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PT Making My Day! - Pro-Prequel Articles

Discussion in 'Prequel Trilogy' started by Jarren_Lee-Saber, Dec 10, 2014.

Page 30 of 68

SW Saga Fan Jedi Grand Master

Registered:

Apr 19, 2015

Delta Scepter said: ↑

SW Saga Fan said: ↑

It's not exactly a pro-prequel article, but it's an interesting fact:

Revenge of the Sith is Netflix’s Most-Rented Star Wars DVD

The rental service has released a list the Star Wars movies ranked on how often the DVDs have been rented, and Revenge of the Sith comes out at #1:

#1 Revenge of the Sith
#2 A New Hope
#3 Attack of the Clones
#4 The Phantom Menace
#5 The Empire Strikes Back
#6 Return of the Jedi

Read more at http://furiousfanboys.com/2016/04/r...ost-rented-star-wars-dvd/#AfYpFT8cuYuRkxb9.99
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And some people keep saying that the prequels are universally hated...
Click to expand...

Empire is #5

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Lol!

SW Saga Fan, Apr 27, 2016

#726

Shamear likes this.
mes520 Jedi Master

Registered:

Nov 3, 2012

Movies.ie did a Best Frenemies in Movies list in light of Captain America: Civil War.

STAR WARS: EPISODE III – REVENGE OF THE SITH – Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi:

Almost any time we see Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin (Hayden Christensen) together on screen in the previous film, ‘Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones’, we are reminded that although these two may be Jedi Master and Padawan, there is a friendship and a brotherhood between the two, and the bond seems nearly unbreakable. Of course, the bond is broken in ‘Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith’, when Anakin’s crush on Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman) becomes a fully fledged relationship, and some meddling from the sinister Senator Palpatine (Ian McDiarmuid) turns Anakin away from the light side, and sends him on a collision course with the dark.

From the moment we met Anakin Skywalker way back in ‘Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace’, we knew this was a child who would turn to the dark side as he got older, and we knew there was a kinship between he and Obi-Wan from dialogue in the original trilogy. Still, the turn of Anakin from light to dark is a sad one and even though there are parts of the film that are less than impressive, Obi-Wan’s heartbroken speech as he stands over Anakin’s mutilated body on Mustafar is still gut wrenching.
Click to expand...

mes520, Apr 27, 2016

#727

Huttese 101 likes this.
mes520 Jedi Master

Registered:

Nov 3, 2012

The Case for More Padme Amidala

Like the rest of Star Wars fandom, I am eagerly anticipating next week’s release of Claudia Gray’s Bloodline. And while I am excited for a Leia-centric political novel, I can’t help but think of the other Skywalker family politician: Padmé Amidala. While I have always loved Leia, as a kid I latched onto Padmé in a way I never did with her daughter. I loved Padmé because she was both someone I looked up to and someone who was relatable. Padmé was a kid who ruled a planet and foiled Sith machinations due to sheer stubbornness and quick thinking, and yet was still totally a teenage girl. She pouts when she doesn’t get her way and makes friends with funny little boys in junk shops. I was enamored.

But sadly, most of the EU apparently doesn’t share my fondness for the galaxy’s most fabulously dressed politician. For a character who makes up one third of the prequel trilogy, she doesn’t get a lot of love outside the movies (or even within the movies, if we’re being honest). But she’s intimately connected to most major players in the saga; she’s close colleagues with Palpatine (at least at first), she’s married to Anakin (and indirectly one of the reasons for his fall), and she’s mother to Luke and Leia. She’s firmly entrenched within the Skywalker family and yet this is rarely acknowledged.

All this is why I think we are long overdue for a Padmé novel (well, frankly I just want more Padmé in general but starring in her own book is a start). Furthermore, it should be something focusing on the earlier part of her career, after The Phantom Menace but before Attack of the Clones, and before Anakin comes back into the picture.

To start, the period between TPM and AotC is underutilized. The bulk of the new canon has focused on the post-prequel, pre-original trilogy era and even most prequel-era Legends was concentrated around the Clone Wars. But there’s a lot of unexplored potential there. There’s ten whole years of political buildup and Palpatine’s manipulations to explore. We could see the rise of the Separatists (who show up rather abruptly in the beginning of AotC). Star Wars may not be known for its “political” books, but if the early buzz for Bloodline is any indication, a female-led novel about galactic politics can still be a huge hit.

This time period also holds great potential for Padmé as well. For one, there’s her transition from planetary ruler to galactic senator. How does her relationship with Palpatine change as he goes from her subject to her Chancellor? How does Sidious feel towards her, since she nearly singlehandedly undermined his plan due to her tenacity and smarts when faced with adversity? How do the events of TPM affect her and inform her going forward? She mentions in AotC that she was relieved when her two terms were up…but then the next queen asked her to serve as senator and Padmé says she couldn’t refuse.

That last part is something I find the most interesting. It’s easy to forget that Padmé is only 14 years old during the events of TPM; after her time as queen was up did she want to just spend a year or two being a regular teenager instead of going back into politics? She is constantly putting her duty before her personal feelings; at a certain level does she resent this? We get books exploring Anakin, Luke, and (with the release of Bloodline) Leia, but rarely do we get a glimpse at Padmé outside of what’s seen in the movies or in The Clone Wars. Lest we forget, Padmé is part of the Skywalker family too and just because she’s not Force-sensitive doesn’t mean she should be forgotten from the Skywalker legacy.

And that brings me to my second point. We don’t really get to see a lot of Padmé in the movies, though she has a strong start. The Phantom Menace is really her movie; while it’s difficult to really pick a “main” protagonist for that movie since there’s so many strong secondary characters, I would argue that Padmé/Queen Amidala has the strongest case for the designation for main character. She kickstarts the plot, she drives most of the action; TPM is about her and her conflict. And I think this gets forgotten because the next two movies aren’t about her, which is to be expected since the prequel trilogy is ultimately about Anakin’s fall.

But unfortunately she was increasingly sidelined over the course of the next two movies. Most of the cut scenes in AotC and Revenge of the Sith deal with entire subplots that helped round out her character and actually gave her something to do. We are told she is a great and respected senator, but ironically the only time we see her engaging in politics is when she makes her plea for Naboo in TPM. It’s not until TCW that we actually get to see Padmé in a more actively political role, instead of just being in romantic scenes with Anakin. There’s a fantastic scene cut from the beginning of AotC that shows her making an impassioned and fiery speech less than an hour after her ship was blown up, reaffirming her dedication to her values and responsibilities. Not to mention several scenes with her and Anakin visiting her parents, in a way that helps add dimension to her character as well as adding some depth to the Anakin/Padmé romance (because, as is, it comes across as very abrupt).

And of course there is an entire subplot cut from RotS that shows her helping to sow the seeds of the future Rebel Alliance…as well as enhances the tragedy of her downfall by showing in more detail how the war is tearing her and Anakin apart. Not to mention, cutting those scenes essentially meant that in RotS all Padmé did was sit around, cry, and then die of a broken heart.

