Now we know why stormtroopers wear white.

I'm just waitin' for one of 'em to run for governor of California.

("Battle droid #11-38 is committed to promoting new fiscal policies, providing for education, and saying Roger Roger.")



Rick McCallum loves you!

 

I think it's because if they were black they would look too much like Tie Fighter Pilots.

Who knows, man, you might have something there. But, I tend to side on the thoery that George got really, really lucky.

 

He got lucky with themes of 'good' and 'bad' and color schemes of 'black' and 'white'?

 

I tend to agree with an earlier post that it has something to do with camoflauge. The interior of ships are grey, white... light colors so it would fit well with boarding parties. Plus with the many different planets in the galaxy, they couldn't pick one type of camouflauge to fit them all, so they picked white.

It never seemed like the Empire was into camo, (see the battle of Endor). A lil spray paint would have been helpful.

Of course this is all speculation, Lucas probably just thought they looked cool in white!

 

To say that George had any valuable insight on this issue is like a "revisionist" interpretation. The story was not planned anywhere NEAR as carefully as it's been anylized since.

Remember that when he released Star Wars, A New Hope, He didn't even think he would have the funds to produce a sequel.
Everything that followed after that was written to fit in the existing story line.

He got lucky.

 

You're right. George Lucas isn't smart enough to come up with an idea like dressing 'good guys' in white and 'bad guys' in black. If he was that smart, he'd probably be a millionaire.

 

... except that the stormtroopers of ANH weren't good guys, were they?

That's the whole point of this thread. AOTC explains why stormtroopers, painted as bad guys in ANH, wear the good-guy color; because the first time we see troopers of that ilk, they are presented as good guys.



Rick McCallum loves you!

 

I don't think it's a stretch to believe that even back in 1977 Lucas knew that the "Old Republic" Obi-Wan referred to BECAME the Empire that the Rebels are seen fighting against. It's like giving him credit for tying his own shoes. Aren't people even willing to give him that?

 

George Lucas, 1976:

What do mean we've run out of money for paint?! The stormtroopers are supposed to be black like Darth Vader! They're the bad guys, for God sake! What's that? I don't care if the cantina scene went over budget. Not a penny left for black paint? We'll just have to go with the unpainted white armor? Ah, hell, now I'll have to rewrite the backstory.

 

I always thought, from the early days, that the stormtrooper helmets looked insect-like.

 

"except that the stormtroopers of ANH weren't good guys, were they? "

Actually they were. They were part of the military of the official governement making them both legal and good. The Rebels are the real bad guys. But than again I do lean slightly toward the Empire and may be biased

It's altogther possible he went with "It just looks cool" or he wanted Vader to stand out. If the stormies wore black there might not have been a enough of a visual distinction in the viewers eye. Maybe.

 

Having ALL the bad guys wear black would be overkill.

ANH COSTUME DESIGNER: But 'overkill' is implied in our story, Master. It's an over-the-top fantasy film.

 

Well, just a new theory, but, isn't everyone missing the concept coming from the name? "Stormtrooper" Just in that name alone, it is implied that these troops are used for terror and shock. With white uniforms, throughout the galaxy they are a stark contrast to all the different colors of normal clothing......typically muted browns and blacks. So, just as on Tatooine, around Mos Eisley, they were highly visible and stood out a great deal, helping to create a presence of fear for the empire.

Just a thought

 

From SW: Galactic Battlegrounds: Clone Campaigns

"Good guys wear white." ~ Clone Trooper

 

Up.

(btw: for rsterling)



Rick McCallum wears white!

 

Another thing-the Ku Klux Klan. The snowtroopers' helmets in The Empire Strikes Back strongly resemble the hoods worn by the KKK. I wonder if that was deliberate?

 

Lucas said he was using color to denote the good guys, leaving the bad guys colorless.

I think the white symbolizes their lack of personal opinion. They simply do what the're told. They're nothing more than highly skilled, morally detatched automatons.

 

Well, one of the reasons was they wanted their enemies to know they were coming by making them highly visible.