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Author Topic: The Clone Wars: Expanding Racial Stereotypes Since 2008  (Read 12264 times)

Seanchai
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The Clone Wars: Expanding Racial Stereotypes Since 2008
« on: August 18, 2008, 01:31:56 AM »
The power went out unexpectedly tonight (hell, does it ever go off expectedly?) and so I headed down to the local cinema to pass the time until it came back on. Star Wars: The Clone Wars was due to start just as I got there, so I plunked down my money, found a seat, and mentally prepared myself.

The critics have had fun lambasting The Clone Wars, literally begging Lucas not to make another film. (Which is interesting, because Lucas didn't write it. I'm not sure if being considered as bad a hack as Lucas is a compliment or a put down.) The Clone Wars is not that bad. It's not fantastic, but it's not the worst thing ever projected onto the big screen. If you temper your expectations - The Clone Wars is Star Wars made into a children's television series - it's not too terrible, especially considering that the "movie" is really just the first few episodes of a new series.

And all new series have to find their footing. Let's hope The Clone Wars does.

Now, I don't want you thinking that I enjoyed this movie. It would be more accurate to say that, surprisingly, I didn't completely hate it and retch violently upon exiting the theater. It has, in fact, all the hallmarks of the new Star Wars: insipid plots so full of holes you could drain spaghetti with them, dialog that is leaden and dead enough to come with it's own casket, pale stabs at "humor," and, yes, even dreadful accents that would make a KKK member blush (The Clone Wars features a Scottish blue rhino and a bad guy who sounds as if his lines should be accompanied with animation of him in a do-rag, eating fried chicken and drinking Kool Aid).

On the other hand, bits of the animation are pretty awesome and there are lightsaber battles!

Is it something you should see in the theater? Lucas thinks so. Personally, before deciding to see it in the theater or catch it on DVD, I'd ask yourself this slightly rhetorical question: Is your power on?

Seanchai
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jswa

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« Reply #1 on: August 18, 2008, 01:43:50 AM »
Thanks for the notes, Seanchai.

Man. Talk about milking a franchise for all it's worth. And I'm saying this as someone who didn't think the prequels were too horrible.

It's almost sad, at this point. But I guess anything is worth what it's purchaser will pay for it.

Aos

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« Reply #2 on: August 18, 2008, 03:51:43 AM »
I loath Star Wars, but I love my 7 year old son, so I'll be seeing it in the theater. My only hope is that their power will go out.
You are posting in a troll thread.

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jgants

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« Reply #3 on: August 18, 2008, 03:53:35 PM »
Or you could have, you know, gone to a better movie.  I highly recommend Tropic Thunder, which gave me great fits of laughter when I saw it yesterday.
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Ian Absentia

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« Reply #4 on: August 18, 2008, 04:23:34 PM »
My kids came at me this weekend, all excited about Clone Wars.  "Dad!" they exclaimed, "Annakin has a padawan!"

"What's this shit?" I replied calmly.  "The fucker's evil.  He turns into Darth-fucking-Vader for crying out loud.  Saddling him with a padawan is supposed to be a good idea?"

My daughter interjected, "Annakin's not evil!  He's cute when he's just a little guy!"

"Fuck that," I explained.  "He's evil from the get-go.  Never had a chance against that hack writer Lucas."

"What?" the children cried in chorus.

"You heard me," I replied.  "The writer of Star Wars is a fucking hack.  The only good script that came out of him was co-written by the guy who wrote The Rockford Files -- fucking good show that was.  Lucas can't write himself out of a paper bag.  But apparently he can doom every decent character he's ever come up with with either a stupid name or a criminal history (for which they're summarily pardoned when the plot runs thin)."

Wails of despair followed from the children.

"Shut up and get me a beer," I consoled them.

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Xath

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« Reply #5 on: August 18, 2008, 04:28:12 PM »
Saw it last night.  It wasn't awful.  In fact, I find my sentiments running fairly in line with Seanchai.  My first reaction upon seeing it was "Huh.  Someone wrote fan-fic and they made it into a movie."  Still entertaining, and the fight scenes were pretty frickin' sweet.

