Author: Ben Crofts

Bastards of the Dark Side

Posted on April 8, 2014by Obiwomble's Outlook

People liked the “You Don’t Know the Power of the Dark Side!” How does it work?” piece enough to want a follow-up. One that looks at those unrepentant, irredeemable master bastards. Be careful what you wish for….

A certain array of characters come to mind, for the purposes of this one I propose to look at the likes of Exar Kun, Darth Bane, the Emperor and Darth Krayt. Each has elements in common, yet each are quite distinct in how they go about their dark business. What links them? A yawning, ever demanding sense of desire and ego. The wish to dominate an entire galaxy or more, all for their own benefit.

It might be asked how these individuals lack any sense of empathy for others so completely? The answer tends to be that these individuals are sociopathic personalities. Could they not be psychopaths? Each of these Sith Lords hatches long-term plans, they think strategically on how to achieve their goals – this behavior is not that of the psychopath, who is inclined to more impulsive and unplanned actions. Read More

“You Don’t Know the Power of the Dark Side!” How does it work?

Posted on March 25, 2014by Obiwomble's Outlook

Star Wars has a strange relationship with the Dark Side of the Force. It flits from being full-on satanic influence to distilled psychopathy depending on the story, but there is one common factor – the idea that the dark side lulls the wielder in, that however constructed, it’s always a Faustian bargain at best.

Does this render the dark side power wielding nutcase that invariably results free from any kind of responsibility? Short of outright possession – which has happened – the answer has to be no. What is of interest here is that those few dark side wielding maniacs that have kicked the habit have never played the “dark side made me do it” card that fandom is fond of invoking.

I propose to look at four case studies in how the dark side operates and how the individual responded to it: Quinlan Vos, Anakin Skywalker, Kyp Durron and Cade Skywalker. Each represents a different dark side opening as it were.

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Fleeing the End: Giving a Damn!

Posted on March 17, 2014by

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You know you’re successfully fleeing the end when you realize yes, you do give a damn and still continue to care about this stuff. Companies, however, in their corporate wisdom often fail to realize the importance of this outlook and the financial benefit they accrue from it. For, where a consumer would likely conclude “fuck this shit” and walk away, a fan will, as part of giving a damn, contrive ways to justify the continued purchases and interest.

At present there is an interminable haze over the nature of the Star Wars expanded universe on the part of Disney and Lucasfilm. Doubtless this is done with good intent, they don’t want to issue a harsh statement that would see lots of fans feel done over and so walk away. Yet in the absence of that declaration, speculation reigns and speculation says standard corporate practice is exactly that which is not being said!
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The Pitch – We Fancast Episode VII For You—Deal With it

Posted on March 14, 2014by , , , and Not A Committee

downeyHeath Ledger as the Joker.

Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark.

Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor.

Marrying a beloved character with a living, breathing actor is always going to be a controversial process—especially if you’re trying to reinvent them to a degree. Your movie won’t be out for a year or more, and now irate fans have all the time in the world to mock even the idea that this person could become their favorite character. This guy, as the Joker?? Are you serious??

Part of the problem is that characters in print media, especially comics, can look vastly different depending on who’s illustrating them—my ideal Tony Stark may be nothing like your ideal Tony Stark, and we could both have valid points because all there really is to go on is “white, black hair, goatee”. That’s why taking a slightly askew angle with your casting can be such a powerful move—in Downey’s case, launching an entire filmic universe on the back on one man’s likeability—because it imbues a distinct human element to what is often, honestly, a very bland sketch of a person. People freaked out about Jesse Eisenberg being cast as Lex Luthor in the Batman/Superman movie, and hey, that movie may yet be a train wreck, but Eisenberg screams “rich asshole” to the moviegoing public already (much like Downey screamed “hard living”), and that’s far more important to producing a resonant Lex Luthor on the big screen than whether he’s old and/or bald enough. Admittedly, it’s hard for me to say what Christopher Nolan saw in Heath Ledger that screamed “Joker”, but hell if he wasn’t proven right.
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Everything I Know About Life I Didn’t Learn From Star Wars!

Posted on February 25, 2014by Obiwomble's Outlook

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Are you not entertained? Let me think about that for a moment before giving a thumbs up or down. There are times, as I’m trawling the net, that I wonder when exactly entertainment, in itself, became less important. I also wonder where the idea came from that people are so easily influenced as to follow everything they see in a story. These two ideas are quite distinct but have surprising links between them. When Star Wars went off the rails with the Prequels, I find it hard not to see the clear desire for them to be more than merely entertainment playing a major role in the crash. Why would the Prequels need to be anything more in the first place? In part due to that narrow notion and delusions of influence as to how far people follow a story.

It might be said that there is a cultural plague of seriousness, it may be said to have started after 11 September 2001, but it was around before then too, the events of that day just granted it sharper focus and latitude. The problem is Star Wars, to the core of its being, is entertainment. It is not constructed to withstand the kind of scrutiny that comes with making serious claims – that’s where the now infamous Clerks Death Star contractors riff gets started, but without the customer put-down that those contractors knew what they getting into. Equally it isn’t really concerned with the horrific realities of life in a totalitarian society. Contrary to what its critics may claim, neither of these is a bad thing!

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