Saga What's in a Crawl

THE PHANTOM MENACE

"Turmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic. The taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems is in dispute.
Hoping to resolve the matter with a blockade of deadly battleships, the greedy Trade Federation has stopped all shipping to the small planet of Naboo. While the congress of the Republic endlessly debates this alarming chain of events, the Supreme Chancellor has secretly dispatched two Jedi Knights, the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy, to settle the conflict...."

ATTACK OF THE CLONES

"There is unrest in the Galactic Senate. Several thousand solar systems have declared their intentions to leave the Republic. This separatist movement, under the leadership of the mysterious Count Dooku, has made it difficult for the limited number of Jedi Knights to maintain peace and order in the galaxy. Senator Amidala, the former Queen of Naboo, is returning to the Galactic Senate to vote on the critical issue of creating an ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC to assist the overwhelmed Jedi...."

REVENGE OF THE SITH

"War! The Republic is crumbling under attacks by the ruthless Sith Lord, Count Dooku. There are heroes on both sides. Evil is everywhere. In a stunning move, the fiendish droid leader, General Grievous, has swept into the Republic capital and kidnapped Chancellor Palpatine, leader of the Galactic Senate. As the Separatist Droid Army attempts to flee the besieged capital with their valuable hostage, two Jedi Knights lead a desperate mission to rescue the captive Chancellor...."

A NEW HOPE

"It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire. During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet.
Pursued by the Empire’s sinister agents, Princess Leia races home aboard her starship, custodian of the stolen plans that can save her people and restore freedom to the galaxy…."

EMPIRE STRIKES BACK


"It is a dark time for the Rebellion. Although the Death Star has been destroyed, Imperial troops have driven the Rebel forces from their hidden base and pursued them across the galaxy. Evading the dreaded Imperial Starfleet, a group of freedom fighters led by Luke Skywalker has established a new secret base on the remote ice world of Hoth. The evil lord Darth Vader, obsessed with finding young Skywalker, has dispatched thousands of remote probes into the far reaches of space…."

RETURN OF THE JEDI

"Luke Skywalker has returned to his home planet of Tatooine in an attempt to rescue his friend Han Solo from the clutches of the vile gangster Jabba the Hutt. Little does Luke know that the GALACTIC EMPIRE has secretly begun construction on a new armored space station even more powerful than the first dreaded Death Star. When completed, this ultimate weapon will spell certain doom for the small band of rebels struggling to restore freedom to the galaxy..."

THE FORCE AWAKENS

Luke Skywalker has vanished. In his absence, the sinister FIRST ORDER has risen from the ashes of the Empire and will not rest until Skywalker, the last Jedi, has been destroyed. With the support of the REPUBLIC, General Leia Organa leads a brave RESISTANCE. She is desperate to find her brother Luke and gain his help in restoring peace and justice to the galaxy. Leia has sent her most daring pilot on a secret mission to Jakku, where an old ally has discovered a clue to Luke’s whereabouts . . . .

 

Big yellow word's? Did i win?

ESB is my favorite.

 

big yellow words and the most epic music to begin a movie ever.

 

I think the crawls are more revealing than perhaps is first apparent. Some things I wanted to point out after reading through them, which I posted above.

In TPM crawl Jedi Knights were referred to as the guardians of "peace and justice." Contrast this to the crawl in AOTC, where the Jedi are struggling to maintain "peace and order." Justice and order are not the same thing. In fact they can be quite opposites at times. Modern societies have justice systems to deal in disputes. Order is a different matter.

By the time we reach the crawl of ROTS we are seeing "heroes on both sides. Evil is EVERYWHERE." What an interesting way to frame the war.

In ANH the empire is plainly described as evil. The rebels are fighting for "freedom".

Again in the crawl for ESB the rebellion is termed as "freedom fighters."

In ROTJ once again the term "freedom" appears.

Contrast this with the crawl of TFA. Here General Orgaba is fighting for "peace and justice."

We have come full circle for our "heroes."

Peace and Justice ---> Peace and Order ---> Evil is everywhere ----> Freedom ----> Peace and Justice.

What is more interesting is that Peace and Order are the exact opposite of Freedom Fighters. Freedom and Order are typically in ideological opposition and the term freedom fighter is naturally in opposition to those fighting to maintain order. From the crawls themselves we can easily discern the Jedi were on the wrong side of the conflict in AOTC, which of course was the point.

What's more is how the crawls mirror each other in a way consistent with the now famous ring theory.

In TPM Jedi are dispatched to settle the conflict. In ROTJ the Death Star is being built to settle the conflict.

In AOTC thousands of systems have declared their intention to leave the republic under Dooku. In ESB thousands of probes have been sent to search for the rebel's who have separated from the Empire.

In ANH and ROTS the mirroring is even stronger.

Any other thoughts from anyone?

