Any World (That I'm Welcome To)

I started thinking more about this when I saw the Biggs footage again - I hadn't watched it since whenever I last had Behind the Magic loaded on my computer.

This quote is what got me started:

BIGGS: What good is all your uncle's work if it's taken over by the Empire? You know they're starting to nationalize commerce in the central systems...it won't be long before your uncle is merely a tenant, slaving for the greater glory of the Empire.

Compare this to The Phantom Menace, where the opening villains belong to something called the Trade Federation. (Such a friendly-sounding name. "Trade" makes me think of kids happily swapping Pokemon cards on the playground, or whatever they're into now, and "Federation" makes me think of a kind of club where various organizations/governments hang out and follow the agreed-upon clubhouse rules. I guess no one expects the TF Inquisition?) The TF guys are immoral, or at least amoral, cowards who sign up with a Sith lord and invade a planet and kill people to protest taxation. Now, George could have gone another route with that - I think I remember something about some colonists who protested taxes once, and they're usually the good guys in the kiddie stories at least - but anyway, killing innocent people (rather than, say, soldiers or corrupt politicians or something) is definitely a bad guy move. (Not that we actually see any of those innocent people die onscreen, mind you. There's hardly even any damage to the city. Strange, that.) The following two movies include new minor villains such as the Banking Clan and a ship called the Invisible Hand.

So, to summarize:

A New Hope, 1977: That ebil government, taking over corporations and small farmers! The people need to rebel and stop it!

The Phantom Menace, 1999: Those ebil corporations, taking over planets and small Gungan communities! The people need to get the government to stop them!

Yeah, a vast oversimplification. And not necessarily incompatible - stopping corporations from invading sovereign planets isn't a government takeover but just making them follow the same rules as everyone else, after all. And it's not like the government is totally fabulous in the Prequels - it has its own problems - or completely reviled in the Originals - the Empire's first big move in ANH is dissolving the Senate.

Still, I think it's interesting how GL's focus changed. He could have just focused on the "good government goes bad" aspect and had some sort of government agency invade Naboo rather than the Trade Federation, after all. (For their own good, naturally.) I don't know whether this was always the plan, to emphasize different kinds of power and ways it could be abused rather than sticking to a simpler dichotomy, or whether he got more interested in a compatible but slightly different track over the years, or whether he significantly changed his political philosophy. (Maybe even he isn't sure. It's hard to get inside your head that far in the past sometimes and remember what you were thinking.) So I don't know what to do with the observation, really, other than just note that this is one more way that the Prequels are different from the Originals.

I was once again grumbling to myself about things in the Prequels I'd found disappointing, particularly Padme's ineptly-handled pregnancy (she gives birth at just over five months along and no one freaks out about how premature the babies are and rushes them to incubators? sorry, George, no) so I started looking for something I did like about them.

One of the things that bothered me in A New Hope is that I could never think of a good reason why the Sand People didn't just kill Luke. They're known to be violent enough that when Luke sees a smoking sandcrawler and Jawas apparently slaughtered by Sand People, his reaction is that this is much bigger than their usual targets. That they would attack and slaughter at all is something he doesn't even think to question. The moisture farmers probably exaggerate the Sand People's brutality in scary stories for the kids, but there must have been enough actual slaughtering for the stories to get started, right? And the Sand People we do see have no problem knocking Luke out and stealing his stuff. It's not like they're nice. What reason do they have to leave him alive? So he can go back and raise up the moisture farmers against them? Maybe they think the farmers won't come after them if they let him live... but really, what are they going to do, drive him home? If they steal all the speeder's valuable parts, it probably won't work, and Luke will die in the desert anyway. Even if they just steal the stuff in the speeder and run off, Luke could die from lying unconsious under the suns. It seems that the logical thing to do would be to just kill him and be done with it. But for some reason, the Sand Person with the big stick only smacks Luke lightly enough to knock him out for a few minutes - there isn't even a wound. That seems awfully nice of him. And then they go the trouble of dragging him back to the speeder instead of just posting a guard to make sure he doesn't get up and fight. It's as if they are leaving him alive and healthy on purpose, but I never could figure out why, unless they just knew Luke had a Main Character Contract and couldn't be killed so early in the movie.

But then came Attack of the Clones. It turns out that torturing sentient beings is a Tusken hobby. I think the written sources say it's some sort of rite of passage. So they didn't kill Luke because they were saving him for later. It's a little weird, but it's an explanation, finally.

And it adds a little more scariness to the scene, now that I know what the Sand People have in mind for Luke. It also makes me feel even more for Owen and Beru. They probably worried every time Luke was late coming home that the Sand People had gotten him, and they were going to have to relive the days when Shmi was captive.

So, I've been checking out Star Wars fanvids on and off the past week or so. (Mostly off. School and all that.) I am much in awe of Kid Fears. (Some PT, mostly OT, Indigo Girls song.) I got goosebumps the first time I watched it. There's also a vid here, kind of a buddy thing about Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, which is pretty fun and adorable.

