Vaderisnothayden said:You guys are trying to read ROTJ as a realistic adult film that makes a priority out of logic. It wasn't that. It was a kids' fairytale with a happily ever after ending that implied the conflict was over. I think you want ROTJ to be that realistic adult film, so you can't accept that it wasn't and thus won't let yourself see the message the fairytale ending gave. No offense, but I think you guys are in denial about being fans of a kids' thing. I've seen this sort of attitude before, in fans of the original Doctor Who show, who tried to compensate for the fact that they were fans of a kids' show.
C3PX said:And by cold hard evidence, I do not mean things like, "it is an illogical fantasy story, and instantly ending the Empire is illogical, therefore that was the original intention".
No offense, but that is just a really, really lousy argument. You can take my word for it, I am not in denial about being a fan of some kids movie. That isn't even an issue here. Stop trying to psycho analyze us to prove your point.
It is a fantasy story, which allows for some degree of illogical things to take place. That doesn't by default require that all logic be thrown out the window. Again, I see nothing in the original ROTJ that indicates the Empire was completely finished after the battle of Endor.
And while the post of Zombie's you quoted has some excellent points, I must respectfully disagree with it. I see no reason why the "Happily Ever After" ending is incompatible with there still being more of the enemy out there. The Hobbit has a very "And they all lived happily ever after" sort of ending to it, and yet we'd be dumb to think that once the dragon was defeated, and the hoards of orcs were beat back, that it had to mean they were all gone for good in order to have the happy ending that it had. And yes, The Hobbit is very much a children's book, I am aware of that, and I am not in any sort of denial on that front.
Also, what is this, "emotional message" of which you speak? What makes you so positive the emotional message is what you believe it to be? I suppose the emotional message you speak of would be the Rebel's partying it up like it was 1999 on Endor with their teddy bear pals. I have a hard time taking any emotional message that prattles on about celebrating the love and what not seriously, but I still feel the celebration is more than warranted considering they just blew up the Imperial superweapon and killed both the Empires two highest leaders, as well as a whole slew of the Imperial Navy's best and brightest. I'd be partying it up if I were in their shoes as well. Who cares if the Empire is still out there, the day is won in a very big way.