Is Anakin Skywalker a Positive Role Model?
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And I firmly believe that if Qui-Gon had never ever existed, there wouldn't have been a problem.
The whole point is moot anyway, for if we held toy-makers accountable for the rolemodels that children follow, then we'd have to hold gamemakers accountable for the actions we make. I don't think it matters.
But for the record, no, he was completely evil by the third movie and no amount of indecisiveness in any amount of scenes would not have dissuaded me of that opinion.
The whole point is moot anyway, for if we held toy-makers accountable for the rolemodels that children follow, then we'd have to hold gamemakers accountable for the actions we make. I don't think it matters.
But for the record, no, he was completely evil by the third movie and no amount of indecisiveness in any amount of scenes would not have dissuaded me of that opinion.
One question: Would ELC stock a figure of Darth Vader? Probably not because he is undeniably evil, he is pretty much the most recognised figure of evil.
So, potentially, what would the difference be between the two figures?
I invoke Godwin's Law!
It would be a bit near the mark to start selling Hitler figures wouldn't it? But young Hitler is fine because hey, he hasn't killed anyone yet!
Just food for thought.
So, potentially, what would the difference be between the two figures?
I invoke Godwin's Law!
It would be a bit near the mark to start selling Hitler figures wouldn't it? But young Hitler is fine because hey, he hasn't killed anyone yet!
Just food for thought.
Obligatory
Kids just don't understand.
My children will not know of the prequal trilogy, and if they do, I shall burn it from their minds using a combination of terrible parenting and hot pokers.
Kids just don't understand.
My children will not know of the prequal trilogy, and if they do, I shall burn it from their minds using a combination of terrible parenting and hot pokers.
Interesting. Apparently good old Georgey boy must think pretty highly of Anakin, he did make the Clone Wars show all about him. He even goes out of his way to show how good and upstanding of a padawan he is. Talk about mixed signals.
Edit: I looked at his blog, and I don't understand why people have them at this point. Why is there a fascination with recording every single thought a person has. Between Facebook, Twitter, blogs, G+, Myspace (haha, I know it's practically nonexistent, but I had to put it in there), a person could got crazy. It's not really connectivity or being social or whatever it's supposed to be, it's just sad.
Edit: I looked at his blog, and I don't understand why people have them at this point. Why is there a fascination with recording every single thought a person has. Between Facebook, Twitter, blogs, G+, Myspace (haha, I know it's practically nonexistent, but I had to put it in there), a person could got crazy. It's not really connectivity or being social or whatever it's supposed to be, it's just sad.
In my eyes, Anakin Skywalker stopped being a "role model" the moment he slaughtered an entire tribe of Sand People, down to the last man, woman and child. Everything else was just a holding pattern until he got the suit.
Of course, I have issues with him being perceived as a role model in the first place, seeing as how he was a whiny, selfish whelp.
I suppose one could argue that my impressions are colored by preconceived notions about the character. Before the prequels came out, I imagined Anakin's personality to be like Thor in the recent film adaptation. I imagined a brave, strong warrior that relished action and excitement, yet still cared about those around him. He would exude confidence and charisma, easily forming lasting bonds with his friends and colleagues. He would be prone to theatrical displays, yet still manage to deliver genuine words of wisdom and stir the hearts of those who heard them.
There would be one major weakness however; he would have a burning need to see justice prevail. To that end, he would begin to dabble with powers of the Dark side, tempted by its promise of power. Thinking he could control it, he would delve deeper and deeper until it would ultimately consume him. By the time anyone realized the full extent of his fall, it would be too late. Instead we got this:
Palpatine: Join the Dark Side and slaughter a bunch of children and I may or may not be able to save your wife.
Anakin: OH HELLS YEAH!
Of course, I have issues with him being perceived as a role model in the first place, seeing as how he was a whiny, selfish whelp.
I suppose one could argue that my impressions are colored by preconceived notions about the character. Before the prequels came out, I imagined Anakin's personality to be like Thor in the recent film adaptation. I imagined a brave, strong warrior that relished action and excitement, yet still cared about those around him. He would exude confidence and charisma, easily forming lasting bonds with his friends and colleagues. He would be prone to theatrical displays, yet still manage to deliver genuine words of wisdom and stir the hearts of those who heard them.