Padmé was introduced as this awesome character who is stubborn and fights for what she believes in, no matter the odds (rather like a certain set of Skywalker twins) and then she became not much more than a side character in Anakin’s tragedy, with few motivations of her own and little importance outside of being the catalyst for Anakin’s emotional crisis. And it’s a damn shame, because there’s so much to explore with her. She’s in three movies and yet we barely know anything about her.

What’s more, she’s rarely talked about after her death. While this article is specifically calling for more prequel-era stories about Padmé, I want to see more acknowledgement of her legacy as well. I have always maintained that Luke is far more like Padmé than he is Anakin but both Luke and Leia share a lot of traits with their mother (diplomacy, putting the duty of the greater good ahead of their personal feelings, etc). It is my dearest wish to see more of Padmé remembered as the post-Return of the Jedi story continues to unfold. There was a lovely moment in this vein in the Marvel Princess Leia miniseries, but there can always be more.

There’s a lot of potential to explore with Padmé, and when the franchise decides to revisit the prequel era, there absolutely should be stories about Padmé. For one, we hardly get to see her as is, at least compared to the other main characters. There’s so much untapped potential there that is begging to be explored. Secondly, she is just as important to the mythos of Star Wars as Anakin and Luke and Leia. Her legacy deserves to be remembered.
Click to expand...

mes520, Apr 27, 2016

#728

xezene, Ezon Pin and Valiowk like this.
{Quantum/MIDI} Force Ghost

Registered:

Dec 21, 2015

mes520 said: ↑

The Case for More Padme Amidala

Like the rest of Star Wars fandom, I am eagerly anticipating next week’s release of Claudia Gray’s Bloodline. And while I am excited for a Leia-centric political novel, I can’t help but think of the other Skywalker family politician: Padmé Amidala. While I have always loved Leia, as a kid I latched onto Padmé in a way I never did with her daughter. I loved Padmé because she was both someone I looked up to and someone who was relatable. Padmé was a kid who ruled a planet and foiled Sith machinations due to sheer stubbornness and quick thinking, and yet was still totally a teenage girl. She pouts when she doesn’t get her way and makes friends with funny little boys in junk shops. I was enamored.

But sadly, most of the EU apparently doesn’t share my fondness for the galaxy’s most fabulously dressed politician. For a character who makes up one third of the prequel trilogy, she doesn’t get a lot of love outside the movies (or even within the movies, if we’re being honest). But she’s intimately connected to most major players in the saga; she’s close colleagues with Palpatine (at least at first), she’s married to Anakin (and indirectly one of the reasons for his fall), and she’s mother to Luke and Leia. She’s firmly entrenched within the Skywalker family and yet this is rarely acknowledged.

All this is why I think we are long overdue for a Padmé novel (well, frankly I just want more Padmé in general but starring in her own book is a start). Furthermore, it should be something focusing on the earlier part of her career, after The Phantom Menace but before Attack of the Clones, and before Anakin comes back into the picture.

To start, the period between TPM and AotC is underutilized. The bulk of the new canon has focused on the post-prequel, pre-original trilogy era and even most prequel-era Legends was concentrated around the Clone Wars. But there’s a lot of unexplored potential there. There’s ten whole years of political buildup and Palpatine’s manipulations to explore. We could see the rise of the Separatists (who show up rather abruptly in the beginning of AotC). Star Wars may not be known for its “political” books, but if the early buzz for Bloodline is any indication, a female-led novel about galactic politics can still be a huge hit.

This time period also holds great potential for Padmé as well. For one, there’s her transition from planetary ruler to galactic senator. How does her relationship with Palpatine change as he goes from her subject to her Chancellor? How does Sidious feel towards her, since she nearly singlehandedly undermined his plan due to her tenacity and smarts when faced with adversity? How do the events of TPM affect her and inform her going forward? She mentions in AotC that she was relieved when her two terms were up…but then the next queen asked her to serve as senator and Padmé says she couldn’t refuse.

That last part is something I find the most interesting. It’s easy to forget that Padmé is only 14 years old during the events of TPM; after her time as queen was up did she want to just spend a year or two being a regular teenager instead of going back into politics? She is constantly putting her duty before her personal feelings; at a certain level does she resent this? We get books exploring Anakin, Luke, and (with the release of Bloodline) Leia, but rarely do we get a glimpse at Padmé outside of what’s seen in the movies or in The Clone Wars. Lest we forget, Padmé is part of the Skywalker family too and just because she’s not Force-sensitive doesn’t mean she should be forgotten from the Skywalker legacy.

And that brings me to my second point. We don’t really get to see a lot of Padmé in the movies, though she has a strong start. The Phantom Menace is really her movie; while it’s difficult to really pick a “main” protagonist for that movie since there’s so many strong secondary characters, I would argue that Padmé/Queen Amidala has the strongest case for the designation for main character. She kickstarts the plot, she drives most of the action; TPM is about her and her conflict. And I think this gets forgotten because the next two movies aren’t about her, which is to be expected since the prequel trilogy is ultimately about Anakin’s fall.

But unfortunately she was increasingly sidelined over the course of the next two movies. Most of the cut scenes in AotC and Revenge of the Sith deal with entire subplots that helped round out her character and actually gave her something to do. We are told she is a great and respected senator, but ironically the only time we see her engaging in politics is when she makes her plea for Naboo in TPM. It’s not until TCW that we actually get to see Padmé in a more actively political role, instead of just being in romantic scenes with Anakin. There’s a fantastic scene cut from the beginning of AotC that shows her making an impassioned and fiery speech less than an hour after her ship was blown up, reaffirming her dedication to her values and responsibilities. Not to mention several scenes with her and Anakin visiting her parents, in a way that helps add dimension to her character as well as adding some depth to the Anakin/Padmé romance (because, as is, it comes across as very abrupt).

And of course there is an entire subplot cut from RotS that shows her helping to sow the seeds of the future Rebel Alliance…as well as enhances the tragedy of her downfall by showing in more detail how the war is tearing her and Anakin apart. Not to mention, cutting those scenes essentially meant that in RotS all Padmé did was sit around, cry, and then die of a broken heart.

Padmé was introduced as this awesome character who is stubborn and fights for what she believes in, no matter the odds (rather like a certain set of Skywalker twins) and then she became not much more than a side character in Anakin’s tragedy, with few motivations of her own and little importance outside of being the catalyst for Anakin’s emotional crisis. And it’s a damn shame, because there’s so much to explore with her. She’s in three movies and yet we barely know anything about her.

What’s more, she’s rarely talked about after her death. While this article is specifically calling for more prequel-era stories about Padmé, I want to see more acknowledgement of her legacy as well. I have always maintained that Luke is far more like Padmé than he is Anakin but both Luke and Leia share a lot of traits with their mother (diplomacy, putting the duty of the greater good ahead of their personal feelings, etc). It is my dearest wish to see more of Padmé remembered as the post-Return of the Jedi story continues to unfold. There was a lovely moment in this vein in the Marvel Princess Leia miniseries, but there can always be more.

