Star Wars and Violence

Well it's funny because it goes back into gun violence where it's about opinion whether they are trying subconsciously to emulate violence from star wars as well well deciding if you want to blame a FICTION movie or not
.

 

It's like the typical saying, "...would you jump off the cliff if...."

 

Star Wars violence, we knew this would happen.

 

at least it wasn't real . .

 

Yep the unsafe working galaxy environment republic credit lawsuits would be breaking the glass ceiling, CGI & creative props saved the day.

 

I actually really enjoyed the article and understood where the author was coming from, seeing as he was a soldier who has seen the actual horrors of war. I have two grandfathers who served in wartime(WWII and Vietnam respectively). My older grandfather who served in WWII has since passed away(not before imparting some horrifying stories though), however my other grandfather who is a Vietnam vet is plagued to this day with issues from the war. He still has horrible PTSD issues and even some health issues from exposure to Agent Orange(my aunt was born with spinal issues because of it). To him, movies featuring war and violence have a different feeling and tone. He doesn't go so far as to have issues with Star Wars, but he does find it bothersome just how violent and realistic entertainment has become these days. To him, video games like Call of Duty and Battlefield are more than harmless fun. As someone who has seen his friends die right next to him and has killed other men himself, he finds no entertainment value in simulated versions of that violence(especially as it strives for greater realism).

With that in mind, I completely understand where the author of this article is coming from. Will it make me stop watching Star Wars, of course not, but I can see how someone in the author's position would have a hard time enjoying something featuring warfare, even if its something as tame as Star Wars. I also think he's right that people sometimes watch movies and uphold violence as a virtue even in real life, which isn't an inherently American thing either. The author does mention the Iraq War however, and I can definitely remember the rallies for action that were rumbling around the country. People just wanted to see justice done, but many were also acting rather extremely.

I remember seeing a man on a street corner in my hometown holding a sign that read "Nuke em' til they glow and then shoot em' in the dark". He was smiling with this smug look on his face, it was pretty disgusting really. He obviously wasn't thinking about all of the innocent people over there, people who had fathers, mothers, daughters, sons, nieces and nephews and so on. They weren't really people to a person like him, but rather subhuman creatures that needed to be exterminated. Sadly, at least early on, sentiments like the ones on that man's sign weren't nearly as rare as they should have been. There were also people who would silence any disagreement on the war by saying that those who had issues with it were unpatriotic and wanted the troops to die. I saw more than one bumper sticker that said things like "If you don't stand behind our troops then get in front of them".

Does all of that mean that its wrong to watch Star Wars? I certainly don't think so, but it is good to keep a perspective of fantasy and reality, and especially realize that violence in real life is not something to be glorified in any way shape or form, even if it is necessary at times. Sadly, some of the dumb masses don't always separate the two as easily as one would think. I even remember one guy who wanted to join the military because he saw how cool the guns and cannons looked in the Transformers movies, not out of a sense of duty and honor, but because he wanted to fire a cool gun... That he saw in a godawful Transformers movie no less.

At the end of the day, I find that the majority of veterans I talk to, who have seen the real horrors of war, tend to view violence with a much more abhorrence than us everyday people. Even more noteworthy, they generally view people of other nations, especially the ones where they fought, as actual human beings deserving respect and not as the kind of boogie men that we used to see on propaganda posters. They are also usually more wary of the nation going to war, if they aren't against the prospect outright in most cases.

Really, at the end of the day, whether you are pro-war anti-war or somewhere in between, it is good to take a step back from entertainment and cultural norms and see whether they might be affecting you. I know that watching something like Star Wars(or any form of entertainment featuring violence) certainly doesn't encroach on my real life values(or the values of the majority of Star Wars fans), but sadly, not all people are the same in that respect.

 

the author states: "It’s a story about how violence makes us American. It’s a story about how violence makes us good."

eh. i couldn't more fundamentally disagree with this sentiment.
while i respect the writer's perspective, i feel sorry for him if this is his actual takeaway from Star Wars.
personally i learned the exact opposite; the war didn't end because of violence. the galaxy wasn't saved because of war. the heroes won because, ultimately, Luke refused to fight, insisted on peace, and ultimately, appealed to a desire for justice in his father. and yes, there was still violence and the peace was bought through it, but that was never the point to my understanding.

the author also states: "It’s our choice. We make our myths. We show by our actions what our holy days mean."

we also choose how we interpret our myths. and we show by our actions how we teach those things to our children.

 

Wonderful words my friend.

 

I cannot take this author seriously. If this is the message that he came away with, then I cannot help but wonder if he fell into the same trap as many others, who believe that STAR WARS was some space opera that supported and celebrated American violence.

The heroes didn't win because of Luke. They won regardless of Luke and Anakin's actions.

 

oh. i must have watched a different movie. in the one i saw, Luke precipitated Darth Vader killing the Emperor, thus ending his reign of terror in the galaxy. [shrug]

 

I actually really like how the Story Group is presenting the complexities of war these days. They've been doubling down on the "civil war" aspect of the Galactic Civil War. War isn't something that is full of clearly defined good guys and bad guys, even if one side is clearly in the wrong, that doesn't mean that all the soldiers on that side are evil, nor does it make all the soldiers on the other side virtuous. Take WWII for example, the Nazi party was clearly despicable, but saying that all German soldiers were evil is just stupid and simple minded.

Also kudos to George and the people who worked on TCW for spotlighting the complexities of the Clone Wars and the fact that there were good people on the side of the Separatists too. That has also carried forward into Rebels, showing that there are honorable people on the side of the Empire too. Agent Kallus turned out to be a far more interesting character than what he initially seemed to be.

 

I saw the Rebel Alliance defeating the Imperial forces and blowing up the second Death Star without Luke, Anakin or anyone else's help. And as I recall, it took a while for the Rebel Alliance to completely defeat the Imperials after Palpatine's death.

 

True, it was an effort on multiple fronts, however, had Palpatine and the Sith Order not been destroyed, I'm doubtful that the Empire would have truly fallen. After all, there was still plenty of time to evacuate the Death Star, there's no doubt the Emperor would have escaped otherwise.

 

Great post! Is Star Wars violent? Sure. Does it promote violence? Not really. Luke refuses to fight Vader; Obi Wan refuses to fight Vader; Yoda expresses that violence and the dark side is bad. If you are pro-jedi, you want to avoid conflict.
Of course, there are other characters who gain advantages through violence- Han shoots Greedo; Wookies will pull your arms out of their sockets; blowing up Death Stars. However, I do not feel that they were promoting violence as much as rebellion. The good guys were threatened with violence and defended themselves.

 

oh, i missed this post some time back! glad to have found it as this is a great article ~ thank you!