what the literal f*$&goodness, i think i am gonna check out too. now we are saying that because one real life general doesn’t like what they did in star wars, that makes it bad? HAH. you can find a real life general to say that everything that happens in real life is bad too, doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. SMH.
Did you read the article? What’s so shocking about someone using his real life experience on military leadership to make an assessment of how a character behaves in a movie, and whether such behaviour in a real life situation would constitute good leadership? These characters are presented as role models to an extend, and people identify with them. It seems to me, that someone with actual expertise on military leadership would have a more informed opinion, than the average person, but I guess that only matters, if the opinion is favourable to TLJ, like for example when a physicist states Holdo’s kamikaze act would be physically plausible in their “expert” opinion.
You don’t even have to base your argument on a military context to show that Holdo is a bad leader. Bad workplace managers exhibit the same traits. I recoiled at her response to Poe’s questions. Is that how you inspire confidence and loyalty? Dressing down your subordinates and pulling rank?
Even brash, cocky people like Poe are usually well-meaning and only need appropriate outlets for their energy. I always do my best as a manager to maintain the delicate balance between keeping my employees informed and empowered, and still making it clear who’s in charge when the time comes to make a final decision. If I ever spoke to an employee like Holdo did to Poe, they’d be right to lack confidence in my leadership abilities, and if I had a manager who talked to me that way, I’d be looking for a new job. Not an option in the military, unfortunately (well, I guess Poe considered mutiny an option, and I was kind of rooting for him after seeing what a dickhead Holdo was).
I absolutely agree. I also believe one of the main issues here is, that the entire sequence to me is symptomatic of weak writing, since the writer’s intentions are not clear. Are we supposed to recoil at Holdo’s responses towards Poe, or is it RJ’s intention to sympathise with Holdo, since Poe has shown himself to be irresponsible? Why does Holdo treat Poe this way to the point that it results in a mutiny, only to tell Leia that she likes him later? Why would she treat someone she apparently likes, and respects this way, to teach him a lesson? If so, is teaching Poe a lesson really worth endangering the entire rebel fleet by letting things spin out of control? These are some of my issues with this entire sequence, even if we agree Holdo is a bad leader, was it RJ’s intention to have her come across as such? If so, why does the entire sequence culminate in Poe realizing he was wrong about her? It seems RJ wants us to side with Poe, and experience the lesson through his eyes, but in my opinion Poe’s actions are justified, considering the situation, and her obvious poor grasp on the situation. As such, it doesn’t matter, if she had the greatest plan in the world, since her poor leadership almost resulted in that plan never becoming a reality. If so, why does the movie present the entire situation, as if she was right all the time, and he was wrong? Surely they shared responsibility for this entire fiasco?