There’s a lot of potential to explore with Padmé, and when the franchise decides to revisit the prequel era, there absolutely should be stories about Padmé. For one, we hardly get to see her as is, at least compared to the other main characters. There’s so much untapped potential there that is begging to be explored. Secondly, she is just as important to the mythos of Star Wars as Anakin and Luke and Leia. Her legacy deserves to be remembered.
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Some of this I do not agree. We knew plenty of her from AOTC and TPM. Her ideals, her path...We knew who Padme was. She was very well written in that regard.

But one thing they are right on, Padme was shafted from the EU and all materials..

Nothing from her at all. Not adventure stories or stories period...In a sense, it's very metaphorical for her just like in ROTS of her death...

{Quantum/MIDI}, Apr 27, 2016

#729

Tonyg and Jarren_Lee-Saber like this.
Jarren_Lee-Saber Jedi Grand Master

Registered:

Apr 16, 2008

Ezon Pin said: ↑

Some of this I do not agree. We knew plenty of her from AOTC and TPM. Her ideals, her path...We knew who Padme was. She was very well written in that regard.

But one thing they are right on, Padme was shafted from the EU and all materials..

Nothing from her at all. Not adventure stories or stories period...In a sense, it's very metaphorical for her just like in ROTS of her death...
Click to expand...

But we got a lot of her in The Clone Wars

Jarren_Lee-Saber, Apr 28, 2016

#730

KidNylo likes this.
JEDI-RISING Chosen One

Registered:

Apr 15, 2005

Qui-Riv-Brid said: ↑

http://nilbogsstorybookland.blogspot.ca/2014/06/without-computers-redux.html
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looking at that just reminds me that we're never going to have that kind of creativity and imagination again.

JEDI-RISING, Apr 28, 2016

#731

Jarren_Lee-Saber and Qui-Riv-Brid like this.
AshiusX Jedi Knight

Registered:

Feb 7, 2016

The Psychology Of Darth Vader, Entry Two: August 18th, 2013

And now for a ‘Prognosis’ conclusive summary, the numbers after the symptom mark the year A.B.Y. (Vader) or B.B.Y. (Anakin)
ANAKIN SKYWALKER (42 B.B.Y.- 19 A.B.Y.)
- minor depression (childhood, 45- 38 B.B.Y.)
- partial feeling of hopelessness (childhood, 45- 38 B.B.Y.)
- child labor (childhood)
- separation anxiety (32 B.B.Y. - 22 B.B.Y.)
- arrogance 32 B.B.Y. - 19 B.B.Y.)
- partial insubordination (falling in love; handling things his own way)
- Rage (scattered amongst life from teenage years)
- accepting his mother’s death as his failure (22 B.B.Y.)
- Trauma: death of minorly paternal-like figure (32 B.B.Y)
- Lack of communication based on introversion (32 B.B.Y.- death)
- Confusion (32 B.B.Y.- 19 B.B.Y, 0 A.B.Y.- 4 A.B.Y)
- Susceptibility to persuasion (32 B.B.Y. - 19 B.B.Y.)
- Prolonged Isolation (32 B.B.Y- 19 B.B.Y.)
- self- loneliness (32 B.B.Y.- 19 B.B.Y)
- depression (throughout)
- severe prolonged confusion (19 B.B.Y.)
- pride/arrogance (19 B.B.Y.)
- Insubordination (32 B.B.Y.- 19 B.B.Y.)
- severe loss trauma {Shmi, reality, Padme, offspring, Obi-Wan} (22 B.B.Y., 19 B.B.Y.)
- Ten years of love, only to be met with rejection. (Rejection: 22 B.B.Y.)
- Confusion/defeat (With romance, 22. B.B.Y.)
- Vulnerability to The Dark Side (32 B.B.Y.- 19. B.B.Y.)
- anxiety (throughout)
- severe confusion (19 B.B.Y.)
- Obsession. His obsession shut him away from reality, making him do things he wouldn’t ever do in his right mind. (19 B.B.Y.)
- The shock of assiting in Master Windu’s death shut him down and opened him up to seeing this negative influence as right. (19 B.B.Y.)
- Ruined his marriage and family, a victim of his own obsessive fear. (19 B.B.Y.)
- he realized Anakin Skywalker was dead emotionally.(19 B.B.Y.)
- disassociation (19 B.B.Y. - death)
DARTH VADER PROGNOSIS
- introvertive
- short tempered
- severely depressed
- self-loathing
- lost
- disillusioned
- defeated and shut off from emotion
- mild schizophrenia
- Rejecting reality
- self-hatred
- depression
- Confusion (after finding his son survived, 0 A.B.Y.- 4 A.B.Y.)
- severe personal conflict (3 A.B.Y.- 4 A.B.Y.)
- Denial (3 A.B.Y.- 4 A.B.Y.)
- Disillusionment (throughout)
Anakin Skywalker was born a slave, forced child labor and hopelessly watched his mother struggle and be sad that they would be stuck there forever. Anakin, regardless, made the best of everything and gave as much as he could to everyone else. He was freed and overwhelmed by a girl. As a prodigy, Anakin did many things adults only did. It grew him fast. He was smart as a whip and very powerful. He was a coveted piece of balance (to the Jedi) or control (for the Sith). He went into training an outcast and unable to relate with his peers and masters. He also yearned for the girl of his dreams.
He was greeted his opportunity to love Padme with reality rejecting him. And she was rejecting him too. Anakin had identity troubles, leaving him to decide in extreme circumstances way later on. Anakin fought the system, got married and did things on his own. Anakin grew to love Obi-Wan, but he became a negative critic in Anakin’s life. Anakin needed to be communicated a whole new different way because nothing was answering his questions; no one could relate to him. Period.
Padme and fixing things was his escape from unanswered questions, but it nearly put the confusion on hold, only for it to come back when he was on a mission or trapped in his own mind. He had no one to go to except Palpatine, the very man who wanted him for an iron fist in his galaxy-conquesting desires. Anakin always focused on his passion when that was the way of a Sith, not a Jedi. The Jedi became more and more corrupt in his eyes. They were a system preventing his loved ones from living or being with him.
He was young and foolish to dismiss Shmi’s cries as really happening, but he was also so confused he didn’t know what to think. Anakin feared this confusion, which when he was too late to save his mother lead to anger……..animalistic rage. His anger lead to hate of the Sand People and his hate lead to suffering as he slaughtered women and chlidren. Everything was unappealing or dead except Padme.
Anakin fought as a solider in The Clone Wars, training an apprentice simultaneously. Corruption increased and confused him more deeply, but he endured. Until the visions came back. He became OBSESSED in anxiety and panic with finding a way to basically cheat death. He was told something just to get Palpatine’s iron fist wish. In confusion and aggravation he killed Mace Windu, or at least helped. He had had it at that point. He couldn’t handle the confusion and he went with the first thing that felt right and answered his questions: he turned to The Dark Side.
He killed the Separatists, ended the war, slaughtered children, greatly aided in Order 66 and attempted to kill his master. He was overconfident. Obi-Wan severed his remaining real limbs and left him for dead. He caught fire and burned to near death. He permanently damaged his lungs and digstive system, along with assumedly other organs. He was rescued by the second to last thing he had left, his master Darth Sidious. He was given a fear-inducing, empowering suit with wires in his throat and chest, feeding him suppliments, monitoring his vital signs such as heart beat and a respirator he couldn’t breath without. It was enhanced with a computerized viewer and voice changer. He was someone new.
It wasn’t until after he was told he killed his wife, the one reason he did all this that the birth of the tall black-clad monster would be a second start. The man that was Anakin was the one that did all those bad things. He ran away from the pain and blamed it on someone else who was him and technically still was him. He developed a minor schizophrenia as Vader was a new start and Anakin was the unproductive failure. He only went by Darth Vader and this Vader would get things done for a change. He was born again in an iron lung.
He served in The Great Jedi Purge and oversaw the Death Star’s construction. He did this all suppressing guilt and regret, but failing to do so, especially in his Meditation Chamber alone. No a second went by he didn’t hate himself more than all the rage he let out on the Tusken Raiders in what seemed like so long ago in another life. Then he stumbled across a man strong with the Force kind of like him. He became obsessed. It was like a distraction. Assignments were always like distractions.
Three years later, he found out the wife from his ‘previous life’s son had survived. His plan was to give him to the last person he had: Palpatine. The confusion slowly came back to his dismay and he suppressed it. He was good at suppressing things, he’d been doing it for 35 years. He was a slave to The Emperor trying to get his ‘only’ son and ‘only’ link to Padme to the Dark Side. As a paranoid man, he believed Obi-Wan had just poisoned his mind.
In the face of his servitude, hopelessness, anger, lies and persuasion his son showed blinding unshakable love. He knew this is what Padme attempted to give Anakin on Mustafar, but he had to serve Palpatine. He fought Padmé and Palpatine back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. But Luke was almost taunting him by not fighting. Still, he persisted. His master finished the job by killing him.
But he couldn’t let that happen. That feeling was deep in his subconscious and now he understood: he loved him. That came back: love. In such a black heart finally came love. Padme illuminated through Luke and so did Anakin Skywalker. But it wasn’t just his love and his wife: he felt his mother’s warm smile on a hot Mos Espa day. He saw the caring, sage of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the father he never had. He saw the love and support of his teachers in the Jedi Temple. And it was ther Anakin woke up. But Vader was looking at his son and his own reflection: Darth Vader was a lie! He was Anakin all along! Redemption came and The Emperor fell to his death. He sacrificed his life though, his life support was fried. He was barely breathing.