Mostly there's a lot of angsty Ani/Padme and Ani/Obi vids, of course. Tragic stories usually make people think of making tragic fan vids/art/fic about them. But being me, I started thinking in the opposite direction. See, when I think Attack of the Clones, I think cheesy romance. Sure, it's tainted by all the ominous foreshadowing and our knowledge of where it's going to end up, but it's still cheesy romance. So I say, sometimes it's fun to just embrace the cheese. That meadow scene? Cries out for some "Summer Lovin'" from Grease. Obi-Wan (and the Council) and Dorme could do the "tell me more, tell me more" parts, the "stolen" kiss could go with the "did you get very far" question (or maybe the rolling around in the grass bit), and there's Anakin's "borrowed" speeder for the "like does he have a car" line. It could be fabulous.

Then my mind started wandering into Harry Potter territory, and I started imagining the same song with Harry's summer at the Burrow with Ron in Chamber of Secrets. Hey, Ron does have a car, sort of. I haven't seen it in a while, but I'm sure Fred and George have some reasonably mischievous looks that could go with the "tell me more" bits.

And then, while I was listening to Blue Oyster Cult's "(Don't Fear) The Reaper," it struck me that if I had to pick a short list of songs that encapsulated HP, that would be on it. One of the most crucial aspects of Voldemort's character is that he fears death more than anything, and one of the biggest differences between Harry and Voldemort is that Harry doesn't fear death. Like when Voldemort tries to possess Harry in the Ministry, Dumbledore says the love drove him out; he might be right, but I also think it's significant that Harry was getting pretty cheerful about dying when Voldemort withdrew. Also, the last stanza totally makes me think of Lily now.
( Lyrics )

Now I'm probably not going to be able to think of that scene without that song coming to mind, and I probably will think of HP whenever I hear the song. It's like my brain tries to make a soundtrack to everything sometimes, or maybe is just trying to find a sort of musical shorthand to encapsulate things. I can't listen to The Who's "Behind Blue Eyes" now without thinking, "Oh, this is so perfect for a Hamlet-Claudius duet!" It happens every time. And when Han says, "Damn fool, I knew you were going to say that," he might as well be saying, "Cue the Steely Dan song 'Only A Fool Would Say That,' please!" It's such a perfect cynical song for ANH Han. And when I hear the line, "Talking 'bout a world where all is free/It just couldn't be," I think, "Alderann goes BOOM!"

It does keep things interesting.

ETA: Come to think of it, "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" and "Behind Blue Eyes" are good songs for Anakin too. More associations to fill my head...

Title: Law & Order: Galactic Republic
Fandom: Star Wars, Law & Order (Disclaimer)
Characters: Qui-Gon, Yoda, Mace Windu, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Obi-Wan, Anakin, Palpatine, Yaddle, Kit Fisto
Categories: PG, Crossover, Crack
Summary: If only the Jedi had watched Law & Order, they would have been so much better prepared. Just imagine...

In the Galactic Republic, peace and justice are guarded by two separate but equally important groups: the senators who pass legislation and the Jedi Knights who enforce the Senate's edicts. These are their stories. ( Da-dung )

(Crossposted from my starwars.com blog.)

Expanding a bit...ok, a lot, because it's me... on my previous SW post [Apprentice Legislators of Naboo]... (was it really that long ago?) ( Read more... )

And for those who managed to get all the way to the end, a fun fact: the word "senator" comes from the Latin word senex, meaning old. So does the world "senile." Happy New Year!

I know I've been gone for a while. What can I say, it's been Attack of the Really Long Reading Assignments. Sorry! But I have a really long thingy for you now. And when I say really long, I mean it. It's rambly too. The reading assigments are a bad influence. Sorry again! Anyway, if you are still interested, here goes.

The unlikely...thing...that follows has a strange origin. A long, long time ago in a forum thread far, far away, someone was complaining about his (or her) perception that Star Wars had potential but was really childish in places and had too many special effects, and the films would be so much better if they were more like Shakespeare. I had a serious response to that, which I'll be getting to, but I also got a bunny out of it. Not really a plot bunny, though it could develop into one...many Star Wars/[insert Shakespeare play here] crossover possibilities, I'm sure...I guess you could call it a filk bunny. Anyway, for some reason the idea of Star Wars as a Shakespeare play struck me as hilarious. Just imagine:

O for a Muse of plasma, that would ascend
The brightest heaven of invention,
A galaxy for a stage, Rebels to act,
And Jedi to behold the swelling scene!
Then should the warlike Vader, like himself,
Assume the port of Bane; and at his heels,
Lined up like troops, should blaster, sword, and Force,
Crouch for employment. But pardon, gentles all,
The flat unraised spirits that hath dar'd
On this unworthy scaffold to bring forth
So great an object. Can this cockpit hold
The vasty snows of Hoth? Or may we cram
Within this concrete O the very helms
That did affright the air at City Cloud?
O, pardon! since a crooked figure may
Attest in little place a million;
And let us, ciphers to this great accompt,
On your imaginary forces work.
Suppose within the girdle of these walls
Are now confin'd two mighty governments,
Whose high upreared and abutting forms
The perilous airless space-void parts asunder.
Piece out our imperfections with your thoughts:
Into a thousand parts divide one man,
And make imaginary puissance;
Think, when we talk of blasters, that you see them
Burning their bright blasts i' the receiving troop;
For 'tis your thoughts that must deck our heroes,
Carry them here and there, jumping o'er times,
Turning th' accomplishment of many months
Into an hour-glass; for the which supply,
Admit me Chorus to this history;
Who prologue-like, your humble patience pray
Gently to hear, kindly to judge, my play.