 

Turning to TFA, I see a couple of mirrors:

ROTJ begins with "Luke Skywalker has returned".
TFA begins with "Luke Skywalker has vanished".
So far, these two are the only episodes that don't start off with a short description of the general state of things - and they both focus on Luke.
Interestingly enough, the two sentences are each other's opposites, like perfect mirror images - and if you quote them out of context, they seem to come in reverse order. Logically, Luke would return after having vanished, but here, he does the opposite; First he returns, then he vanishes.

And just like that, he is gone

Furthermore, in ROTJ, Luke returns to find/rescue Han from the clutches of a vile gangster, while in TFA, others are trying to find/rescue him before he ends up dead at the hands (clutches) of vile enemies.

Then we have this TPM/TFA mirror:

"the Supreme Chancellor has secretly dispatched two Jedi Knights" - "Leia has sent her most daring pilot on a secret mission"

...and, of course, the use of the word "sinister" in ANH and TFA.

 

Four dots

 

Oh yeah! ROTJ only has three dots. I wonder why.
Maybe they'll balance that out by having five dots in EpIX!

 

How so? Striving for peace, justice and order is what the Jedi do. Order as opposed to unrest, conflict, etc... But never just order.

 

Observations:

"It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire. During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet.
Pursued by the Empire’s sinister agents, Princess Leia races home aboard her starship, custodian of the stolen plans that can save her people and restore freedom to the galaxy…."

• Princess Leia doesn't race home, she makes a stop at Tatooine to pick up General Kenobi because that was her "mission" as we learn from her holo-message.
• "home" appears to suggest Alderaan but if the plans "can save her people" then Alderaan is already a target. Or "home" refers to the hidden Rebel base (there is only one according to both the ANH and ESB prologue) and "her people" are actually the Rebels.

"It is a dark time for the Rebellion. Although the Death Star has been destroyed, Imperial troops have driven the Rebel forces from their hidden base and pursued them across the galaxy. Evading the dreaded Imperial Starfleet, a group of freedom fighters led by Luke Skywalker has established a new secret base on the remote ice world of Hoth. The evil lord Darth Vader, obsessed with finding young Skywalker, has dispatched thousands of remote probes into the far reaches of space…."

• Since when is "Commander" (rank, right?) Skywalker the commander-in-chief of the Rebel Forces? He may have been the one finding the planet as a suitable base, but he isn't the one in charge or "leading", that would be General Rieekan (or General Willard according to the first drafts)

"Luke Skywalker has vanished. In his absence, the sinister FIRST ORDER has risen from the ashes of the Empire and will not rest until Skywalker, the last Jedi, has been destroyed. With the support of the REPUBLIC, General Leia Organa leads a brave RESISTANCE. She is desperate to find her brother Luke and gain his help in restoring peace and justice to the galaxy. Leia has sent her most daring pilot on a secret mission to Jakku, where an old ally has discovered a clue to Luke’s whereabouts . . . ."

• Sounds as if Luke just recently vanished, doesn't it?
• The First Order wants to see Luke killed, not just Kylo Ren
• The First Order is already causing injustice and war to the glaxy
• The Republic supports a "brave resistance" against the First Order

 

Order and justice are not the same thing. One strives for an equitable balance among individual members of society. The other demands obedience to a higher power.

Palpatine talks about peace and order. Vader talks about peace and order.

The Jedi should be fighting for justice and freedom. I think it was intentional.

 

The crawls are very important to Star Wars. I absolutely love the parallelism that exists when you compare them. As Lulu Mars pointed out, the ROTJ crawl begins with "Luke Skywalker has returned" and TFA begins with "Luke Skywalker has vanished". I wonder if that was intentional?

ESB has the best crawl to me, and TPM has the worst (that's probably a popular opinion).

Part of me hopes that the anthology films do not have opening crawls, because it takes away some of the event status that the episodes have.

Also, is it ok to discuss crawls from video games, novels, etc. here? Or is it just limited to the films?

 

Never said that order and justice were synonyms. I said that order, justice and peace are pillars the Jedi strive for.

Justice demands authority which in turn demands an higher/hierarchic power.

And order.

Order: A state in which the laws and rules regulating public behaviour are observed and authority is obeyed.

Justice: The administration of the law or authority in maintaining this.

 

I agree. I think the crawls are very important. I don't know if I'm charge here of what can be discussed...but being OP I want to discuss any and all crawls

I think you're probably right TPM is the least popular crawl, but isn't it also in a way the most interesting? Before he film even starts we are told the Republic is failing to address a crisis. More importantly, the Chancellor secretly dispatched Jedi to handle it. This theme continues to play out through TPM. Republic credits aren't accepted on Tatooine - though Imperial credits are accepted in ANH. Chancellor Valorum is mired in bureaucracy. It really sets the tone in my opinion.

 

Jedi are about harmony. Order is about control.

This is the great failing of the Jedi "Order". It becomes all about legalism and procedure and less about harmony and morality. Order is all too often the excuse of a tyrant.

 

I agree it makes it sound like Luke disappeared recently - but the film doesn't seem that way.