It was love that answered all his questions and cured his confusion. The Dark Side did it, but it wasn’t permanent, love was. And Anakin embraced love and acceptance of what he had done. He saw his son not through a red filter but in full color. He smiled serenely and passed away. He died leaving two survivors to Padme and himself. He died largely contributing to the fall of the Empire. He died reborn; in honor. And he died Anakin Skywalker.

Click to expand...

http://thepsychologyofdarthvader.tu...he-psychology-of-darth-vader-entry-two-august

AshiusX, Apr 28, 2016

#732

DementedMeerkat, xezene, jimkenobi and 1 other person like this.
mes520 Jedi Master

Registered:

Nov 3, 2012

Jarren_Lee-Saber said: ↑

Ezon Pin said: ↑

Some of this I do not agree. We knew plenty of her from AOTC and TPM. Her ideals, her path...We knew who Padme was. She was very well written in that regard.

But one thing they are right on, Padme was shafted from the EU and all materials..

Nothing from her at all. Not adventure stories or stories period...In a sense, it's very metaphorical for her just like in ROTS of her death...
Click to expand...

But we got a lot of her in The Clone Wars
Click to expand...

I disagree. Maybe in the early seasons, but in season 5, she was only in the last episode. Then, one arc in season 6 and it involved Clovis and that whole love triangle. Plus I don't think they did her justice with her wearing that outfit to dinner with Clovis.

mes520, Apr 28, 2016

#733

QuangoFett and Force Smuggler like this.
Cyreides Jedi Knight

Registered:

Feb 19, 2014

Mr. Forest said: ↑

Not an article, but I'm watching the new The Flash episode and Cisco made a prequel trilogy reference with a straight face. He mentioned Anakin and Midichlorians without even an attempt at making snide remarks about them. I'm very pleased about that.
Click to expand...

I just watched the episode last night and when he started to mention it I was expecting to be pissed off by the end of his little comparison. Glad to see the writers didn't go for it and slip in some kind of insult...

Cyreides, Apr 28, 2016

#734

Deliveranze, Huttese 101, Seagoat and 1 other person like this.
mes520 Jedi Master

Registered:

Nov 3, 2012

Here's another one about Padme and the what seems to be a growing campaign for more of her.

Star Wars: Bloodline shows why we’re ready for prequel-era Padme stories

Claudia Gray’s latest contribution to the growing Star Wars canon, Bloodline, released this week to a hungry audience awaiting a story that promised to answer (and provoke) several questions about the events that lead up to The Force Awakens. But perhaps more enticing was the chance at another Leia-focused adventure and the first full-length novel in the new canon dedicated to the iconic heroine. Full of action, heart-stopping drama and countless pages of political intrigue, the story has already received exceptionally positive early reactions, and for good reason. Bloodline may focus on the Skywalker family, and yes, it also demonstrates Leia’s unique connection to the Force even further, but the pièce de résistance (ha - get it? Resistance? OK, I’ll show myself out) is the way that story is told, through the lens of Leia as a Senator struggling to keep the New Republic together.

For anyone familiar with Star Wars, it’s undeniable how familiar that sounds, and it’s no coincidence. From her fight against tyranny in the prequel trilogy to her physical heroics on full display in several episodes of The Clone Wars, the courage and tenacity of Leia’s mother, Padme Amidala, echo throughout the pages of Bloodline. While the shadow of Darth Vader looms heavy over Leia to a point at which it could potentially tear her life apart, her efforts to navigate that pressure are directly reflective of Padme Amidala’s actions nearly half a century before. The result is a book that’s hard to put down, and a story so heart-wrenching that it might go down as one of the most emotionally impactful novels of the Star Wars saga to date. With Leia embarking on adventures so similar to those of her mother (and the story already being so well-received on Twitter) Bloodline does more than just bridge the gap between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens -- it opens up the door for stories focused on Padme Amidala throughout her years as a teenage queen, a senator, and one of the first people to ignite the spark of the Rebellion.

