Hey, it's me. said:

Do you know different?

Hey, it's me. said:

I don't think you can really describe robots as slaves. They were built for their specific duty. They weren't kidnapped from a planet where robots of all kinds roam free and do as they wish and forced into a life of servitude. :-D

That's not a complete definition of slavery.

Most slaves are born into slavery, not kidnapped. Slaves are sentient beings used as utility objects.

Artoo and Threepio have an internal life outside of their duties, they think for themselves, show signs which can be interpreted as emotional responses even when there isn't a non-droid to witness their behaviour. They forge connections that go beyond a purely mechanical loyalty (they are loyal to each other).

This suggests a degree of sentience. Something George was keen for us to believe in 1977 and 1980. We are meant to have empathy with them as full characters not just funny machines.

They are slaves in much the same way the clone troopers in the PT are who are grown and brain washed people forced to a life of war (they are effectively child soldiers).

Naturally George doesn't go anywhere with this.

I don't know.

I could imagine a very exciting Star Wars trilogy stemming from the duel slavery of the troopers and the droids.

The clone wars saw them pitted against each other.

Together they would be much more interesting.

Look at Spartacus and imagine the droids of the Star Wars universe turning on their pampered masters with former Troopers as the trigger.

It could work.

Had a thought. Harry Potter is a fun, action packed fantasy that is aimed at an audience younger than SW, but it still found time to deal with slavery. Dobby the house-elf is gobsmacked when Harry treats him like a "Human being". Then Hermoine forms a committee to campaign for Elf rights.

It's all quite lighthearted but the slavery issue is dealt with, reflecting well on our hereos and throwing the wickedness of the villains into sharp relief.

Luke's the only character that really shows any love and care for the droids. Like when he thinks R2 has been eaten by the Dagobah giant fish thing. I always got the feeling R2 was luke's best friend.

In a way nuGalactica has gotten there first and done it better but Obi-Wan sort of preempts the idea by saying something to the effect of "If droids could think none of us would be here". Yet we see Artoo and Threepio go through much the same motions as the human and alien characters.

You say we don't see the droids deep in thought but we see them (or at least seem to see them) as contemplative as any of the other characters.

The sequence that George screwed up by adding his appearing/disappearing rock shows Artoo display or at least appear to display a range of emotional responses.

Fear, concern for Luke and even recognition of Obi-Wan and the completion of his mission.

He later shows concern for Threepio.

He has much more of an acting range than even Ewan McGregor in the PT.

So essentially the peoples of the Star Wars universe (surrounded by droids) are living on the edge of a potential catastrophe.

It just needs a spark, provided by a good villain.

Jabba makes perfect sense.

If he kept showing a soft side to people who owed him money Jabba wouldn't be the big cheese anymore.

That's why he kept Han as a wall decoration.

Treating the story as just a silly kids fable spoils storytelling. As I said earlier even fantasy has to act as if it isn't fantasy. It has to obey it's own internal logic.

Bingowings said:

Artoo display or at least appear to display a range of emotional responses.

Fear, concern for Luke and even recognition of Obi-Wan and the completion of his mission.

He later shows concern for Threepio.

He has much more of an acting range than even Ewan McGregor in the PT.

Very funny and very true!

(love your new avatar and matching quote by the way!)

Vincent Price avatars are the latest thing from Gay Paree...

Hey, it's me. said:

Shut up? Bit uncalled for.

He was clearly joking.  See emoticon.

timdiggerm said:

doubleofive said:

 

Hey, it's me. said:

I don't think you can really describe robots as slaves. They were built for their specific duty. They weren't kidnapped from a planet where robots of all kinds roam free and do as they wish and forced into a life of servitude. :-D

As far as you know.

 

Good point, 005. A natural origin for most droids would help explain 3P0's line in AOTC:

"Droids making droids?! How perverse!"

NOTHING can explain Threepios dialogue in AOTC ;-)

I've always thought it would be neat to have story about a Droid Rebellion. My thinking would be that it's set in the past and ends up being a bit of a tragedy that ends in the introduction of restraining bolts and regular memory erasures.

RRS-1980 said:

THREEPIO: Oh, no! I've been shot!

This is a very dramatic moment. We laugh because it's 3CPO, he's a robot. Yet think of a human in a similar situation: imagine a corpse of a soldier (torso, head, one hand) resurrected from the dead, recalling that moment. "So we were assaulting that position, I threw a grenade towards that MG nest and... wait, that's when I took the bullet!?!?"

Creepy. That's why ESB is so grand.

Tobar said:

I've always thought it would be neat to have story about a Droid Rebellion. My thinking would be that it's set in the past and ends up being a bit of a tragedy that ends in the introduction of restraining bolts and regular memory erasures.

One of those had a Dalek in it which isn't even a robot.

The EU of Star Wars and Star Trek both have the planet Skaro in them.

                                                                 ^

     ^ R2 ("Beep...boop")         ^ Threepio ("My joints are frozen... I can barely move")

            ^ Princess Leia ("Aren't you a little short for a Stormtrooper?")

                            ^ Obi-Wan ("No blasters! No blasters")

Kurosawa's 1958 film 'The Hidden Fortress'.