Trying to explain the space slug scene is like trying to find scientific accuracy in the Monstro the whale sequence in Pinocchio.
True. But we’re not trying to find scientific accuracy in the space slug. At least I’m not.
Well, we haven’t technically seen anyone leave their ships while still in space prior to ESB, so I don’t really see how the space slug is breaking any rules. Also, planets, space stations, meteorites, they’re essentially just Lucas’ swapping out islands in a fantasy/myth with planets to make it more interesting so Han has essentially just been sucked up by a "whale/“sea-monster” kind of scenario.
Smoking Lizard said:
I’m not so sure about that. I see your point, but I think the whole slug thing was unnecessary. Just sort of a 1950s “Flash Gordon” thing that Lucas was fond of.
Well, sure, I can sort of agree with that. But since SW is essentially a fairy-tale/myth in space I don’t have any problems with them throwing in a few monsters every now and then. Also it does serve as their hiding space from the Empire, only to eventually force them to leave their hiding space, thereby forcing them to go to Bespin, etc, etc.
Smoking Lizard said:
My objection to the space slug isn’t so much that it has its own gravity, as maybe the asteroid it lives on is large enough to have its own gravity, but that the slug is living in a vacuum. And worse, the characters step out of the MF into what they believe is a vacuum. That, I think, is a case of TESB breaking its own rules. If TIE pilots need life support space suits to survive space, so does Han Solo, when he leaves the safe confines of his ship.
To quote myself from earlier;
ZkinandBonez said:
The big confusion here I think comes from the fact that SW borrows from so much sci-fi that it does give the impression that it actually does make some scientific sense at times…
I think details such as the TIE pilots having spacesuits on comes down to two things;
- Suspension of disbelief. Even in something has scientifically illogical as SW there’s a requirement for certain familiar imagery since the setting is already recognizable as sci-fi. However since it’s not really important, they manage to stretch that logic in the scenes where it’s more obviously fantasy/myth inspired, e.g. the space-slug, anything Force related, etc.
- Aesthetics. Like I’ve said before SW seems to often just goes for what looks cool and interesting. Also it’s important, especially for the kids, that the stormtroopers remain faceless, both to make their deaths seem less violent and for its symbolic value. And since there’s not much reason for someone to wear their armour inside a fighter, the Rebels simply wear helmets after all (even though a space suits would make more scientific sense, but they’re mirroring WWII fighter planes not real space travel), they simply added a space-suit-armour allowing them to make even the TIE pilots as faceless as all the other Imperial grunts.