Lightsaber theory

I've often wondered why Ponda Boba and the Wampa bled when they got hacked with a lightsaber, when lightsabers are supposed to cauterize.
My theory:

In all instances where there is blood (Luke vs. Wampa, Obi-Wan vs. Ponda Baba) the light saber had just been activated seconds earlier. Perhaps lightsabers "heat up" like a soldering iron (but much quicker). This would explain why there is no blood in every other duel/fight, because the saber had been activated for long enough to generate enough heat to cauterize wounds.

Of course the Obi-Wan vs. Zam thing does not support my theory, as there is no blood. But I thought of something. Zam is a Clawdite changeling/shapeshifter. I'll bet she used her changling abilities to heal herself really quickly.

If this is being discussed elsewhere, please point me.

 

I don't think GL has given it that much thought. Alot of it prob. comes to: how much is too much? If blood or guts are shown in one shot then they probably won't be shown in another, which would push the flat PG rating.

 

Rick McCallium has said in Star Wars Insider that the blood thing was a mistake.

 

it shoudve been. i was thinking about it and i was going to post about it. oh well you beat me to it

 

The lighsaber cut through Ponda Baba too fast for the wound to cauterize completely. Same thing with Maul.

 

Ok, but what about Zam? She didn't bleed.

 

I always took it that different species had different blood transport systems and different blood consistencies.

 

I said in the first post it could have been something to do with her genetic makeup. Perhaps the fact she is a changeling.

 

This is what causes it:

Lucas says, "We should have some blood here," or he doesn't say, "We should have some blood here."

 

Thats a behind the scenes answer

I want to find out a reasonable answerto it that can be found in the star wars galaxy. After all "This forum is for seriuos, in depth discussion."

So far I like the idea that the saber cut too fast to cauterize, in the case of Ponda, Maul, and the Wampa (thanx Bib-Fortuna, Twi'lek); and that it was Zam's nonhuman-ness that kept her from bleeding (profusely).

I really would appreciate some serious thought here and not just "Lucas said it was a mistake and fans should ignore the blood."

 

As I said, I've always speculated that different species have different blood thicknesses and blood transport systems, and that can make the differnce on if the wound is cauterized or not.

That may not be true, but I think it makes the most sense.

 

Qui-Gon, for example, didn't bleed when he got stabbed, because the saber stayed in his chest for a few seconds.

 

master_ousley: I agree that Zam didn't bleed cause she is not human, and her species may have different blood thickness, but what about my idea that she used her changeling abilities to staunch the blood flow?

Bib fortuna- Yes, I know.

Ok I have changed my theory: I now agree with Bib Fortuna: the saber cut too fast to cauterize.

Sill there's the mystery of Zam...
I am torn between Ousley's idea of different blood thickness, etc., and my idea of using her changeling abilities to heal her self.

 

With Maul, I feel it was a situation where there would normally be a lot of blood...not a hand or even arm amputation, but a cleave right through the body.

So they had to show a little blood...but in this case, it was super-heated and instantly vapourised.

 

Since Zam wasn't originally human, she may not have had the same types of body systems as a human even when in human form. I dont' know if that all changes or not, or if its just outward appearence.

Though to make it more simple, Ponda was probably bleeding because he was non-human and Zam was close enough to human (in changed form; this assuming the opposite of what I said above, that she does change to human systems) that it was cauterized. That way only Ponda is the real mystery.

Maul was cut right across the stomach, obviously there is going to be much more blood through there than an arm and probably thicker blood vessels/veins. Besides, some of that may have been guts and stuff splattering up too.

 

What a lovely thought

That way only Ponda is the real mystery.

Yep. And that one we can file under "Oh, we hadn't thought about that back in '76".

 

Didn't Lucas or someone say, they added the blood in ANH so it wouldn't get a G rating?

 

I think so, but the guy that made the thread was asking for in-universe, not out of universe.

 

If the sabers cut to fast to fully cauterize the wound how come Luke's hand didn't bleed? That was pretty quick cut if you ask me.

 

This discussion gets even more murky when you start thinking about Luke's Nerf-bat lightsaber on Jabba's sail barge.

Don't forget when Luke killed his virtual Vader-self during the Dagobah vision. Why exactly did the faceplate blow off that thing? I always used to think that when Luke cut his own head off it got really hot and exploded. Probably not, though, it was just a vision.

 

It was a vision--almost like a dream--and it didn't have to follow the same pattern. Dreams can defy logic and so on.

 

As for Luke in the Sail Barge battle, I guess they thought the film rating would get raised. The hail of flying body parts caused by Vader Jr's little rampage would've worried the censors

Another reason I think they created the droid soldiers for TPM and AOTC...so there could be plenty of opponents for the Jedi to chop up in various inventive ways without getting blood on the camera.

 

Vader Jr's little rampage would've worried the censors

Sure . . . that's the answer. But Plothole wants an in-universe answer. It just becomes too murky. Forget about a little blood on Ponda Boba's severed arm (it didn't even look like his arm anyway). The problem is that . . . well . . . it's like asking "why does GOD allow children to get cancer and die?" The world isn't perfect but people do the best they can.

fuggaddaboutit

 

Luke was so skillful with the lightsabre that he was able to inflict cuts on his opponents without actually chopping through limbs

 

Yeh, Luke had a kind of dimmer switch on his Lightsaber. He turned the power down and used his Lightsaber as a baseball bat.