There would be one major weakness however; he would have a burning need to see justice prevail. To that end, he would begin to dabble with powers of the Dark side, tempted by its promise of power. Thinking he could control it, he would delve deeper and deeper until it would ultimately consume him. By the time anyone realized the full extent of his fall, it would be too late. Instead we got this:
Palpatine: Join the Dark Side and slaughter a bunch of children and I may or may not be able to save your wife.
Anakin: OH HELLS YEAH!
I hate the say that a bad apple ruins the bunch, the bad apple being his bad acts, and the bunch being the aforementioned good acts, but he did commit mass genocide in the lore... More than once...
Killing the emperor was REDEMPTION, but it doesn't change the fact that he spent half of Ep. 2, most of Ep. 3, and all but 10 minutes of the "good" trilogy being a stiff, moody jerk.
And EVERYONE loves their mother. It doesn't change that he willingly tore the galaxy apart for his own personal gain.
And EVERYONE loves their mother. It doesn't change that he willingly tore the galaxy apart for his own personal gain.
Well I assume this is a toy based on the current Clone Wars show and in that context, without seeing any of the movies, Anakin is a hero and arguable a decent role model.
However, how is having a toy of Anakin in any way promoting him as a role model. Isn't it just a toy for the kid to play with and have pretend battles with their Power Ranger and Pokemon toys until they all fall apart? Or do kids use toys differently now?
However, how is having a toy of Anakin in any way promoting him as a role model. Isn't it just a toy for the kid to play with and have pretend battles with their Power Ranger and Pokemon toys until they all fall apart? Or do kids use toys differently now?
I'm now going to just assume it's stepped into the banter/trolling phase.Grey Carter said:
Also, THIS:
I wasn't, but this is a very good point.Capitano Segnaposto said:
Would all you prequel haters rather have your kids watch Star Wars II: Attack Of The Clones, or Jersey Shore? Or as I like to call it, 'The Annoying Orange grows a body and gets drunk with all his friends'.
People who look for some kind of exemplary archetype to follow in human being are just silly, nobody's perfect. People who look for the very same in the form of pop-culture figures, in particular fictional ones, are just being dumb twats. People should be smart enough to decide for themselves how one should behave and what morals or conduct you think is best to follow. Celebrities are under no obligation to accomadate their behaviour to the expectations of conventional society or concerned parents; who should really be making more of an effort to illustrate the importance of seperating the art from the artist 'X was a great musician, but they also choked to death on their vomit, so don't take everything they say to heart.' Better yet, just in general caution them to be careful who's advice you buy, don't encourage them to look for role models in pop culture, don't encourage people to look for role models at all. Everyone has their strengths and their flaws, some of the things they have to say might be aphoristic, some of it might be utterly batshit, you need to look for different people for different kinds of advice, no one person can serve as a template by which to live by. TL DR; I find the concept of role models to be stupid.
- Omni ^_^
- Omni ^_^
Honestly the only Starwars that the kids are likely to have seen is the clone wars animated series, during which time Anakin was a hero. Also, despite what people seem to believe, children are able to tell the difference between alter egos. They likely know the difference between 'good' Anakin and 'bad' Anakin, and know which one is accepted by the general society.
Also, not every toy has to be sold as a good guy. Bad guy toys are almost a necessity. Most kids will want to play war games. Those war games will include a 'good' side, and a 'bad' side. They need someone to fill that 'bad' side role. If the 'bad' character is a good rolemodel, it probably ruins their perception of what is good as much as having a bad role model play doll does, if not more, as they now antagonise good characteristics.
Seriously, I don't see a lot of problems here. I grew up watching every Starwars movie at a young age, and playing games where at times I was the bad guy. I am one of the more 'morally sound' people that I know, and am unlikely to do anything illegal simply because I have seen the harm it can cause. Hell, the only thing such things imparted on me is martyrdom, and the want to be a hero if the need arises - though fear would likely get in the way and I would run like a little girl rather than actually do any of that stuff.
I'll admit, I am by no means a normal case. Compared to most I know, my entire upbringing was quite different. Still, how many children grow up to go on school massacres and wife killing frenzies simply because they played with an Anakin doll in their youth. Often, when things like that happen, there will be completely different reasons behind it. I think an Anakin doll is the least of anyone's worries in that department.
Also, not every toy has to be sold as a good guy. Bad guy toys are almost a necessity. Most kids will want to play war games. Those war games will include a 'good' side, and a 'bad' side. They need someone to fill that 'bad' side role. If the 'bad' character is a good rolemodel, it probably ruins their perception of what is good as much as having a bad role model play doll does, if not more, as they now antagonise good characteristics.