( Now for the rambly bits. )

Only the Sith deal in absolutes? I beg to differ! ( Read more... )

When Qui-Gon knelt behind the laser gates, just what was he meditating about?

This was inspired by DarklordZor's blog.

I always loved the moment in The Phantom Menace when, trapped by the laser gates, Qui-Gon kneels and starts meditating while Darth Maul paces before him. It is, as DarklordZor says, a smart way to conserve energy. It is also the ultimate in self-mastery. Can you imagine being in the fight of your life and still being able to have that inner calmness that would allow you to actually meditate when a Sith lord could be springing on you at any moment? I know I'd be way too nervous to manage it. (Which is probably why I would never make it as a Jedi.) Even many other Jedi would not be able to manage that. Qui-Gon is just so cool.

But then I started thinking: is Qui-Gon just meditating on the present moment, or is he up to something with more far-reaching consequences?

Qui-Gon might have feeling his age at that point, even if he didn't let on. I think the novelization said so. But even if he felt perfectly spry, he was up against one of the best swordsmen ever. It was by no means certain that he would be able to defeat Darth Maul, even with Obi-Wan's help--and Obi-Wan was too far away to help him.

I think at that moment, Qui-Gon was preparing for death.

Just in case he did not survive the fight, he wanted to make sure he would still be around in some form to watch over Obi-Wan and Anakin, the Chosen One. While he was kneeling behind the laser gates, he was preparing himself to become one with the Force while retaining his consciousness. We don't yet know when Qui-Gon discovered the secrets of the Shaman of the Whills. Perhaps only at that moment as he knelt and let the Force guide him.

I think it fits very well. I suppose we'll find out sooner or later.

Assuming Anakin was created by one of the Sith, how did he come to be abandoned on Tatooine instead of raised by the Sith since birth? I offer one hypothesis. ( Read more... )

Just how long did it take to vote Finis Valorum out and Nofirstname Palpatine in?

There's a shot of the Senate in bright sunlight, either morning or afternoon judging by the shadows. Amidala calls for a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum. The Senate chamber fills with cries of, "Vote now!" The movie cuts to Anakin being tested before the Jedi Council at sunset, then to the sun setting over Palpatine's aparment building, then to Amidala in Palpatine's apartment at dusk. Palpatine walks in and Captain Panaka announces that Palpatine has been nominated for the position of Supreme Chancellor.

Wait a minute!

Now, it could be that this is dusk of a diffferent day, two or three or six weeks later, but the sun-setting shot indicates that this is in fact the same day to me. Besides, Anakin is still in his slave duds when they return to Naboo - you'd think Qui Gon would at least find him a change of clothes if they had really been on Coruscant that long.

This means that it took one day to remove the leader of the Galactic Republic from office. Doesn't that seem just a little bit short? Usually in real life there are hearings, investigations, etc. for several weeks at least to determine whether the leader should be removed and to ensure that people can't just depose leaders on a lark. You have to have a really good reason to get someone out of office too - "Because I don't really like him anymore" just doesn't cut it. (Apparently, neither does lying under oath... why should Star Wars be different?) (ETA: I've since learned that some countries can do this. I don't know how often they actually do.) But in TPM, the Senate can vote Valorum out of office in a day, just because they feel like it, and then still have time to nominate three candidates to replace him before happy hour.

Again, electing a Supreme Chancellor ought to take a while, but it doesn't. The Battle of Naboo doesn't even last long enough to get Amidala's velvet combat outfit dirty. The celebration might take place some time later - but the TF droids didn't damage the parts of Theed we saw much, so it's not like they'd need much time to clean up. For all we know, they cremated QuiGon that night, cut Anakin's hair and got him some Padawan clothes right afterward, then had the celebration the next morning. (Probably not. But who knows?) And anyway, even a few weeks is an awfully short time to elect the new leader of most of the galaxy. That's not a lot of time to consider the thousands of potential candidates in the Senate. What did the Senators do, draw names out of a hat? Did they at least hold some debates first, or did they just get right to the election the day after the nomination?

The way these guys work, you have to wonder why Palpatine even needed emergency powers. The Senate seems easily swayed to act quickly and in Palpatine's interests as it is.

And finally, why does Anakin complain in AOTC about how long it takes the Senate to get things done? They seem pretty speedy to me!