One of my first Star Wars books was part of a junior reader series composed of character journals from the primary cast of Episode I. It was Queen Amidala’s journal and, having been released in 1999 on May 3rd (the same date that Bloodline released this year, coincidentally), the book successfully spoiled many of the events leading up to the end of the film. But, even at 10 years old, I was far from angry. My reading experience up until that point involved Beverly Cleary’s precocious heroines and the adventures of a young Indiana Jones, which is probably why I read Queen Amidala’s “Journal” over and over until the cover began to peel. Along with gorgeous descriptions of her outfits, the book detailed the pressures of being an elected 14 year-old Queen who must overcome condescending adults, steer her planet away from total devastation, go undercover to reveal crimes against the galaxy and, when the moment finally calls for it, dive into action with the prowess of a trained warrior. During the events of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Padme goes on countless thrilling missions by herself, often handling the situation just in time for Anakin Skywalker to arrive, out of breath, to find that she didn’t need his help. While one needs little more than the scenes of her retaking her own palace in The Phantom Menace or her “aggressive negotiations” during the Battle of Geonosis in Attack of the Clones, Padme shines in The Clone Wars, forging alliances with her political enemies and recovering from devastating betrayals at the hands of her own advisors.

To say that there’s no intrigue to stories involving Padme would be like saying no one wants to visit the picturesque Disneyland: The enticing details of Padme Amidala Nabierre’s short life are already too much not to expand upon. Along with being trained to fight, herself, Padme was assisted by several nearly identical handmaidens throughout her career, all of whom were trained to act as decoys whenever she needed to go undercover. What’s more, these handmaidens were trained for combat, and the very idea of seeing Padme in action with her handmaidens at her side has spawned fan fiction and dedicated blogs just for theorizing about where they came from, how they were trained, and what happened to the remaining members of her entourage after Padme’s tragic death.

From dedicated comic book runs to feature-length novels, characters throughout the Star Wars universe are seeing their stories expand in countless ways. But, despite being thrown to the wayside and sometimes discarded as weak, Padme possesses a history as a defiant freedom fighter who was wise beyond her years. So, why should her story be limited to being told in scattered episodes of The Clone Wars, or through the eyes of other characters, such as Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi? Much as she was in the journal that started it all for me, Padme deserves to be given her own voice to tell her story, expand upon the intrigue of her political career, and detail the relationships of the characters who stood alongside her throughout her life. Padme was an undeniable game-changer in the events of Star Wars, and with a story like Bloodline looking as though it’s about to fly off the shelves, it’s about time we stop treating her as if her contributions were limited to birthing Luke and Leia.
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mes520, May 4, 2016

#735

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AshiusX Jedi Knight

Registered:

Feb 7, 2016

The best analysis of Anakin's fall so far I've seen.

Anakin Skywalker, later also known as Darth Vader, is one of the most popular anti-heros in popculture and one of the protagonists in the biggest science fiction saga ever by George Lucas.
His development from the innocent boy Ani to the ruthless dictator Vader is the core of the six Star wars movies. Without paying attention to existing flaws in the script, especially in the 3 newer movies I’ll try and break down for you the complex character that is this man with the many names.
Defining his personality and grasping his identity is quite difficult, partly due to his extreme metamorphosis during the saga, and partly because Anakin has an unsteady self-perception and always changing image of himself.

He has a huge self-hatred (which leads to frustration and anger towards others) for not being perfect, for not being able to reach the high expectations other have of him. He seems very confident, almost arrogant and self-absorbed but at the same time is always seeking the constant reassurement and approval from others, always has to fight for his right to be treated equally and with respect.
He’s got a certain self-awareness of knowing he shouldn’t feel that way, he shouldn’t feel that doubtful and at the same time he shouldn’t always ‘want more’( let me just add this quote:
‘I want more and I know I shouldn’t’).
He is very aware and almost paranoid about what others could think of him, he jumps to conclusions and is very impulsive, in combination with impatience he’s basically a ticking time bomb.
He is passionate, even obsessed about certain people, very headstrong and stubborn, he is selfish in a way that he wants to protect people at all costs, even if that involves hurting them.
He is honest and straightforward, he may have a lot of flaws, but being manipulative or dishonest was never one.
In some sources I read are statement about signs of mental illnesses in his behavior, borderline or symptoms of being a sociopath, but in my opinion he isn’t ill, all those horrible things happen because of desperation and pain, not because of a mood swing and he doesn’t enjoy doing those things, he feels remorse for the things he did. His motivation isn’t lust for power but appreciation, need to be needed and fear of loss.

In his life he took many roles, some of them he portrayed better than others, some of them he wore over years, others just for a short term of time.
In the first movie he’s a young boy, a son and a slave.
Three roles that he didn’t chose, but accept. He’s a fixer of things, maybe not only lifeless objects and robots, but also metaphorically speaking.
He meets Qui-Gon-Gin and Obi-Wan-Kenobi, two Jedi who visit his home planet and are looking for help for their spaceship. One of his character traits is helpful- and kindness, he is willing to help even those complete strangers by entering a dangerous, deathly podrace. You already see how confident he is and how much he believes in his abilities. You could even say, that he’s not that selfless, because I always dreamed about being part of a podrace, but he never had the chance to until now. He sees his chance and ignores the fears of his mother.
He stops being the kid nobody really cares that much about, as Qui-Gon later analyses his blood and the midi-chlorian count of over 20000 could mean that he’s someone special, the one who could bring the balance to the force.
We can see a parallel to Jesus, a boy who’s born under mysterious circumstances, never had a father, grows up in a poor household and with hard work, turns out to be the chosen one.
This is his opportunity, the unimportant little boy could be someday a mighty Jedi, he could have a future outside the slavery.
He leaves his mother with this great responsibility of knowing that he’ll be powerful and important and at the same time with a feeling of being lost and insecure.
Anakin is unsure about his potential and his powers, as already stated, he’s aware of him being suddenly ‘the chosen one’, he feels the power and pressure as well as the Jedi’s doubts and suspicions, but at first doesn’t take it too seriously (remember the scene with Padmè and the apple ).
He is gifted and bored, he overestimates his abilities and this self-assureness makes it impossible for him to be humble,open-minded, self-controlled and to think rational.
At the same time he’s afraid of not being powerful enough to save everyone, especially his mother and wife, which made it later easy to convince him to join the dark side, after the chancellor seems to be willing to share the secret of life and death with him.
His biggest flaw and most important part about him is that Anakin feels everything intensely and his feelings always guide him. This leads to a weakness of fearing to lose his beloved ones, attachment-issues that cloud his judgement and spontanous, impulsive behavior without thinking about the consequences.
He has no control over his emotions and their sudden change, the most dominant one’s are anger, fear, frustration and love.
His life is the constant battle to balance the positive and negative feelings.

