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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Padmé as a role model for girls - uh, not so much

Discussion in 'Archive: Revenge of the Sith' started by ~ô¿ô~, May 31, 2005.

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  1. ~ô¿ô~

    ~ô¿ô~ Jedi Youngling star 1

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    Dec 25, 1999
    I always loved Leia in the OT because she was a strong female character. THen came along the PT, and there was another one - a queen at a young age, a fighter, putting her life at risk, all qualities that make for a strong leader. However, in RotS, she kinda goes *boom* when Anakin turns bad.

    Yes, it might have been the hormones. Having never been pregnant, I don't know what that can do to you. But still - was anyone else sorely dissapointed by the reactions that Padmé had and the way she dealt with what was going on?

    (checked back a few days and didn't see a similar topic, so away she goes!)
     
  2. DarthSapient

    DarthSapient Jedi Youngling star 10

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    Jun 26, 2001
    The thread is fine so long as it's a thread about her as a role model based on her actions in RotS.
     
  3. ApolloSmileGirl

    ApolloSmileGirl Jedi Knight star 8

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    Jun 18, 2004
    Did you expect her to get into a knockdown, dragout fight while being 9 months pregnant?

    I think she was about as strong as she could possibly have been in that condition.
     
  4. ~ô¿ô~

    ~ô¿ô~ Jedi Youngling star 1

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    Dec 25, 1999
    I didn't expect her to get into a knockdown fight, but I also didn't expect her to die of a broken heart. Where is the prescedent for that?
     
  5. darth_blue_balloone

    darth_blue_balloone Jedi Youngling star 2

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    Jan 29, 2004
    The one thing that bugged me was the fact that she gave up on the will to live. She just had two kids for jolly's sake!
     
  6. DarthSapient

    DarthSapient Jedi Youngling star 10

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    Jun 26, 2001
    Perhaps she didn't lose the will to live so much as she was in symbiance with Anakin.
     
  7. ~ô¿ô~

    ~ô¿ô~ Jedi Youngling star 1

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    Dec 25, 1999
    That's what I'm mainly referring to. It's a very male-centric idea - your man is dead, so there's no reason to live - even with two brand new kids! It doesn't portray her as the figher we've seen previously.
     
  8. SWfan2002

    SWfan2002 Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Jan 28, 2002
    Also, Padme must keep a low-profile because she is pregnant-- as a result of a SECRET & FORBIDDEN marriage to a Jedi Knight.
     
  9. Somnambulist_ZZZ

    Somnambulist_ZZZ Jedi Youngling star 1

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    May 23, 2005
    Padme lost the will to live because of what Anakin did and was planning to do. So she had no will to live for her children?

    I agree, Padme is not a role model for girls, especially those who are young and may be single mothers.
     
  10. darth-ellen

    darth-ellen Jedi Knight star 5

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    Oct 20, 2004
    I think it is possible to lose the will to live.

    That coupled with all she went through giving birth...she just gave up. :(

    d-e @};-
     
  11. ApolloSmileGirl

    ApolloSmileGirl Jedi Knight star 8

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    Jun 18, 2004
    In the film I saw, it said she had lost the will to live. It didn't say anything about dying of a broken heart.

    Don't really see how that makes her a weaker character, as the line was throwaway at best and didn't really go into any detail.
     
  12. ~ô¿ô~

    ~ô¿ô~ Jedi Youngling star 1

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    Dec 25, 1999
    The symbiance idea is very romantic and all, but is irritating, as it gives the impression that she "needs her man to live."

    Don't get me wrong, I'm not this crazy feminist, but as someone who has been through some pretty devastating breakups, her actions here just really bugged me.
     
  13. DarthSapient

    DarthSapient Jedi Youngling star 10

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    Jun 26, 2001
    If you don't believe in symbiance, then her actions should bug you. She's been built as this 'diplomacy and fight for the cause at all costs' yet loses the will to live upon the birth of her children?
     
  14. MondoMan

    MondoMan Jedi Youngling

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    May 31, 2005
    It is not unreasonable for a mother to choose her man over her children. It happens all the time in real life. With that in mind, choosing to die over living with her kids, knowing that the Jedi Temple is destroyed and the events that will unfold thanks to the new empire might of all lead to that.

    Regardless, lets face the facts, Lucas was a bit weak with this. How do you "choose" to die...
     
  15. Charlie_Martel

    Charlie_Martel Jedi Padawan star 4

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    Sep 8, 2001
    She was supposed to be a role model? She knew it was wrong to form a romantic relationship with a Jedi but did it anyways, and their lust for each other ultimately destroyed them both. It's not every day that a young woman on our planet is faced with an attachnment to a Jedi. :p
     
  16. darth-ellen

    darth-ellen Jedi Knight star 5

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    Oct 20, 2004
    I think that it wasn't so much an 'action' as a state of mind.

