Relly funny to hear Mister sulu as the bad guy. Im really loving this show, even with its up and downs, I always spend a great 20 minutes a week not thinking about "real life" (TM).
Personnally I am loving this series...I dont get where all you morally centred lucas haters come from but your all getting this crisis of conscience. In my opinion I thought the episode was great, the scene was dramatic the animation was kool and the story gave a bit more than the "rite lets go here and blow this up...JOB DONE!" so what if the dialog was cheesy it always has been and will so in the future THATS PART OF STARWARS! and so many of you have a problem with that? What I think it is with this series is that all you haters wanted to see it fall on its arse and were hoping it would but most dont think like you guys and every friday night switch over to cartoon network and watch it with the whole family. It is fantastic family entertainment and Im really glad lacas arts has put this out for us slighty newer fans (as I was born post return of the jedi) This site is completely bias to lucas bashing rather than accepting that this series aint going to go away no matter how much hot air you blow at it so watch the series and enjoy and stop all this BS
FYI: I interviewed George Takei who voiced General Lok Durd about this week's episode if you want to check it out. I also chat with him about Star Trek, Heroes, his upcoming British reality TV show and what it's like to play himself in cameo roles.
@bonniegrrl:Hey, great interview! Takei has always struck me as a pretty cool guy, he certainly came across so in your interview. I love the line, "I was playing another one of my colleagues; you guess which." Made me laugh :-D
@jbq: Thanks! And he really did sing that last bit in the interview. Now if I can only convince the Powers That Be that we should do a musical episode of The Clone Wars, we'd be set!
What bothered me most was depicting pacifism as not merely weak, but intransigent and stupid to boot. The plot was basic and by-the-numbers; everyone from the peaceful, furry natives to the television audience *knew* the Seps would eventually attack the village. But despite that knowledge, the furry natives stubbornly refused to do anything but dare the confrontation to occur.
To vastly oversimplify--and without claiming sympathy or membership in any specific philosophy or attempting to offend ANYONE--let's say there are (only) two schools of pacifism. One (we'll call it "peaceful resistance") is designed to a degree to play to a larger, viewing public outside/beyond the violent oppressor and pacifist oppressed. The idea is to make the aggressor look atrocious and the pacifists sympathetic. An element of stubbornness is necessary at core of this school. The peaceful resistor must sit and take violent abuses in order to *be seen* taking them, hopefully setting the stage for sympathetic outside pressure/blowback directed at their aggressors. In the best of cases, this outside pr ends the violence.
The other (we'll call it "categorical violence avoidance") has less (or no) overt concern with outside pressures, perspectives, or input. Rather, it simply dictates avoiding all violence. Period. It's not about others, it's about self. When violence reared its ugly head, these folks have bravely turned their backs and fled.
The vocally pacifist fuzzies in this ep made it repeatedly clear they neither had nor desired an outside audience--let alone any assistance *from* that audience. Thus, they seem to believe in "violence avoidace" This perspective is, in fact, supported within the first 30 minutes of the ep; we're told the fuzzies originally moved to this planet as a means of avoiding the encroaching war on their home planet. (Of course, relying on Lucas to remain consist and continuity-conscious within even a 60 minute block of time is a bit silly, I realize.) Given that the fuzzies had already moved away from a *planet* to avoid war and violence, why not simply move *again*? They need not even leave the planet this time. Simply pick up and roll away (btw, dumbest means of locomtion ever; dizzy much?) from the Seps, and they avoid violence. Given the size of their population, the size of the Sep forces, and the huge big-sky landscape pictured around the characters, one assumes the planet is spacious enough from them to stay out of reach and hold true to their principles for quite some time. (At worst, move into some of those seed-trees. No need to be violent. Who's going to try and surround *those* things with troops?)
Unfortunately, these fuzzes stubbornly stood their ground--like passive resistance-types--and took a beating. But then they simultaneously professed no interest in the Seps, the Republic, or any outside audience to the conflict. In the end, this appeared inconsistent, and less pacifist than stupidly self-loathing and sadistic.
Then again, why am I looking for *any* reasoned perspective on pacifism from a space-opera helmed by Lucas?
@Laffinboy: Dave Filoni. It's helmed by Dave Filoni, and do your research. Your depiction of their so-called pacifism is accurate, but your reflexive Lucas blaming don't make you look reasonable.
01/25/09
01/25/09
01/26/09
01/24/09
[www.starwars.com]
01/24/09
01/24/09
01/24/09
To vastly oversimplify--and without claiming sympathy or membership in any specific philosophy or attempting to offend ANYONE--let's say there are (only) two schools of pacifism. One (we'll call it "peaceful resistance") is designed to a degree to play to a larger, viewing public outside/beyond the violent oppressor and pacifist oppressed. The idea is to make the aggressor look atrocious and the pacifists sympathetic. An element of stubbornness is necessary at core of this school. The peaceful resistor must sit and take violent abuses in order to *be seen* taking them, hopefully setting the stage for sympathetic outside pressure/blowback directed at their aggressors. In the best of cases, this outside pr ends the violence.
The other (we'll call it "categorical violence avoidance") has less (or no) overt concern with outside pressures, perspectives, or input. Rather, it simply dictates avoiding all violence. Period. It's not about others, it's about self. When violence reared its ugly head, these folks have bravely turned their backs and fled.
The vocally pacifist fuzzies in this ep made it repeatedly clear they neither had nor desired an outside audience--let alone any assistance *from* that audience. Thus, they seem to believe in "violence avoidace" This perspective is, in fact, supported within the first 30 minutes of the ep; we're told the fuzzies originally moved to this planet as a means of avoiding the encroaching war on their home planet. (Of course, relying on Lucas to remain consist and continuity-conscious within even a 60 minute block of time is a bit silly, I realize.) Given that the fuzzies had already moved away from a *planet* to avoid war and violence, why not simply move *again*? They need not even leave the planet this time. Simply pick up and roll away (btw, dumbest means of locomtion ever; dizzy much?) from the Seps, and they avoid violence. Given the size of their population, the size of the Sep forces, and the huge big-sky landscape pictured around the characters, one assumes the planet is spacious enough from them to stay out of reach and hold true to their principles for quite some time. (At worst, move into some of those seed-trees. No need to be violent. Who's going to try and surround *those* things with troops?)
Unfortunately, these fuzzes stubbornly stood their ground--like passive resistance-types--and took a beating. But then they simultaneously professed no interest in the Seps, the Republic, or any outside audience to the conflict. In the end, this appeared inconsistent, and less pacifist than stupidly self-loathing and sadistic.
Then again, why am I looking for *any* reasoned perspective on pacifism from a space-opera helmed by Lucas?
01/26/09
01/24/09
Conversely, the Swiss chose the motto
"When surrounded by war, one must eventually choose a currency."
01/25/09
The Swiss chose neutrality, not peace.
They only chose it once the rest of Europe forced it upon them, because their pike and halberd mercenaries were too effective.
-Kle.
01/25/09