How his inner demons finally seemed to have overcome the good parts in him is very obvious portrayed, the darkness spreads from his inside to the outside, his emotional change within the movies is reflected by the progressively darker clothes which leads to the popular known Darth Vader costume.
With unstable feelings come ambivalent relationships: the Jedi who switch from being his unreachable dream to being his destiny to being his family and finally his enemy, his long-term friend or even brother Obi-Wan, the lack of a father figure, his actual family in form of his mother, his first and only love Padmè Amidala, , and of course his children Leia and Luke.

Let’s start from the beginning. The Jedi and their code.
Loyalty is a very dominant part of his personality, but so are trust issues and once he feels betrayed by someone he trusted, he cuts all the strings and immediately turns against them.
A good example is, how he reported the Chancellor to Mace Windu once Darth Sidious’ true identity was revealed, however when he saw Windu’s intention to kill Palpatine he switched sides, killed Windu and by submitting to the Sith lord, he became a slave again.
With the same kind of sudden change of heart he throws Palpatine - a few movies later - in the reactor shaft to save Luke’s life.
As a Jedi his duty is to protect others, which he takes very seriously and a step too far.
Anakin’s priority is always to save someone he loves before saving himself or many strangers.
This keeps him grounded, focused, as long as he has the purpose of protecting someone he sees a light that guides him.
At first it’s his mother, then Padmè, in the end Luke.
Every time someone he felt responsible to protect dies, a big part of him dies with them and he loses his self and the “good” path a bit more. After the death of his mother he loses his temper and brutally kills the Tusken.
When he believes that he killed Padmè, he feels like he has nothing left to lose and turns to the dark side, which leads to the fight against Obi-Wan that almost kills him.
Actually it does kill the part of him that’s left after his mother and his wife died, it kills Anakin and marks the rebirths of him as Darth Vader. Anakin comes back years later, after he meets his son and his compassion and need to protect his loved ones awake again. More about this later.

What we see here is, that he’s loyal to people before concepts, values revenge over justice, he may have the best intentions but he can’t see the ‘big picture’ and his heated temper and burning love for certain people is a threat not only for him, but for others and his beloved one’s as well.
After suffering from nightmares about his mother’s painful death he takes Padmè from the safety of Naboo to make sure that Shmi is okay, later he’s willing to sacrifice everything a Jedi stands for, just to save Padmè’s life, even though it isn’t actually in danger at first.
You can basically say, he’s always on a mission for someone but never for something.
This attitude isn’t compatible with the moral concept and ideals of the Jedi, they see him as their savior, but also as a risk, he feels isolated from the other Jedi and not respected or even welcome. In the third movie, he believes that Obi-Wan was holding him back from reaching his true potential and that the other Jedi were jealous of his power and purposely trying to hold him back, too.

Something that might have contributed to his trust issues is the lack of a father figure or the constant change (death or leaving) of it.
At first it’s Qui-Gon-Gin who takes care of him, then Obi-Wan, who’s actually never willing or able to step into the footsteps of a father, but takes the place of a good friend or even a brother, later on it’s Palpatine who fills in the gap of a seemingly loving and caring father.

One of my sources called palpatine the ying and
Padmè the yang of Skywalker’s life and I’d like to use those terms for describing their relationship.

Padmè and Palpatine are opposites in every way, he’s male, old, ‘ugly’, manipulative and a sith, she’s a young, beautiful, honest woman with the aspiration to change the world to the better.

Both influence Anakin’s life, Palpatine as already mentioned and Padmè as the ‘Angel’, the girl he had a crush on for years, the woman he marries and who carries his children, one of the few people who seem to take him seriously, he can be himself around her, she doesn’t care if he’s a mighty Jedi or just a boy and loves him unconditionally.

Something he has only experienced once in his life,his mother’s love kept him grounded and ‘soft’ while the world around him was hard, he made it through slavery and as a young adult survived a war, imagine how much worse he could have gotten without his mother’s care in his childhood.
How to take care of a child was something he never got to try, he meets his twin son and daughter when they were already grown-ups.

Luke is one of the most important people in his life, because he is the one who awakens the Anakin-part in Darth Vader. After thinking that he had lost everyone he cared about, Anakin was out of control, nothing could hold him back or keep him grounded, he has never gotten the respect and admiration he thought he deserved.

‘Revenge of the Sith’ marks the death of Anakin Skywalker and his rebirth as Darth Vader, a cold-hearted, calm, emotionless and most importantly fearless killer who’s hidden under layers of black clothing and a mask, which makes you easily forget, that under allthat robotic equipment is still a human being, a father, a widower, a surviver.

(Excursion: Like Stiles (coming soon, in my bed and the blog post haha...ha...) he chooses to be a role (Vader), he’s not able to live any longer as Anakin, he creates the new figure, that suits his new personality traits better, he lets Anakin die in the lava and with him all the memories and experiences, he separates himself from his old self to cope with the lost he experienced in the last few years. But in contrast to Stiles he can’t accept his weakness and kills himself, almost literally. He chooses to be someone else, to not take responsibility, he flees.)

As already mentioned earlier, Anakin needs people to attach to that keep him focused and himself.
Vader wanted the dominance of the empire and not until finally meeting his son and ‘defrosting’, his priorities changed again, Anakin came back and he was able to snap out of the circle of anger and sadness.
In the end, his compassion and attachement to people over concepts saved his son and destroyed the republic, he was able to let go of his fear (of death), could let go of his need to control everything and eventually brought the balance to the force by not only destroying ‘Vader’, but all the Sith.

Think about it, some of the first words of Obi-Wan to Luke, that Vader killed his father, were actually true. And so are those: Anakin killed Vader. And as paradox as it sounds, the reason he joined the dark side in the first place – searching for a way to save his wife and unborn children – were his savior in the end.
Without Padmè, Luke and Leia he may have never chosen the dark path, but without them he wouldn’t have chosen the ‘right’ way in his final hours.
In conclusion, it can be said, that there are 3 things that define Anakin Skywalker: his deep and uncontrollable feelings that go hand in hand with his ambivalent relationships, his unsteady self-perception about his potential and the ability to use it and that his loyality to people before concepts.
He’s overprotective, especially over the women in his life, his life is determined by the fear of losing his loved one’s as well as his own identity, which leads to frustration, anger and, according to Yoda, to the ‘dark side’.

Anakin has many roles throughout his life and while he keeps repeating some behavior patterns, they keep repeating themselves. The theme of slavery can be found everywhere in his biography, he’s born in slavery, then the Jedi ‘adopt’ him but he can still be seen as a kind of slave of their believes, under Palpatine’s control he’s again nothing more but a slave and - let’s not forget - the whole time, he’s a slave of his feelings.
He is a slave, constructer, son, lover, husband, father, chosen one, Jedi, brother, friend, Vader, little boy, troubled adolescent, ruthless adult, victim, murderer, but all in all, he’s one of the most popular fictional characters and it was an honor to study him. After all, he is Anakin Skywalker.

