St. Lou, MO SW Weekly Debate Thread!

I heard somewhere that it's like GL went from mystical to Methodist

 

Sorry for getting this week's topic out late

This week: What's your definition of canon? Most of the books? some? graphic novels? games?

 

if it's in one of the movies, it's cannon.

I like some of the EU, but it's basically glorified fan fiction. it's approved by lucas film or one of those other subsidiaries, but it's not actually from Lucas. I don't know how I'll feel about the tv series once it starts up yet, but I will probably accept that stuff as well. mostly because it will most likely have nothing to do with the skywalker saga.

 

According to the first issue of Star Wars insider: The only cannon materials are the movies, the novelizations, and radio dramas. All other sources are secondary. This is the one I agree with.

However, more recently, Lucasfilms has said that all the EU books are canon. I think they're idiots.

 

Then cannon counterdicts itself.

I think the movies are the true cannon. The rest is fluff, good fluff, but fluff nonetheless. The way I see it, the OT chatacters lived happily ever after in the cannon world, then in the alternative universe the whole NJO think happened.

 

movies alone are canon

although I like a great deal of the EU stuff

 

Yep. Just the movies.

 

I can't ever get over this concept that one fictional story is somehow more real than another fictional story. Remember, the canon was never intended for public use; it's to keep things straight between the comissioned professionals creating stories.
That being said, I stick to my test: If it's good, it's canon. If it sucks, chuck it!
That lets me sleep at night.

 

Remember, the canon was never intended for public use; it's to keep things straight between the comissioned professionals creating stories.

You talking in general literature or SW fiction?

 

The meaningful thing about what's canon and what's not is what could used in timelines and such. I think it prevents whackos from going out and creating loads of crap that steers the characters in improbable directions. Canon makes a framework for us fans....heck, we're in a group that's centered on this fictional story. I think it's in our nature to debate canon.

 

FanFic is not canon. Regular SW EU Fiction is. Lucas approves it all anyways, and it's his world, so if he approves it, it's canon. I think the only thing he didn't care for was the fact that Boba Fett is in fact alive, and he escaped from the Sarlacc pit.

The movies are definitely canon...UNTIL HE CHANGES THEM!!! So, Hayden Christensen in ROTJ IS NOT CANNON!! Shaw is. That's my piece.

 

Oh nooooooo, JCF just opened that can of worms! ::ducks::

 

Lucas approves it all anyways

actually, he doesn't. he actually has extremely little to do with it. even if he approved everything, he would still only be approving a rough story line, not the final book.

I like what Jon said. if it's in the movies, novelizations, or offical radio dramas, then it sticks.

I mean, if lucas wanted, he could make an episode 7 in which Han, Luke, Leia, and all the other major players in the post-RotJ EU are killed. I think that would definitely prove that the EU is not cannon.

 

...he would still only be approving a rough story line, not the final book.

But he's still approving something and stamping the title page with his Star Wars logo.

He made all of the main character decisions regarding deaths in the NJO. They were supposed to kill Luke in the first book, but he said no. They were supposed to kill Jacen instead of Anakin, but he said no.

I'd say he's approving a storyline. That makes it canon.

 

I was bummed about killig Anakin too, I liked his character a lot more than Jacen's.

 

Anakin was supposed to live, but Lucas's excuse was he "didn't want a lot of Anakins running around" in his universe.

I really liked the way he went. It wasn't a stupid death. It meant something. His death made more of an impact on me than Chewie's. Star by Star is still my favorite book to read because of everything that is in it. It's a very dark book... Kind of like ESB, but more action packed.

 

Both Star by Star and Vector Prime made me cry, which is saying a lot. I don't cry lightly. I guess cause I loved Chewie more than Anakin it was harder on me. I still like the post-ROTJ EU characters better than the Clone Wars EU ones. I guess I have known them longer. Still interesting.

 

Books=comics=games=movies=Star Wars. There is no difference between any of them in my mind.

 

As long as they don't conflict they work for me. When it comes to conflicts I go by this rule:

Movies > Books > Comics > Games

 

I'm with Chiss_ Man on this, its all good to me. I love the comics and the books (sometimes even more than the movies).

 

Ok Christian and Laura, what happens when the stories counterdict eachother. Which story do you pick?

 

I look at the conflicts, in the same breath, of the infinities comics. A kind of "What if....scenario" Example, what if Luke turned to the dark side...in Jedi-the story then would have played out this way. I guess I am just not that much of a purist. I just love all that is Star Wars (except Phantom Menace.
)

Edit: Woohoo!! I made the smiley face work! (I did mention I am not the most computer savvy.)

 

Why don't you like the Phantom Menace Laura? That was much better than AotC.

Ok Christian and Laura, what happens when the stories counterdict eachother.

Playing devil's advocate Dajuan?

Name one instance where the stories counterdict one another. And no, you can't say anything about the Glove of Darth Vader or anything like that. We know about those stories.

 

For me, the movie are the only canon.

I guess the Clone Wars cartoon and new live action series that is supposed to come out would also be canon.

While I enjoy many of the EU novels, I don't consider them canon.

 

Playing devil's advocate Dajuan?

Well sure, this is a debate thread after all! Seriously I would like to know how other people resolve the cognative dissinonce between EU and the movies.


Name one instance where the stories counterdict one another. And no, you can't say anything about the Glove of Darth Vader or anything like that. We know about those stories.
Owen being Obi-Wan's brother in early stories. The Stormtroopers all being clones when in the novels they are regular people. To name two.