A Dark Mirror Points the Way Out
The fourth season of Clone Wars seems to be concentrating on "action" pure and simple, and for the most part this seems to have agreed with the fans whose opinions I do follow. On what seemed very short notice, though, a sudden hand grenade was thrown into things with what itself appeared not so much "stunt casting" as "crashing straight into something for real." Despite having made a great public show of wallowing in disappointment because he identified himself as attached to at least his own old conception of Star Wars, Simon Pegg managed to get himself attached to another big franchise by providing some voice work.
I admit I contemplated joining others in not watching the episode in question, and from there not watching the rest of the season, and then sort of going from there. In what little time I did have to dwell on the topic, though, a certain thought started coming to me. It's easy enough to identify moments where people connected in an official capacity to Star Wars seem to have given "aid and comfort" to those who interpret just bits of the movies in such a way as to tear themselves up from being able to appreciate all the rest of them, and yet I found myself thinking that just last fall, the Blu-Rays made the complainers more obsessed than ever with not having comparable quality discs of the old theatrical versions, and just last month there was a theatrical re-release not of The Empire Strikes Back but of The Phantom Menace. They would no doubt keep complaining they aren't getting anything "important."
You could, of course, just provide the counterargument that this is proof it's not worth providing any "aid and comfort" and the complainers ought to just be left to stew. At the same time, though, I did find myself drifting into the somewhat dangerous territory of thinking that while I had once wondered if I would have to ultimately remove Clone Wars from "almost on the same level as the movies" status, that fear had revolved around the fate of its own characters; I've had the distinct sense of the obsession with wanting "pre-Special Editions" to hinge on brief points. Somehow, too, having been swamped in the indignation over various "domestic" anime and manga releases missing some vital element of the original Japanese versions (but being tempted all too well by the corrosive possibility of just seeking out "fansubs" or "scanlations" after the fact) has made "withdrawing in righteous disdain" a bit less satisfying than it once might have been. It was an ambiguous reminder of how I'd braced myself during every moment of my first viewing of The Phantom Menace for fear the comedy relief would offend me too, but I got around to watching the episode.
The funny thing, though, was that while the bounty hunter Dengar, the actual locus of apprehension, sounded and looked like a "self-satisfied bloke" to me, that made me wonder if there was at last a bit of "difference" between a bounty hunter from the old movies appearing in Clone Wars and his actual on-screen appearance, if whatever residue of characterisation might be attached to his appearance in The Empire Strikes Back gave me a sense of him having been "beaten up by time." Too, while he seemed as competent as any of the other bounty hunters in the episode, he was the first to be removed from the fight as things focused down on Asajj Ventress's own reactions. In the end, the episode might have been a little "underwhelming" for its "bounty hunter focus" not really providing anyone to root for, but maybe something that can be brushed aside with time is better in this case.
This entry was originally posted at http://krpalmer.dreamwidth.org/159916.html. Comment here or there (using OpenID) as you please.
I admit I contemplated joining others in not watching the episode in question, and from there not watching the rest of the season, and then sort of going from there. In what little time I did have to dwell on the topic, though, a certain thought started coming to me. It's easy enough to identify moments where people connected in an official capacity to Star Wars seem to have given "aid and comfort" to those who interpret just bits of the movies in such a way as to tear themselves up from being able to appreciate all the rest of them, and yet I found myself thinking that just last fall, the Blu-Rays made the complainers more obsessed than ever with not having comparable quality discs of the old theatrical versions, and just last month there was a theatrical re-release not of The Empire Strikes Back but of The Phantom Menace. They would no doubt keep complaining they aren't getting anything "important."
You could, of course, just provide the counterargument that this is proof it's not worth providing any "aid and comfort" and the complainers ought to just be left to stew. At the same time, though, I did find myself drifting into the somewhat dangerous territory of thinking that while I had once wondered if I would have to ultimately remove Clone Wars from "almost on the same level as the movies" status, that fear had revolved around the fate of its own characters; I've had the distinct sense of the obsession with wanting "pre-Special Editions" to hinge on brief points. Somehow, too, having been swamped in the indignation over various "domestic" anime and manga releases missing some vital element of the original Japanese versions (but being tempted all too well by the corrosive possibility of just seeking out "fansubs" or "scanlations" after the fact) has made "withdrawing in righteous disdain" a bit less satisfying than it once might have been. It was an ambiguous reminder of how I'd braced myself during every moment of my first viewing of The Phantom Menace for fear the comedy relief would offend me too, but I got around to watching the episode.
The funny thing, though, was that while the bounty hunter Dengar, the actual locus of apprehension, sounded and looked like a "self-satisfied bloke" to me, that made me wonder if there was at last a bit of "difference" between a bounty hunter from the old movies appearing in Clone Wars and his actual on-screen appearance, if whatever residue of characterisation might be attached to his appearance in The Empire Strikes Back gave me a sense of him having been "beaten up by time." Too, while he seemed as competent as any of the other bounty hunters in the episode, he was the first to be removed from the fight as things focused down on Asajj Ventress's own reactions. In the end, the episode might have been a little "underwhelming" for its "bounty hunter focus" not really providing anyone to root for, but maybe something that can be brushed aside with time is better in this case.
This entry was originally posted at http://krpalmer.dreamwidth.org/159916.html. Comment here or there (using OpenID) as you please.