Also, the best acting you'll ever get out of Anakin Skywalker.  Not that the bar has been set particularly high, mind you...
 

jswa

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« Reply #6 on: August 18, 2008, 04:55:53 PM »
I just think we've had enough of the Clone Wars.

Even if you do like Star Wars or the prequels or whatever, why are we still bothering?

In the story as is, the whole thing was orchestrated, so it's infinitely difficult to even care about it.

That having been said, I'll probably download it at some point. No point in spending money, but I'm always open to seeing a sci-fi yarn (even a mediocre one).

Aos

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« Reply #7 on: August 18, 2008, 05:04:55 PM »
Quote from: Ian Absentia;236405
My kids came at me this weekend, all excited about Clone Wars.  "Dad!" they exclaimed, "Annakin has a padawan!"

"What's this shit?" I replied calmly.  "The fucker's evil.  He turns into Darth-fucking-Vader for crying out loud.  Saddling him with a padawan is supposed to be a good idea?"

My daughter interjected, "Annakin's not evil!  He's cute when he's just a little guy!"

"Fuck that," I explained.  "He's evil from the get-go.  Never had a chance against that hack writer Lucas."

"What?" the children cried in chorus.

"You heard me," I replied.  "The writer of Star Wars is a fucking hack.  The only good script that came out of him was co-written by the guy who wrote The Rockford Files -- fucking good show that was.  Lucas can't write himself out of a paper bag.  But apparently he can doom every decent character he's ever come up with with either a stupid name or a criminal history (for which they're summarily pardoned when the plot runs thin)."

Wails of despair followed from the children.

"Shut up and get me a beer," I consoled them.

!i!


Dad, is that you?
You are posting in a troll thread.

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Ian Absentia

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« Reply #8 on: August 18, 2008, 05:12:20 PM »
Search your feelings, you know it to be true!

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Drew

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« Reply #9 on: August 18, 2008, 05:17:38 PM »
I liked that Eric Cartman grew up to be a transvestite Hutt.
 

Aos

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« Reply #10 on: August 18, 2008, 05:37:20 PM »
Quote from: Ian Absentia;236434
Search your feelings, you know it to be true!

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Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!
You are posting in a troll thread.

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Seanchai
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« Reply #11 on: August 18, 2008, 06:16:26 PM »
Quote from: Drew;236436
I liked that Eric Cartman grew up to be a transvestite Hutt.


There is just so much about that character that is bad...

Seanchai
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Seanchai
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« Reply #12 on: August 18, 2008, 06:25:09 PM »
Quote from: jgants;236388
Or you could have, you know, gone to a better movie.


Since I had to work and I wasn't planning on seeing a movie, I just picked whatever was starting when I got to the theater.

Besides, they get me with hope.

When I saw the first crappy new Star Wars movie, I thought it was going to be awesome. It was not.

When the second crappy new Star Wars movie came out, I couldn't help myself: intellectually, I knew it was going to be bad, but a part of me - the child who watched a New Hope, wide-eyed in a theater and was literally ecstatic when he got a Landspeeder for his birthday - genuinely held out hope that it was going to be good.

It was not.

When the third crappy new Star Wars movie came out, I knew that it was going to be bad, but, again, the six-year-old in me simply refused to believe it and marched into the theater, expecting Lucas to bring teh awesome.

He did not.

Rather the opposite. Lord, sweet baby Jesus, it was not awesome.

And so when I heard that The Clone Wars was starting at 9:00 p.m. - it was about 8:55 p.m. when I got to the theater - I couldn't help myself: I hoped. Hoping about Star Wars movies these days is every bit as mature and rational as pooping your pants, but I couldn't help it - when I had the opportunity to see The Clone Wars, I hoped my pants big time.

And it turned out okay-ish. I like The Clone Wars better than 95% of the crappy new Star Wars movies. It's just not really a good movie. I was bored and squirmy throughout much of it.

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Drew

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« Reply #13 on: August 18, 2008, 06:42:26 PM »
Star Wars has be come the Koch snowflake of sci-fi. Mark my words, in twenty years we'll be seeing entire movies set between lines of Clone Wars dialogue.
 

Aos

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« Reply #14 on: August 18, 2008, 07:27:17 PM »
I figure we're only about 10 years out from the first remake of A New Hope.
You are posting in a troll thread.

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