it's that the planet itself is inhospitable.

 

Plus there are worlds like Dac that are as advanced and have huge influence on galactic politics.

--Adm. Nick

 

Eriadu, Dac, Muunilinst, Sullust.... Between them they control at least as large a portion of the galaxy as the Core. The Outer Rim isn't a backwater; it's full of backwaters, which is different. And apparently Ryloth is also one of the most influential senatorial voices.

 

Affluent Coruscanti with Muunilinst-controlled bank accounts, food on their plates imported from Mid Rim agriworlds, SoroSuub speeders and the latest Mon Calamari yachts sneering at the Rim for not contributing to galactic society. Figures.... I can just see them talking about it every time they get together at the Spira Regatta.

 

There is also the vacation planet Kaleidrian (created for the Swedish translation of the RPG) that is like cross between Florida and Monaco.

 

That seemed to actually have more to do with Orn's skill as a politician.