Many bothans died...

Not the ones you quoted as examples

EDIT: I offer proof that this is not a throwaway line. The lines itself takes 4 seconds to deliver, followed by a 'dramatic' pause of 2 and a half seconds before she says "Admiral Ackbar". That's 6 and a half seconds for 8 words!

 

Perhaps she was trying to prolong the hardest part. The information regarding the attack on the death star. Delevering intel news is one thing, but to get into the actual briefing is another. Perhaps she just felt the weight of her command and as she saw all of the young officers assembled around her, she knew that many, if not all would perish in the attack.

 

Perhaps she was trying to prolong the hardest part.

Having just watched the scene, I don't think that is the case

 

Just popping in here to say...

Many Bothans died...BUT NOT THE RIGHT ONES!!!!

Sorry for bringing the EU into this, but it had to be said.


The Cleric 007

 

It was a throwaway reference.
It was said the way it was because the character had to care. Not the audience.
It could've been said any way at all and stil mean the same thing. But if Mon Mothma made it a toss-aside comment, it wuld've made her look callous and indifferent to her people or fellow people, or whatever. Point is, it would've made her look mean.
The line was said as such for the character.
The Bothans aren't important. It could've been any race.
The action of that the plans were stolen, and that they were important enough that many of the people had to die to get them implying they were heavily guarded. That fact lends gravity to the rebels themselves, and if the audience connects, it's an added plus.
But no, it's not supposed to be a tear jerking, 'donate your money to the Bothan cause' type of scene.

 

Many Bothans died...BUT NOT THE RIGHT ONES!!!!

Yeah, I wish Borrsk would have went sooner. I mean, his death was somewhat redemptive, but still, I hated the guy.

 

Until reading EU, I'd thought that Mon Mothma was a Bothan--hence the seriousness of the statement....

After reading EU, I wish Leia had said "the Bothan homeworld" rather than Dantooine...

 

LOL


I remember a few years ago seeing an add in a magazine (I assume it was something like SW Insider) that had a pic of Mon Mothma and said: "Many Bothans died...many people quote this line back to me...but no one can tell me WHAT A BOTHAN IS!"




The Cleric 007

 

We don't see Bothans among the Rebel fleet at Endor. That does not mean that they're not there, just that we don't see them in the frame.

And as an EU fan, I'd have liked to see Borsk among the "Bothan Martyrs"

 

I'm with Keyan from the other page. I thought they were some kind of super-elite group as well. Of course, the Bothans spies are supposed to be elite spies. I dunno, I kinda like 'em better as an elite group, rather than a species.

Either way, the qualifier gives the line more gravity than just "many spies died." That could mean a planet's worth of spies who are the equivalent in talent and ability of Inspector Clouseau died because they all slipped on banana peels or something running down the street. When she says "Bothan spies," it suggests the really top-notch guys, and their loss is more meaningful.

 

Yeah, I wish Borrsk would have went sooner. I mean, his death was somewhat redemptive, but still, I hated the guy

They finally killed Borrsk freyla (sp?) Well however you spell it, I always disliked that character. Especially in the X-Wing novels.

But as to the scene in the movie, it's just another one of George Lucas's fixation with strange words moments I think. As someone said above, it really could have been any race being that at the time the movie was written there was no reference to what Bothans actually even were.

I think Bothan was a word he had stored in his brain that he wanted to use so he threw it in. In one of the 7 or 8 early drafts of SW there was probably a General Bothan or a weapon or ship called the Bothan. Who knows, all I know is GL loves to invent nonsense words and then recycle them.

 

I think the Sadness in Mon's voice when she states "Many Bothans died..." for the Emperor the then reveal to Luke that he let the info about the DSII get out on purpose. The fact that 12 Bothans died was completely irrelevant to him.
a build up followed by a knock down!

 

Maybe the Emporer was testing the rebellion to see how serious they were about getting info on DSII. If they weren't willing to lose lives for want may have been false reports undoubtable would have let a little classified information slip out to furthur bait the rebels.

I personally think Palpy planted the rebellion to further destory the remenmts before ANH, figuring that he'd win easily.

However, that's just my speculation.

 

Having a face (or in this case, a generic bothan face) in the minds of the Rebels tends to stick a little more. I think what Mon Mothma was doing was putting that face in their minds so they would know who they were fighting for and the pause was to let it burn in even more.

 

I think the Bothans should have a cameo in ROTJ since they helped out the Rebellion in a big way.

But if they don't oh well.

 

They killed more than 12 Bothans. IIRC, in SOTE Vader had Executor blow up a spaceport somewhere on Bothawui's (or Kothlis') moon.

 

But once again, not the right ones...



The Cleric 007

 

We are not MEANT to know or understand this line! Everything in this galaxy is alien to us (no pun intended). Just because this line meant nothing to you, the viewer, doesn't mean it meant nothing to those pilots. This line was there to show that even though we've gone through 3 movies so far (well, 5 now), there's still SO much we don't know.

Also, who's to say that Bothans have done nothing to help the Rebellion?! We've only seen the tip of the iceberg! Plus, I'm sure there's other rebellious forces throughout the galaxy that could've included Bothans.

 

I always felt sad during that scene because my heart is with the alliance and naturally it's sad to hear of an already hurting and diminished rebellion lose even more of its members....I also thought the actress looked genuinely upset by it while still trying to keep her composure

 

How many Bothans really died? We know a bunch died simply from the line in question, but those of us who have played X-Wing Alliance know that Bothans died in the retrival of the plans, during the Empire's attack on the rebel base at Kothlis, and returning from a spy mission at the construction site.

Why is the line so dramatic in the film? Because if this was happening in real life, it would be said dramatically. If many Australians died during some mission for America it would be like "Many Australians died to bring us this information..."