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http://daretotouchthebutt.blogspot.com/2014/08/anakin-skywalker-slavethe-victim-killer.html

AshiusX, May 12, 2016

#736

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JoshieHewls Jedi Grand Master

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May 16, 2013

Not necessarily an article, but Ewan McGregor goes on the record saying that he's happy with the prequels.

Ewan McGregor was doing press last week for his new movie, the impressive spy thriller, Our Kind Of Traitor. He doesn’t seem to be asked about Star Wars quite as much as he once was (following his work in the prequel trilogy), but when he popped into the Magic FM studio, he was asked if he got tense when people bring the subject up.
“No! Initially I go, oh yeah, I’m being asked about Star Wars again!”, he said.
Then, “why is everybody so interested in Star Wars?”
He was then asked if he felt he had unfinished business with the Star Wars series, given that the prequel trilogy of movies – in which McGregor plays Obi Wan, of course – wasn’t liked as much as the recent Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Would it be nice to get closure?
“No!”, grinned McGregor. “I made three movies amongst however many others. And that’s what they were to me, three movies amongst a bunch of other ones. I was very happy with them, I’m very happy to have been in them. I like that they were films that children could watch, for the first time in my career!”
“I was very happy to be in them, and that’s where it ends for me. I don’t have a burning need to do them again. Or indeed any sort of fascination for the movies that everyone else seems to have. I don’t seem to have that – maybe because I’ve been in them? I’ve seen behind the curtain. It doesn’t have the same sort of wonderment to me.”
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JoshieHewls, May 16, 2016

#737

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JoshieHewls Jedi Grand Master

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May 16, 2013

Another day, another person close to Lucasfilm being positive about the prequels. Here's what J.W. Rinzler (author of the Making of... books) has to say:

A fan site called Star Wars News Net has an exclusive interview with Star Wars book author J.W. Rinzler, who gave the world “The Making of Revenge Of The Sith” plus similar books on the OT. He was supposed to have a “Making Of The Force Awakens,” co-written by Mark Cotta Vaz, but for mysterious reasons the book is on hold. (H/T to Cedric for finding this.)
Anyway, Rinzler was asked about the prequels and this is what he had to say:

“The Prequel Trilogy is really good storytelling, that’s what people also forget. You can peel back the layers. George wanted to do a book called Star Wars In History. Well, I read all these essays by historians on Star Wars, most of the time they’re writing about the Prequel Trilogy, because it’s so rich in content.”
“It’s a very, very interesting story, and a really difficult story to tell, which he (George) manages to do with very few brush strokes. People take it for granted, but it’s not easy to do. If it was, there’d be more films like Star Wars out there, and there aren’t any.”
“In the Prequel Trilogy, everybody had ideas about what they wanted it to be. A lot of people wanted it to be Darth Vader hunting down the Jedi. You know, George had his own ideas about the story he was going to tell. I think it was so different from what a lot of people, at least a few very vocal people wanted, that people reacted very badly to it. I think the kids who saw it just love it. That’s something some of us older folks don’t want to admit, that for people growing up with it now, they prefer the Prequel Trilogy to the Original Trilogy. They actually like it better. As those people get older, the Prequel Trilogy will be reviewed and revisited. People also forget that the Original Trilogy was not perfect.”
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JoshieHewls, May 17, 2016

#738

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trikadekaphile Jedi Knight

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May 6, 2015

In the most recent issue of "People," Ewan McGregor has a small Q&A on the final page, in which he relates how he nearly got into a traffic accident and yelled out the car window at the other driver, "You almost ran us off the road!" and he heard the other driver say, "I just got yelled at by Obi Wan Kenobi!" Ewan said that was "great." Kind of an odd bit of positivity toward the prequels, but a bit of positivity nonetheless. Someone recognized Ewan as Obi Wan and said so.

trikadekaphile, May 17, 2016

#739

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Big_Benn_Klingon Jedi Master

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Nov 14, 2013

https://theburningbloggerofbedlam.w...be-the-greatest-work-of-art-in-our-lifetimes/

Big_Benn_Klingon, May 26, 2016

#740

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xezene Jedi Grand Master

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Jan 6, 2016

Big_Benn_Klingon said: ↑

https://theburningbloggerofbedlam.w...be-the-greatest-work-of-art-in-our-lifetimes/
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Let's see: retelling the long-awaited backstory of one of the most famous characters in all of pop culture, depicting his fall from grace, told as an adaptation of Goethe's Faust and retelling of the fall of democracy and the rise of tyranny of the Weimar (German) and Roman Republics, all put through a blender of dazzling imagery, injected with elements directly inspired by some of the greatest works of world film, literature, and painting in all of history, to the tune of Wagnerian epic tragedy? Yeah. Yeah, it might be the greatest work of art in our lifetimes.

(As a side-note I think the vast majority of films today say (or attempt to say) less than a tenth of what Revenge of the Sith says. It may have the largest scope of any movie I've seen since 2001. Perhaps only Metropolis is in the same league, from the silent era.)

xezene, May 29, 2016

#741

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xezene Jedi Grand Master

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Jan 6, 2016

Also, not exactly pro-prequel, but a great analysis of current fandom which certainly applies to Star Wars fandom and the reaction to the prequels. You could argue Star Wars just preempted what is now very common. Here:

Fandom is Broken | BirthMoviesDeath

xezene, May 30, 2016

#742
SW Saga Fan Jedi Grand Master

Registered:

Apr 19, 2015

Not a 100% pro-PT article, but it's an interesting one: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...but-they-predicted-our-current-political-era/

You may hate the ‘Star Wars’ prequels — but they predicted our current political era

By Cass Sunstein June 1

Cool people dislike the “Star Wars” “prequels” — episodes 1, 2, and 3. The dialogue is wooden, the actors are stiff, and there’s far less energy and wit than in the beloved original trilogy. But if you’re looking for a quick guide to current political struggles — both in the United States and all over the world — you should give the prequels another chance.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, paralyzing political divisions threatened democratic governments. Disputes over free trade, and the free movement of people and goods, were a big reason. Stymied by polarization and endless debates, the Senate proved unable to resolve those disputes.
As a result, nationalist sentiments intensified, leading to movements for separation from centralized institutions. People craved a strong leader who would introduce order — and simultaneously combat growing terrorist threats.
[The brief ‘Star Wars’ guide to international politics]
A prominent voice, Anakin Skywalker, insisted, “We need a system where the politicians sit down and discuss the problem, agree what’s in the interest of all the people, and then do it.” And if they didn’t, “they should be made to.”
Eventually, something far worse happened. The legislature voted to give “emergency powers” — essentially unlimited authority — to the chief executive. An astute observer, Padme Amidala, noted, “So this is how liberty dies . . . with thunderous applause.”
That, in a nutshell, is the story of the “Star Wars” prequels: the triumph of empire over democracy, facilitated by Anakin Skywalker and resulting in autocratic rule by Chancellor (later Emperor) Palpatine.

