Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens—non-spoiler discussion
- Primula Baggins
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Re: Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens—non-spoiler discussion
I agree. It isn't and never has been a tiny minority in this country. The Internet gives them echo chambers to gather in, and microphones when they want to use them, amplifying their voices beyond what used to be possible. And people who share aspects of their beliefs hear their message and think, hey, that's great—racism isn't my fault! It's "those people" who are the racists!
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
- Voronwë the Faithful
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Re: Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens—non-spoiler discussion
On a happier note, I finally got a chance to watch the trailer, and was suitably chill-induced.
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
- Primula Baggins
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Re: Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens—non-spoiler discussion
Yes! I have a good feeling about this.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
Re: Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens—non-spoiler discussion
I have never said that racists are a tiny minority in your country. What I said was that on the internet you have tiny minority of “sincere” supremacist white-nationalists who fear that children movies such as the upcoming Star Wars films are ploys of Jewish world dominance, deployed to extinguish the white race. There are some connections between these people and Trump supporters but to equate the two groups is politically disingenuous at best. If you search for the hashtag #BoycottStarWarsVII on Twitter you will have a hard time finding a lot of boycott-positive tweets. The vast majority of tweets containing the hashtag criticize the racists, make fun of them and/or laud the diverse cast of the upcoming movie. For me this all seems so redundant really. One might as well bring a major story about vegans complaining online about the building of a new slaughter house, or radical feminists boycotting porn.
Again, it would be an interesting story, if Trump (or anyone else of similar political prominence) announces tomorrow that he dislikes the casting of Boyega because of his race. It would be an interesting story if sequels with a more “diverse” cast generally underperform among the white subsection of the audience. If Star Wars VII bombs this December (lol), and the main reason for that is the absence of angry white males who avoided the cinema, yes, then it is an interesting story. But as long as you only have some white supremacists vocally complaining about it, whom nobody would recognize without the help of 4chan trolls, it is a “controversy” story, generated by news outlets who have outsourced their editorial process to Twitter (a world revolving around controversy and moral posturing) and thereby hope to generate clicks (and thereby revenue) by publishing such revelatory information, and not a real news story.
Okay, I am done with osgiliating this thread. As the official Star Wars denigrator of this forum I am trying to find complaints about the new trailer. It is a good trailer however. I’d say the first trailer (not the teaser though) was better, at least for nostalgic Star Wars fans. One major gripe however: The bad guy’s voice (the dark helmet guy) sounds laughably bad.
Again, it would be an interesting story, if Trump (or anyone else of similar political prominence) announces tomorrow that he dislikes the casting of Boyega because of his race. It would be an interesting story if sequels with a more “diverse” cast generally underperform among the white subsection of the audience. If Star Wars VII bombs this December (lol), and the main reason for that is the absence of angry white males who avoided the cinema, yes, then it is an interesting story. But as long as you only have some white supremacists vocally complaining about it, whom nobody would recognize without the help of 4chan trolls, it is a “controversy” story, generated by news outlets who have outsourced their editorial process to Twitter (a world revolving around controversy and moral posturing) and thereby hope to generate clicks (and thereby revenue) by publishing such revelatory information, and not a real news story.
Okay, I am done with osgiliating this thread. As the official Star Wars denigrator of this forum I am trying to find complaints about the new trailer. It is a good trailer however. I’d say the first trailer (not the teaser though) was better, at least for nostalgic Star Wars fans. One major gripe however: The bad guy’s voice (the dark helmet guy) sounds laughably bad.
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Re: Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens—non-spoiler discussion
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
Re: Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens—non-spoiler discussion
So I watched that with the kiddo standing right next to me. Her response to the opening "Who are you?" line was "You'll never guess."
When you can do nothing what can you do?
Re: Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens—non-spoiler discussion
Wait, River--did your kiddo just leapfrog from toddlerhood to tweendom without us noticing???
“Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved her children and grandchildren dearly, none of the new spiders ever quite took her place in his heart. She was in a class by herself. It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.” E. B. White, who must have had vison in mind. There's a reason why we kept putting the extra i in her name in our minds!
Re: Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens—non-spoiler discussion
I know, I had that moment of "Wait, how old is she?"
If there was anything that depressed him more than his own cynicism, it was that quite often it still wasn't as cynical as real life.
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
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Re: Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens—non-spoiler discussion
Heehee! River, you have a dynamo on your hands.
Mornings wouldn't suck so badly if they came later in the day.
Re: Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens—non-spoiler discussion
She will be three in a matter of weeks. She is quite the handful at times.
When you can do nothing what can you do?
Re: Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens—non-spoiler discussion
In my experience, that is pretty much exactly how she'll be at 13. I found that at about 11 or 12, they began acting like they had when they were toddlers. So just add or subtract 10 years, depending on where you are in the range.
Re: Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens—non-spoiler discussion
Remember the supercut Fan Trailers for LotR? Here's one for TFA.
The Vinyamars on Stage! This time at Bag End
- Voronwë the Faithful
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Re: Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens—non-spoiler discussion
Coolness!
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
Re: Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens—non-spoiler discussion
Cool! This is really the first I've seen any of the trailers. (I know, I know. College classes, people! I only have so much time to screw around on the internet. ) So the supercut is a mashup of all available trailers/footage?
Re: Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens—non-spoiler discussion
Yep!
The Vinyamars on Stage! This time at Bag End
Re: Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens—non-spoiler discussion
Awesome!
I'll share it, but I suspect the main people I know IRL who love Star Wars have already seen it.
I'll share it, but I suspect the main people I know IRL who love Star Wars have already seen it.
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Re: Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens—non-spoiler discussion
Or at least have seen the individual trailers used to make it.
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
Re: Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens—non-spoiler discussion
I know, for sure, they've seen all of those. I just didn't know if they've seen this compilation. It's nice to have it all in one place.
Re: Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens—non-spoiler discussion
The Radicalization of Luke Skywalker: A Jedi's Path to Jihad
Via (who else) Yonatan Zunger, whose commentary is also well worth reading.From introducing him to us in A New Hope (as a simple farm boy gazing into the Tatooine sunset), to his eventual transformation into the radicalized insurgent of Return of the Jedi (as one who sets his own father’s corpse on fire and celebrates the successful bombing of the Death Star), each film in the original trilogy is another step in Luke’s descent into terrorism. By carefully looking for the same signs governments and scholars use to detect radicalization, we can witness Luke’s dark journey into religious fundamentalism and extremism happen before our very eyes.
When we first meet Luke Skywalker, he’s an orphaned farm boy with barely any friends, living with his Aunt and Uncle, and wanting to join the Galactic Academy like all the other guys his age. You see, Luke didn’t become a space terrorist overnight, but he did exhibit signs that would make him a prime candidate for terrorist recruiters.
If there was anything that depressed him more than his own cynicism, it was that quite often it still wasn't as cynical as real life.
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
- Dave_LF
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Re: Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens—non-spoiler discussion
It really is surprising how little time (0?) the original trilogy devotes to backstory. Not a word about why the rebellion is rebelling, or what exactly Leia is princess of (is that even a real title, or a style taken ironically by a rebel fighting to take down the aristocracy?). An honest viewing of Ep. 4 free of prejudice toward the handicapped would leave you with no idea who to root for, right up until Alderaan is destroyed.