 

No, order is about harmony. Instead of anarchy.

Since when are those mutually exclusive?

So is justice, peace, etc...

 

I feel like we are getting off point and I also feel like you're purposely avoiding the dark intimations of "order."

The point is that in TPM we are told Jedi are guardians of peace and justice.

We are then told they are struggling to maintain peace and ORDER. If they are the guardians of justice, order should not be their primary concern. A just result should be more important than enforcing order. This is a problem.

Yes, peace and justice can be invoked by anyone. But the historical context is different and, I believe, as an audience we are supposed to understand the danger of valuing "order" and "peace" over justice.

Order is - quite emphatically - not the same as harmony. Harmony is a state of equality wherein all aspects of some state of existence - personal, political, societal, etc. - are in balance. They exist in perhaps an "ordered" state, but this is all quite naturally occurring. Hence, a Jedi's strength flows FROM the force.

Order, in our context of political conflict, is the opposite of harmony. It is the imposition of stability (not harmony) upon groups or individuals who feel aggrieved - who are seeking justice. Order then doesn't flow from the force, but is imposed upon it. This is a Sith teaching.

One can have order without harmony, but with harmony comes order.

 

Same as Ben Kenobi told Luke in ANH, but unfortunately TPM showed us rather soon that "justice" in the Outer Rim wasn't exactly Qui-Gonn's agenda: "I didn't come to free slaves"

I had hoped to see one of Kenobi's "idealistic crusades" he mentioned to Luke.

 

Well I hope we get an idealistic crusade in a Kenobi movie!

And I agree, Qui Gon acts that way and I think it's consistent with the formalistic justice of the PT which is a failure of the Jedi Order. Qui Gon wasn't mandated to free slaves, so it isn't "justice" in a formalistic world.

He did free a slave though...

 

One could say you're purposely adding "dark intimations" to the word 'order'.

Yes.

Why not? As guardians of peace and justice, order is directly tied to their purpose. Unrest doesn't contribute to peace and justice.

Why are you making those two concepts mutually exclusive? And "enforcing order"? What about "enforcing" (their) justice? You can give dark conotations to anything. Let's not pretend there's an inherently evil aspect to order.

You are the one implying they are valuing one thing over the other.

Yes, it is.

That's your speculation about the context for the word made to fit your argument. I could provide you an alternative and equally speculatory context that show otherwise.

All that is said is that the separatist movement is making the job of the Jedi of keeping peace and order difficult, precisely because that separatist movement is causing unrest, the opposite of harmony and order the Jedi defend.

 

It's not my speculation. They are fighting to MAINTAIN ORDER! There is no speculation about it.

And no, harmony and order are not the same thing within the context of the conversation. If you're denying that then we are done here.

 

Amazingly, you also don't even understand the basics of the English language. Such as the fact that synonym means exactly the same, or nearly the same.

In the case of harmony and order, we are talking about nearly the same. Hence, their different definitions. Also, you failed to look up the definitions WITHIN OUR CONTEXT.

Order = the state of things when law or authority is obeyed <Troops restored order after the riot.>

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/order

Harmony = : a pleasing combination or arrangement of different things

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/harmony

More importantly is our initial discussion. You see the definition of order above. The state of things when LAW OR AUTHORITY IS OBEYED.

Justice =
: fair treatment <Everyone deserves justice.>
: the process or result of using laws to fairly judge people accused of crimes
: the quality of being fair or just <They were treated with justice.>

Do you see how justice doesn't demand peace? It demands fairness and a just outcome?

Words a hard, I know, but really. This isn't that difficult.

 

I like where you're going with Order and Justice.

I read the change of "peace and justice" to "peace and order" to show how much the galaxy has changed between movies and the Jedi's role in protecting it. In TPM they're making sure justice is served in the republic. In AOTC things have gotten to the point where the government is starting to breakdown and the burden of keep it together is falling on the Jedi.

 

I used to read it that way as well until it began to sink in that the Jedi are in the wrong in AOTC. They are fighting for a failed republic that is corrupt, incapable of representing the interests of the people, and is controlled by a Sith Lord.

This does not mean, however, that the Separatists were right and good.

The point is, the Jedi Counsel was fighting ffor it's own survival. This motive grows even more apparent by ROTS.

Order, in my opinion in this context, means order under Republic control, which means de facto Jedi control.

 

Are you trolling?

They are synonyms, as I've shown you above on two different sources.

On the contrary, I picked the definition that fit the context used in the crawl. If you're trying to take it out of its context and give it a negative connotation when there isn't one, then it's your problem.

From the very same source:

Order: the state of peace, freedom from confused or unruly behavior, and respect for law or proper authority.

That's what the Jedi defend, and due to "unrest in the galaxy", they aren't able to.

Hence the Jedi striving for justice, peace and order. Not one at the expense of the others.

No, it isn't. Hence why your blantant cherry picking to fit your argument is laughable.