The Empire Strikes Back is the best Star Wars movie. Or is it? — Page 7

Bingowings said:

 

Would he be 'Racey' if he called him "Fatty Boom-boom"?

 

 No... but the movie would be SO much better.

On a side note, discounting the EU and the PT Chewie IS the only wookiee we meet. Perhaps he's a particuarly poorly groomed wookiee, and it's his hygene and style that she's insulting, not his race.

ray_afraid said:

TheBoost said:

 

On a side note, discounting the EU and the PT Chewie IS the only wookiee we meet. Perhaps he's a particuarly poorly groomed wookiee, and it's his hygene and style that she's insulting, not his race.

I dunno bout that. From his greaser-style slicked back hair in ANH to the soccer boy hairstyle in RotJ, Chewie has been pretty stylish and seems pretty clean and combed... Maybe it's the lack of clothes?

 LOL. All other wookiees wear pants and ties. Chewie is a nudist!

Bingowings said:

Would he be 'Racey' if he called him "Fatty Boom-boom"?

I don't know, but he'd definitely sound like a toddler if he called him that.

Would Han be considered "racey" (which isn't a word. "Racy" is though, but means something different entirely) if he called Lando a "darkie boom-boom"?

And to answer your question on the first bit, yes, Han was obviously taking a jab at the appearance of Jabba and his species when he said that. Is that even debatable?

Some of you guys are trying to drive your point home by saying that these comments are based on appearance, and therefore nothing to do with race (species). What?! The "N" word is a comment on color (appearance). How can we even compare calling a guy with glasses "four eyes" with calling an Asian "slant eyes"? They are not even in the same ball park! All racism has ever been based on has been appearance, "They don't look like us; so they are not as good as us".

This actually comes along again in the prequels Padme reacts to Anakin killing an entire village of Tuskens, including the women and children with far less disgust than many of us on these boards might react to hearing about someone getting mad and killing a puppy. Later when Obi-Wan tells her that he killed a bunch of young Jedi children (mostly humanoids that look like her) she freaks out and tearfully says that it isn't possible and that he would never do such a thing. Again, this is simply just bad writing, but you can't really ignore the fact that it is implying that the Tuskens' lives were less valuable in her mind than the lives of those humanoid Jedi that resembled her.

In a galaxy filled with a vast number of different thinking, feeling, sentient alien races; how do we define the word "people"? Only human beings?

greenpenguino said:

The off-topic threads stay pretty on topic (which is weird) and the fan edit threads stay reasonably on topic too.

The General SW Discussion threads stay on-topic for the most part as well.  But when you throw a little fit in your own thread and leave the forum...well...

CP3S said:

Would Han be considered "racey" (which isn't a word. "Racy" is though, but means something different entirely) if he called Lando a "darkie boom-boom"?

And to answer your question on the first bit, yes, Han was obviously taking a jab at the appearance of Jabba and his species when he said that. Is that even debatable?

Some of you guys are trying to drive your point home by saying that these comments are based on appearance, and therefore nothing to do with race (species). What?! The "N" word is a comment on color (appearance). How can we even compare calling a guy with glasses "four eyes" with calling an Asian "slant eyes"? They are not even in the same ball park! All racism has ever been based on has been appearance, "They don't look like us; so they are not as good as us".

I agree that there's little difference between insulting someone's racial characteristics ('darkie' 'walking carpet') and insulting their race.

But this brings up the question, ignoring the EU and PT, are all Huts as slimy and wormy and fat as Jabba? Possibly not.

If old Orson Welles was the only human being you met in a galaxy, would calling him a 'tubby beardo' be racist?

Maybe, due to her sheltered upbringing, Leia had never MET a wookie before, and thought he was just a hippy!

or am I trying to hard here?

TheBoost said:

I agree that there's little difference between insulting someone's racial characteristics ('darkie' 'walking carpet') and insulting their race.

Wait, what? No, is NO difference. Calling someone a "darkie" IS insulting their race.

