I hate to bring up Slave Leia and Aayla Secura, but?

OK, so I was doing some thinking about Star Wars the other day, and I was thinking about the saga in a different light than I have previously. Specifically, I considered how I would have changed the whole ?slave Leia? plot in ROTJ.

I decided that the writing and acting was rather transparent. If Leia was forced into that bikini, she should have wanted to cover herself when she escaped ? not model the outfit ?(running up on the deck and swinging to the skiff)?

When looking at it that way, it takes away from the story. It now becomes evident that it was all a ploy to boost the film?s ratings (which I knew anyway, but?).

Same with Aayla Secura - the Twi?leks before her were slaves, which is why they looked like sluts. Aayla is free; she should not want to dress like a slave. I have heard it said that it is just Twi?lek culture, but it is obvious to me that this was just the product of some greedy people making comic books? (Not to mention other Twi?leks like Suu since then)?

Sorry if this is considered controversial, I just wanted to post my thoughts.

If this is the wrong board ? mods, feel free to move this thread?

 

Well, they WERE in the middle of the desert fighting for their lives. At the point of Leia's escape, I hardly think modesty was at the top of her priority list.

To think of it another way, if you were tied up naked and in the midst of a raging melee had the opportunity to escape, would you waste precious seconds looking for a makeshift loincloth or would you focus on staying alive as you race to freedom?

You're right that "Slave Leia" and Secura, not to mention Padme's midriff in AotC, have prurient elements. So does the dress Padme wears in the fireplace scene. So, for that matter, does Anakin's bare chest in RotS. Part of that is just movies doing what movies do - making attractive people look even more attractive. And unfortunately the Hollywood standard does sacrifice practicality in women's clothing much more frequently than in men's, though that occurs in culture in general.

I also think it's worth pointing out that the unfair treatment of women applies on BOTH sides of the modesty issue. There are plenty of cultures and religions that encourage/require women to wear wholly impractical clothing in the interest of staying covered up - one girl I grew up with was required to always wear ankle-length skirts; pants or shorts were out of the question.

But the fact is, there are also many women who CHOOSE to sacrifice practicality to dress sexily or modestly. And they like it. It's entirely conceivable that Secura LIKES to dress the way she does. Do movies in general feature more beautiful people dressing more sexily than is the norm in our own society? Sure. Do I have a problem with it, outside of the fact that women are objectified far more frequently than men (something that unfortunately IS the norm in our society)? Not really.

 

Let's not lose sight of the fact that Tatt. was a big pile of sand and it was hot. Leia may have been more comfortable in the shorter clothing.

 

from my point of view, slave leia is a timeless prop, midriff padme is a gorgeous plot device, and aayla secura is expert cinematography. the movies do offer some strong female characters, but the movies kinda revolve around the men.

however, the CW is making great strides in this area. oddly enough, when my mother was watching a Clone Wars, she assumed Luminara Unduli was muslim because of her coverings, and i said that her coverings were probably part of her culture.

maybe Aayla's choice of dress does tie in with her roots. maybe even though she's a law enforcer, she still feels that if you've got it, flaunt it. maybe as a youngling she went through a phase where she hid her lekku and wore a wig. and ki adi mundi walked up to her one day and said "take that wig off. it looks silly."

 

Star Wars: The T&A Wars.

 

Mace Windu: This thread is over.

 

OK, maybe Leia was more comfortable in the heat, but I still think that the acting was kinda transparent.

But, we all do know that Aayla is just the product of some greedy comic book creators...

 

You seem to be trying very hard to assign a sinister motive to these creators.

 

This may be the single most unintelligent statement I've read in several weeks.

 

Obviously, we can come up with excuses, but are you really implying that these costumes were NOT designed purely for lascivious purposes? The metal bikini. Padme's torn shirt, and Aayla's low cut top were all about telling a consistent story?

 

Halcyon,

The difference is that Aayla Secura is not a real person and thus cannot chose to dress any way. She is forced to dress a certain way by deliberate decisions of her male creators, and you can guarantee that those decisions are pretty much the sole result of male hormones. Especially where they were concerned, the character had no background, no history, no personality, no lines of dialog, nothing, (as those are all EU)--all she was was the sex-appeal of her image, which is both why she ended up in the film and why fan-boys made her into a cult figure.

Leia could have been captured in any number of ways as well, but Lucas went out of his way to create a scenario where she would be stripped down to a bikini with a collar and chain around her neck like a girl out of a Frank Frazetta painting. And same with Padme and her mid-riff--I mean, you will never have a situation where Anakin had the stomach-section of his shirt ripped off for no reason, or have a story point that requires Obi Wan in a metal speedo with a collar and chain. Star Wars is very much a boys story, made for boys by other boys, and the films often reflect that.

