Friday, February 05, 2010

Comment Elsewhere: The Evil of the Clone Wars

Towards the end of a discussion of character and continuity in the Star Wars universe I commented:
Am I the only one who thinks that the animated Clone War series is a cruel trick on children, who will think of Anakin as a mildly annoying but basically heroic figure, only to discover that he’s really a mind-shatteringly evil person outside of that very limited storyline? Also, all the characters they are getting attached to get wiped out in a vast slaughter, except for the ones who eventually get killed one by one....

I really don't understand what they're thinking: they're creating a generation of children who will view their movies as a vicious betrayal. With luck, I suppose, the franchise will wither and die as a result. One can only hope.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't understand. Isn't Anakin suppose to be viewed as a hero during the prequels? Isn't one of the main complaints of the prequel films was how bad Anakin's characterization was? He isn't supposed be a whiny bitch. He is a tragic character. A person who was once good that turned evil.

Ahistoricality said...

He's tragic, but I'm not sure I'd call him a heroic figure. Sure, he's a cute kid in the first movie, but by the second, his anger, pride and adolescent narcissism are becoming very clear (to viewers: the supposedly perceptive jedi are clueless beyond belief. Also ethically challenged to a degree that strains sympathy, frankly). In the third, he's actively working against the Jedi in almost every meaningful way. Admittedly, he's being manipulated, but he's not really agonizing over these decisions: even the ultimate atrocity only takes him a minute or two to accept.

Now this might not be entirely consistent with the original trilogy, but it's what they did.

Not Important said...

Fortunately, the continuity between two trilogies is loosely coupled, so I have found myself not losing much sleep over the issue. I've been more concerned with some of the nitpicky plot points than the overarching ridiculous portrayal of Anakin Skywalker.