This is the weirdest discussion I've ever had about SW. I am almost pretty sure both TheBoost and Bingo are just taking the piss on this one.

Are we just arguing, or is there actually a point somewhere? You've reached the point where you are comparing things like glasses to racial characteristic and now gone even further off the wall in suggesting that perhaps (if we ignore EU and PT) that not all Hutts resemble slugs which (possibly) implies that if we do the same not all Wookies are hairy... just feels a bit like the bullet has ricocheted at this point and is going all over the place trying to find a soft surface to embed itself into. 

CP3S said:

TheBoost said:

I agree that there's little difference between insulting someone's racial characteristics ('darkie' 'walking carpet') and insulting their race.

Wait, what? No, is NO difference. Calling someone a "darkie" IS insulting their race.

This is the weirdest discussion I've ever had about SW. I am almost pretty sure both TheBoost and Bingo are just taking the piss on this one.

 True. I'm tempted to quibble, but yeah, I'm more or less taking the piss as you say.

TheBoost said:

But this brings up the question, ignoring the EU and PT, are all Huts as slimy and wormy and fat as Jabba?

I can't ignore this. It's too awesome =D

This talk about anti-Wookiee racism needs to die, pronto.

To quote Willow Rosenberg:  "Bored now . . ."

LexX said:

CP3S said:

Wait, what? No, is NO difference. Calling someone a "darkie" IS insulting their race.

How is that insulting? What is the insult in this?

Fail.

I'm sorry that a post I made in this topic seems to have offended some people. I meant it only as a play on the common BBS joke topic "You know you've been something too much when something..." I also think about and like to discuss things like this, so please don't take offence.

CP3S said:

Bingowings said:

Would he be 'Racey' if he called him "Fatty Boom-boom"?

I don't know, but he'd definitely sound like a toddler if he called him that.

Would Han be considered "racey" (which isn't a word. "Racy" is though, but means something different entirely) if he called Lando a "darkie boom-boom"?

And to answer your question on the first bit, yes, Han was obviously taking a jab at the appearance of Jabba and his species when he said that. Is that even debatable?

 

Some of you guys are trying to drive your point home by saying that these comments are based on appearance, and therefore nothing to do with race (species). What?! The "N" word is a comment on color (appearance). How can we even compare calling a guy with glasses "four eyes" with calling an Asian "slant eyes"? They are not even in the same ball park! All racism has ever been based on has been appearance, "They don't look like us; so they are not as good as us".

This actually comes along again in the prequels Padme reacts to Anakin killing an entire village of Tuskens, including the women and children with far less disgust than many of us on these boards might react to hearing about someone getting mad and killing a puppy. Later when Obi-Wan tells her that he killed a bunch of young Jedi children (mostly humanoids that look like her) she freaks out and tearfully says that it isn't possible and that he would never do such a thing. Again, this is simply just bad writing, but you can't really ignore the fact that it is implying that the Tuskens' lives were less valuable in her mind than the lives of those humanoid Jedi that resembled her.

Racial epithets are only bigoted when they are attached to a history of repression.

In western cultures if a Caucasian refers to the non-ethnic physical characteristics of another Caucasian the worst that can be leveled at them is that they are rude or bullying.

In the Star Wars universe there may not have been a history of skin colour related bigotry. Indeed, it's possible that the lower number of darker skinned humans in the films could be evidence of a past where darker skinned humans formed the ruling elite and the reason why we see mostly white skinned humans could be because traditionally they did all the work.

In such a universe calling someone a name based on their skin colour wouldn't have the same connotations as it does in ours (it might even be reversed).

Chewie is physically bigger and according to Han belongs to a race that is prone to extreme physical violence over trivial issues.

Leia's comments rather than being bigoted could be interpreted as a refusal to be intimidated by superior force.

He is big, she is small and he will get out of her way.

Incidentally I was paraphrasing a song by Carl Malcolm who is Jamaican and it's a song about how he admires a particular lady's sizable bottom parts.