 

Then again, there WAS that shirtless Anakin scene in RotS...

Look, I'm not denying that these things are sexy on purpose. I just don't think that trying to make things more appealing for your audience automatically makes one "greedy". The costumes of Darth Vader and Boba Fett are every bit as tailored to appeal to fanboys by being "cool-looking", but I don't hear anyone impugning the filmmakers' motives where those characters are concerned.

I've tried to avoid being this blunt, but everything about the OP's language suggests a puritanical self-righteousness, completely unaware of the irony of suggesting that Leia should be embarrassed to be seen so naked in post posing as a defense of women.

 

Well, I'll agree that the OP's assertion that Leia would have wanted to cover herself while the barge was under siege is not very valid in light of the circumstances at the time, but I think the broad observation made that the films cater to male sexuality is very valid. If I was a women watching the films I would find this a little alienating. It's not a puritanical thing, it's just a very obvious gender double-standard the films have. The films have this in other ways as well, this is just one manifestation of it. As I said, it's definitely a series made for and by boys.

As for Anakin's shirtless scene, I think that is more due to the fact that he was having a dream and hence in bed (hence shirtless), and even then his skin is onscreen for...what, six seconds at the most? And then he puts a shirt on as quickly as possible. Its not really in the same category as slave Leia.

 

Have I been transported to Saudi Arabia suddenly? This topic is bizzare. Ive seen more skin on girls that work down the hall from me than Aayla Secura.

Ok, not slave Leia but it was a desert, she was a dancing girl, and Jabba aint going to cover his girls head to toe.

 

I'd like to work where you do!

 

Jan Duursema is a woman.

 

The skimpy-clothed female characters are a (mostly) blatant attempt to play to a specific audience.

However, I think that's a prerogative of pulp, and that a story can be good without necessarily being 100 percent "good for you." Similarly, acknowledging and even enjoying pulpy aspects of a fictional story does not mean that the viewer in question is automatically guilty of sexism, violent intervention, etc.

 

Sorry, but after twenty minutes of watching a gay robot and a trashcan-on-rollers save an overweight Harrison Ford from a cadre of cackling, Flashdance-grooving muppets, I needed to see a half-naked woman.

And who's Aalya Secura?

 

Too bad you aren't my parole officer...

 

If you're not being sarcastic, Aalya Secura is a blue Twi'lek female. She is also a Jedi and can be seen in RotS. She is walking on Felucia and suddnely realizes something is wrong before turning around and getting shot from the clone troopers as Order 66 is being initiated.

She's also scantily dressed in the scenes she is in...

 

Maybe because all the other women were ugly?

 

I'd be curious to see a gender AND age breakdown on this "issue." I AM a female, and while I accept the clothing as driven by audience expectations, it is pretty much a double standard when one looks at the broader picture. It's always (almost) the females who are skimpily clothed; often for no reason other than design. Sure was lucky Padme's outfit was ripped so prettily. Leia MAY have been costumed for plot purposes (okay, a Hutt prefering a skimpily dressed human female - uh, okay).

Oh, and you can keep your few seconds of bare-chested Anakin. That was probably intended as a gift to the female fans, but not all of us appreciated it (however, Obi-Wan...) and it was one mere "offering." At least the bare chest went along with him being in bed.

My female $.02 worth.

 

That always cracked me up.

 

I agree with the above and halfway agree with the OP. Leia's metal bikini can be excused as a plot device-sort of. The fact that Jabba enjoys scantily clad females-Oola and company are evidence of that. Jabba is a gangster, supposed to be reminiscent of "The Godfather," and gangsters are notorious for being surrounded by half-naked women. Female gang members are often subjected to sexualization.

Aayla, however, is definitely a gift for fan boys, because, as a plot device, her outfit does not make sense. All the other Jedi, male and female, are shown dressed in some variation of brown, tan and gray robes. Aayla, and now Ashoka, are both allowed to run around in mid-riff baring outfits, despite the centuries of Jedi tradition? Sorry, the logic train derailed somewhere on the track.

I should also point out that despite all the battles we see Jedi in, none of their robes rip quite as nicely as Padme's did.

I think the OP makes a valid point.

 

Just you wait now! There'll be an episode of TCW where some male Jedi's robes rip to show off rippling abs or biceps just to show how off base we are. (Though I'm not into bulging muscles on guys or bulging - ah - chests - on females. )