    Just thinking out loud...

    d-e @};-
     
  17. SenateGuardBlue

    SenateGuardBlue Jedi Youngling

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    Jun 6, 2003
    Not that I am condoning Padme's reaction but this is my take on her death. She may have given up the will to live because she understood that Anakin's fall was due mainly to her. He kept telling her that he wanted to save her and that he would. Since Padme is so intune to people's actions and how they affect others (I would hope that comes from being a politician) she may have put all the blame on herself. Afterall, she was the one who gave in to Anakin's professions of love for her and allowed this forbidden romance. If she thinks that she is the cause of Anakin's fall she may also consider herself responsible for the deaths of the jedi. I don't think someone with Padme's sensibilities would want to live with themselves if they think they caused that kind of chaos.
     
  18. Freddy-Krueger

    Freddy-Krueger Jedi Youngling star 2

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    Jan 5, 2005
    The one thing that bugged me was the fact that she gave up on the will to live. She just had two kids for jolly's sake!

    Folks, she lost the will to live before she gave birth to the kids. SHE WAS GOING TO DIE. They had to operate to get the kids out of her. It's not like she gave birth then said, "Okay, I'm going to die now." She was going to die, give birth or no.
     
  19. ApolloSmileGirl

    ApolloSmileGirl Jedi Knight star 8

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    Jun 18, 2004
    ~ô¿ô~ posted on 5/31/05 9:32am
    Don't get me wrong, I'm not this crazy feminist, but as someone who has been through some pretty devastating breakups, her actions here just really bugged me.
    [hr][/blockquote]Were the breakups immediately following giving birth to two babies under extremelly stressful conditions, after being choked to an inch of your life by the man that you love more than anything else(right after he told you of his plans to take over a brutal dictatorship)?
     
  20. ~ô¿ô~

    ~ô¿ô~ Jedi Youngling star 1

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    Dec 25, 1999
    It's not that I don't believe in it- I just think that it's a weak excuse. Especially if she still felt that there was some good in him.

    And while many women do chose their husband over their children, again, it is something generally weak women do. There is the understanding that when you have children, you have a little bit of your husband/mate/whateveryouwanttocallhim through them.

    To me it seemed out of character that she would give up, rather than stay strong to protect her children and do what she can to try to find the good in Anakin, even at a distance.

    Folks, she lost the will to live before she gave birth to the kids.
    But she still knew that she was going to have the kids before she lost the will to live.

    Were the breakups immediately following (...etc)?

    No, and I'm not saying my situtation was ever like hers. However, I am saying that her actions left some question as to how she is as a role model, as compared to her roles in the other two movies, where she was a much stronger person.
     
  21. rhonderoo

    rhonderoo Former Head Admin star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Aug 7, 2002
    DarthSapient posted on 5/31/05 9:27am
    Perhaps she didn't lose the will to live so much as she was in symbiance with Anakin.
    [hr][/blockquote]

    That's kind of what I got out of it.
     
  22. Wacky

    Wacky Jedi Youngling

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    May 29, 2005
    The only reason she dies is so Anakin can have it shoved in hsi face that all his evil-doing STILL hasn't saved her, so all he has left is his hate and anger... he has destroyed everything else to save her and now she is dead through a convenient plot device.
     
  23. 4LOM

    4LOM Jedi Youngling star 3

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    Jan 9, 2004
    Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Padme are the "Han, Luke, and Leia" of the Prequel Trilogy, the three major characters. It's sad to see a major character like Padme die in such a weak manner. I would rather have seen her give the twins over to Bail and Obi-Wan, and then die fighting, maybe at the helm of a starfighter. She could have gone out in a blaze of glory, in a way worthy of the mother of Luke and Leia.

    And by the way, can anyone picture LEIA "losing the will to live" if Han Solo betrayed her? No way. Leia is a fiesty, tough, intelligent hero. Even after giving birth, Leia would have hunted Han down like a dog, and then kept on leading the rebellion.
     
  24. ~ô¿ô~

    ~ô¿ô~ Jedi Youngling star 1

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    Dec 25, 1999
    Well, there were other ways that she could have died without making her lose her stance as a role model. Not to mention that she didn't even have to be dead in order for Anakin to think she is. If he believed that he killed her when he didn't, there's reason to believe that he'd accept that she was dead when she really wasn't. Palps basically owns him - he'll believe most anything he says.
     
  25. imperial_dork

    imperial_dork Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Aug 11, 2003
    Ignoring the whole "lost the will to live" thing for a second, I still think she's a pretty poor role model based on several other aspects of her personality. :p

     
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