Dear FFN:

[deaka]

Unless we were watching entirely different movies, the Owen Lars in ANH was not abusive or cruel. Beru Lars was not downtrodden and repressed. They were undemonstrative, maybe, but it was clear in my version at least that there was affection aplenty there for one another and for Luke

Comments

[archaeologist_d]

Oh, dear. Sounds like characterizations are a bit off.

[deaka]

Exactly! And it's when they're consistently off in the same way that it gets really perplexing. Consensus is not something you expect to encounter there.

[gabri_jade]

THANK YOU. I have been baffled by such characterizations for years. I don't know how anyone could watch ANH and think that Owen and Beru didn't love each other and Luke tremendously. Just because someone's a little gruff or quiet doesn't mean they're a monster or miserable.

[deaka]

It has to be one of the most annoying fanfic tropes around. It's just so unfair to Owen and Beru.

(I'm so behind on PMs, too. I'm sorry! I haven't forgotten. I can't seem to keep up with anything at the moment. Epic time-management fail over here.)

[treenahasthaal]

I completely agree about the Lars. I have never seen them as anything else but loving "parents" to Luke but the idea of Owen, in particular, as being abusive has been around in fanfic for a very very long time. I have always adored them both.

[deaka]

It surely has. I never quite got why it was so widespread, apart from, I suppose, the appeal of setting up a backstory a touch more dramatic for Luke than the relatively comfortable one inferred by ANH. And Owen and Beru are sorely undervalued, considering that it's surely their influence much more than anyone else's that shaped Luke into who he became.

[deaka]

Oh, your fic was like water in the wilderness. Wonderful anyway to begin with, and after wading through a ton of stories about evil ogre Owen, I was ready to cling to it madly. And I think you've nailed it there about the neglect element in the Mary Sue-type fic playing a big part.

Obi-Wan... I don't dislike him, but I sometimes suspect my view of his character isn't exactly in line with a large part of fandom. And, regardless of how you feel about the character, surely it's hard to mistake his views on Vader in the OT? I had thought he made himself fairly clear, but well, no. :p

[sunnyskywalker]

I am never sure how "needing help to keep the farm going so as not to starve to death, wanting to keep nephew safe from (he thinks) father's murderer and scary wars out there, and thinking nephew is spending too much time with loser friends" translates to abuse.

[deaka]

I know. I'm like, did I miss somehow skip the part where Owen exhibits this supposedly ruthless and tyrannical nature every time I watched ANH? If you're going to have a clumsy trope, at least try for some kind of plausibility.