Seriously, I don't see a lot of problems here. I grew up watching every Starwars movie at a young age, and playing games where at times I was the bad guy. I am one of the more 'morally sound' people that I know, and am unlikely to do anything illegal simply because I have seen the harm it can cause. Hell, the only thing such things imparted on me is martyrdom, and the want to be a hero if the need arises - though fear would likely get in the way and I would run like a little girl rather than actually do any of that stuff.
I'll admit, I am by no means a normal case. Compared to most I know, my entire upbringing was quite different. Still, how many children grow up to go on school massacres and wife killing frenzies simply because they played with an Anakin doll in their youth. Often, when things like that happen, there will be completely different reasons behind it. I think an Anakin doll is the least of anyone's worries in that department.
I agree, Anakin's oft-exaggerated whining is nothing the character wouldn't allow anyway, true, I prefer the original trilogy but not because of Anakin, think about it, at about 9 years old, which is old enough to have developed emotion but not much maturity, he's taken from his home and with it, pretty much all social settings outside of the Jedi, he would be as I understand he got a master in Obi-Wan right off the bat, (which means he wouldn't have had to go through the youngling classes) and to top it all off everyone kept telling him he was the chosen one, how can anyone be realistically expected to not be an entitled little sh*t if that's how you grew up, he is going to be spoiled and hence very whiny, so complaining about that is a bit like jumping into water and complaining that it's wetCaptain Pirate said:
sorry went off on a bit of a tangent there
Man, you are not making it easy to format a response to your post.
Anyway, yeah, I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but remember that Star Wars is an adventure series, of course there's going to be violence and killing. Still, in the end Anakin repents and dies because of what he's done, which isn't a terrible ending. Plus, I don't think he was ever actually portrayed as a role model, just a person who went bad and realized the error of his ways.
Because Star Wars is a cultural icon, I mean, it's not likely that a lot of kids are actually reading Superman comics, but he's still got merchandise out there.The_root_of_all_evil said:
You've got a point there, I never really thought about it, that is really kind of a point against him. I guess it could be rationalized that he wouldn't have been allowed to go back for her given the Jedi's bizarre policy of unattachment.
Now that's just bullshit, the whole master and apprentice thing was never shown as abusive and to question it is the very definition of actively looking for and then twisting things in order to complain about them. It's like when people call Batman a pervert because of Robin, it's not actually there in the text, that's just your interpretation of it and not the actual intent of the piece.
Given that he was 9 or so in the Phantom Menace and Padme was 14 or so, that would make them 19 and 24. I don't see the problem, neither of them were underage. Are you objecting to the romance of the rescues? Either way they were both adults in most of the world.
What's wrong with that exactly? The kid still built a goddamn robot, you and I couldn't do that. Are you blaming him because it wasn't the perfect type of robot for his mother? It must have proven a bit useful at least since she kept it around and even finished it once Anakin left.
You do actually kind of have a point there, but I think by this logic you could say that virtually any adventure story starring a child is bad on the basis that children shouldn't be doing dangerous things.
What? Anakin was grown ass man in his forties (at least) when he killed the Emperor. And then he himself died. Are you objecting to any violence at all? If so, what on Earth are you doing on a videogame website?
A child that abandons his children? How does that work exactly? And yes, he bullies, kills and stuff, because he's villain! Of course if you look at the stuff he does as Darth Vader he looks evil, and that's because he was. The thing that makes him a hero again is that when the Emperor is trying to murder Anakin's son right in front of him Anakin hears his sons pleas for help and finally realizes that he's been an evil prick. It's by saving his son that he becomes a hero again. To use the logic applied in the movies themselves; Anakin is a hero, Darth Vader is not.
Your interpretation and that's completely up to you, but I think that a child would probably see something more along the lines of young kid (just like them!) who has kick ass adventures in space with his robot buddies, becomes an incredibly cool bad guy, and them becomes good again when he realizes that he was actually evil.
Anyway, yeah, I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but remember that Star Wars is an adventure series, of course there's going to be violence and killing. Still, in the end Anakin repents and dies because of what he's done, which isn't a terrible ending. Plus, I don't think he was ever actually portrayed as a role model, just a person who went bad and realized the error of his ways.