It’s a bit of a cartoon, of course. But before filming, George Lucas studied real transitions from democracies to dictatorships — which sometimes occurred right after nations had moved to embrace democracy in the first place. He asked why “the senate after killing Caesar turn[ed] around and g[a]ve the government to his nephew?. . . . Why did France, after they got rid of the king and that whole system, turn around and give it to Napoleon?”

He noted, “It’s the same thing with Germany and Hitler. . . . You sort of see these recurring themes where a democracy turns itself into a dictatorship, and it always seems to happen kind of in the same way, with the same kinds of issues, and threats from the outside, needing more control.” The problem is “a democratic body, a senate, not being able to function properly because everybody’s squabbling.”
In Germany, Hitler’s rise was solidified by his successful claim to unlimited authority to make law, free from any requirement of legislative permission. In the midst of an apparent crisis, signaled by a fire at the Reichstag (legislative) building, Hitler demanded and obtained that authority.
A chilling newspaper account from Feb. 2, 1933, reads like something right out of “Star Wars” (above all, the grant of emergency powers to Palpatine), but it’s real:
The power to dissolve Parliament at his discretion and to rule Germany by decree without Parliament was entrusted today to Adolf Hitler, Germany’s new chancellor, by President Paul von Hindenburg, according to theDeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, an organ close to the government. President von Hindenburg signed a decree for the dissolution of Parliament, which is expected to become effective before the reconvening of Parliament, scheduled for next Tuesday.

Which brings us to the present day. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia showed significant movement in the direction of democratic self-government. But amidst the nation’s economic and political challenges, Vladimir Putin rose to power. He has often been a recipient of thunderous applause, not least when he defended the illegal seizure of Crimea.
More recently, authoritarian politicians with nationalist tendencies have been attracting significant support in Austria, Germany and France. Their platform? Protection against terrorism and crime, economic nationalism, doubts about free trade and an insistence on a muscular government, striking against the pervasive forces of disorder.

That is Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s platform as well. With respect to the Islamic State: “I would just bomb those suckers. . . . I’d blow up every single inch.” One of his defining slogans is “America First.” With respect to trade, he proposes a 45 percent tariff on foreign goods as “a threat. It will be a tax if they don’t behave.”
He warns and threatens those who oppose him; sometimes he sues them. He doesn’t seem to think all that well of freedom of speech, promising to “open up” libel laws. He exclaims, “We need law and order!”
When he says such things, Trump is often greeted with (you guessed it) thunderous applause. Is this how liberty dies?
We can’t really know what Trump would do as president, and for over 200 years, U.S. institutions have proved to be spectacularly robust. In our country, any question about the potential death of liberty — as occurred in a galaxy far, far way — seems wildly excessive. But here’s a lesson from “Star Wars”: That’s an essential question to ask.
Cass R. Sunstein, Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard, is the author of “The World According to Star Wars,” from which this essay is partially adapted. He was also administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs during President Obama’s first term. He will be discussing his book at Sixth & I on June 1 at 7 p.m.
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SW Saga Fan, Jun 2, 2016

#743

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JediChipKelly Jedi Knight

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Jan 3, 2016

Actually, I think Biff from Back to the Future II more resembles Donald Trump, not only in likeliness but personality. Remember when Biff became filthy rich from Marty leaving the sports book in the future, and ends up controlling the whole city. On the outside, he was beloved by the people as he came off as nice guy. But behind the scenes, he was a real son of a b****.

Trust me, go back and watch Back to the Future II and Biff is Donald Trump, or Donald Trump is Biff.....

JediChipKelly, Jun 2, 2016

#744

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xezene Jedi Grand Master

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Jan 6, 2016

An old review from '99, when The Phantom Menace was released. This reviewer really loved the film.

Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Menace review: 'daring and beautiful' -- The Telegraph

The new Star Wars arrives with an intensity of hype that makes the campaign for Titanic look like a minor fund raiser for the Lifeboat Institute. Critics, who like to set themselves above such nonsense, have already drawn their light sabres against it, as has a fraternity of sad fanatics, people who liked the previous films rather too much and never got over it.

Yet The Phantom Menace is probably one of the most deliriously inventive films to have appeared in years: it displays all of George Lucas's uncommon magic, a wide-eyed genius for adventure narrative that is beyond any ordinary capacity for wonder, and in many respects the latest episode proves itself to be a more finished movie than any of the others. It is daring and beautiful, terrifying and pompous – and that's just the title sequence.
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xezene, Jun 2, 2016

#745

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Tonyg Jedi Master

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Jan 16, 2016

xezene said: ↑

An old review from '99, when The Phantom Menace was released. This reviewer really loved the film.

Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Menace review: 'daring and beautiful' -- The Telegraph

The new Star Wars arrives with an intensity of hype that makes the campaign for Titanic look like a minor fund raiser for the Lifeboat Institute. Critics, who like to set themselves above such nonsense, have already drawn their light sabres against it, as has a fraternity of sad fanatics, people who liked the previous films rather too much and never got over it.

Yet The Phantom Menace is probably one of the most deliriously inventive films to have appeared in years: it displays all of George Lucas's uncommon magic, a wide-eyed genius for adventure narrative that is beyond any ordinary capacity for wonder, and in many respects the latest episode proves itself to be a more finished movie than any of the others. It is daring and beautiful, terrifying and pompous – and that's just the title sequence.
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And after that Telegraph changed the reviewer and the reviews are not so good. ( I read the links in the article). The funny thing is that the review of AOTC is better than that of ROTC, which is rare thing.

Tonyg, Jun 3, 2016

#746
AlexDG1 Jedi Youngling

Registered:

Jun 13, 2016

Cryogenic said: ↑

Y'all heard about Lard Biscuit, ain't you?

http://www.lardbiscuit.com/lard/ilovetpm.html

http://www.lardbiscuit.com/lard/shroud.html

Everyone needs some lard in their life.

Quips aside, those articles/essays really made a difference to my attitude toward the prequels.
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I enjoyed his analysis of TPM, even though at times he does get a bit....strident.

AlexDG1, Jun 13, 2016

#747
xezene Jedi Grand Master

Registered:

Jan 6, 2016

For their Retrozap feature Power to the Prequels, Michael O'Connor has written a piece about Anakin:

I, Anakin

xezene, Jun 20, 2016

#748

jimkenobi and mes520 like this.
BrettFarkas Jedi Youngling

Registered:

Jun 1, 2016

Jar Jar was a great idea. George made a lot of unique choices with the character.

BrettFarkas, Jun 21, 2016

#749

xezene, AshiusX, Valiowk and 2 others like this.
jaex Jedi Padawan

Registered:

Dec 31, 2015

Why I love the ‘Star Wars’ prequels (and you should too)

“Blame Internet outrage or peer pressure or how excited we are for the new installments in the series, but just as nostalgia has inflated the original trilogy to near mythic heights, the last decade has allowed dislike for the prequels to sour into petty disdain. And they don’t deserve it.”

jaex, Jun 24, 2016

#750

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