Is Anakin Skywalker a Positive Role Model?

[Jingle Fett]

Killing the unarmed Count Dooku

Hehe I thought this was funny. He was unarmed...literally!

Eh, in Anakin's case, I think the bad things he did outweigh the good things. He redeemed himself in the end, true. But he still killed a lot of people and even more as Darth Vader and helped destroy the jedi order...

 

[Right Hook]

I'd also like to add that Anakin whined and cried throughout the entirety of Revenge of the Sith, setting a terrible example for children everywhere.

What do we think, folks?

I think the Escapist needs to ditch its irritatin, crowd-pleasing attitude, and actually be able to mention Star Wars without in some way attacking the prequels.

We both know Anakin didn't whine and cry throughout the entirety of Revenge Of The Sith, so stop going with the whole 'pandering to the original-trilogy masses' thing.

I don't mind if people don't like it, I just wish all you writers could write one Star Wars article without expressing your thoughts on the prequels, no matter how irrelevant they are.

If you listen to the podcasts they ARE the original-trilogy masses.

Nah, I don't actually feature in the podcasts.

I just have taste.

Personally I got over bashing the prequels a long time ago, is the original trilogy better? Is that even a question that can be asked? Obviously the OT is better but you know what, I love Star Wars, I complained when they came out but at the end of the day I still love these movies. Everyone else does too, even though they are too ashamed to admit it. If they didn't then we still wouldn't be talking about them and creating new material based on that part of time in the universe. It's what we got handed, so make the best of it and in my opinion I'd rather have it than not have it and even if you think you disagree, keep in mind that Star Wars wouldn't be nearly as influential today if not for the prequels, the original trilogy is OLD and it would rarely be brought up anymore if that were the case. Hating on the prequels at this point just seems like a waste of time, we got all the the angst ridden Anakin jokes out of our system a long time ago, can we just be mature and admit that most of us like these movies despite how inferior they might be?

 

[Rattler5150]

Killing an entire tribe of sand-people on Tatooine
Killing the unarmed Count Dooku

the sand people did kill his mother,, eye for an eye ect..

A sith as powerful as dooku is never unarmed, he may have been weaponless but not unarmed

 

[crazyarms33]

Anakin loved his mother a great deal and always treated her with respect

As did Gengis Khan and he was a murdering psychopath.



Rescued his master several times from assassins, pit monsters, droid troopers etc.

And later attempted to murder him.

Rescued Amidalla from assassin snakes, pit monsters, the Trade Federation and even found time to romance her in the fields of Naboo.

And later attempted to murder her.

Built C3PO

Worthless.
Won the Podrace.

Worthless.

Killed the evil emperor to save his son

Too little too late.

Pretty much this. I'm not sure how you can even make the argument that he is a good role model with a straight face unless your moral compass is completely fucked up. Also we don't really know how many people Darth Vadar went on to kill just cuz the Emperor told him to. So no...he is a TERRIBLE role model.

 

[crazyarms33]

Also, THIS:

Was I the only one thinking, "Well, I would rather think of Anakin as a role model instead of this generation thinking that Jersey Shore is!" Because, honestly, fuck 'em.

I wasn't, but this is a very good point.
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'.[/quote]


Are these my only two options? If so I think I would like to turn in my eyes and sense of taste...both of these rank up there with the worst things I have ever seen.

 

[Jimi Bove]

I was a classic teenager when Revenge of the Sith was new and when I first watched it. I thought, man, Anakin totally gets me! He was pretty much a negative influence on me, the complete opposite of a positive role model.

Of course, now that I've grown up, I can see Anakin for what he is: a rebellious, arrogant teenager who can't really be blamed for his immaturity because HE'S A TEENAGER. The reason he can be blamed is that he's an arrogant teenager plus the force, and he used his powers to cause a lot of death. As an old-ish man, he finally realized the error of his ways and killed himself to save the world, so I guess he's redeemed himself, but he STILL isn't a positive role model.

 

[Beautiful End]

Oh, come on. Really?! *Sigh*

1. It's not like kids understand what's going on really in the Star Wars movies. Not because they're dumb, but because they're not there to analyze the movies in the deepest way possible. They're kids!

2. If they were to understand exactly what was going on anyway, I doubt they would all decide to go buy lightsabers, make their way into a school and murder everyone inside.

3. Anakin was a tragic hero. He was good at some point, but then he fell from grace. He's not the first one to do this. Disney's version of Hercules shows him as being awesome and heroic. But the true version is quite different. Do we need to ban Herc too?

4. In all fairness, the Anakin being protrayed to younger audiences is a fierce and rightful hero. I'm talking about Anakin from Clone Wars. Have you watched the series? It's almost as if Anakin had been swapped by a rebellious version of Superman, personality wise.

5. Even if all of that is wrong, it's still a dumb argument! Quick! Let's not only get rid of the Anakin figures, but also Dr. Doom, Lex Luthor, Bowser, The Joker, The Punisher, Deadpool, Magneto and everyone else who was ever a villain/ anti-hero.

5-1. In case you didn't get that last point, HE'S NOT REAL! It's not like they're playing with a figurine of Hitler! It's fiction! Don't take this so seriously. When I was a kid, I used to like villains. Then I grew up and I didn't become a crazy psychopath who doesn't love his mama. Who would have thunk it, huh?

This is all just dumb. It amazes me what people do just to get their 5 seconds under the spotlight.


Off-topic: I have to agree with what someone said before. Escapists, come on. We know you dislike the sequels and stuff, but do you really need to reminds us every single time there's a Star Wars-related article released? It's about being unbiased and professional. Some of us actually like the movies and it's pretty damn annoying when this happens more than often. Say what you want; we don't have taste, we're dumb, we need to go outside, whatever. Fact of the matter is that you should remain professional about it. Just that.

 

[Belaam]

We both know Anakin didn't whine and cry throughout the entirety of Revenge Of The Sith,

Of course he didn't. There are scenes in that movie that he wasn't in.

 

[Owen Robertson]

How about Obi-Wan? The most evil thing he did was not giving Anakin a mercy-killing at the end of RotS. Not to mention he's played by the infinitely more likeable Ewan McGregor.

Yeah. At least Ewan Doesn't have a McMansion in Richmond Hill, Ontario. The thing is a fucking eyesore if I ever saw one. Wouldn't mind if someone took a queue from Hot Fuzz and bombed the place.

 

[Amnestic]

Forum ate my last post, so let's write it out again >_>

Mine would too. I think though that as a protocol droid C3PO is supposed to be a sort of butler-droid. I don't think it's a stretch to say he could have helped out somehow.

A protocol droid was a type of droid designed to assist sentients in their relations with one another and were programmed mostly for etiquette, and were often used as translators between sentients or between sentients and computers. Protocol droids were generally designed to look like the sentients they would be serving; for example 3PO-series protocol droids were designed to look Humanoid.

They also possessed knowledge about various cultures and customs, in order to advise those for whom they are working, and also so that they themselves may behave in a diplomatic and culturally sensitive manner.

"I'm not much more than an interpreter, and not very good at telling stories."

So what's my problem? That Lucas put the droids in the wrong flipping place! Even assuming you had to shoehorn 3PO into the prequels - which you didn't. He could've simply been an interpreter droid serving aboard Leia's ship, he put 3PO in the wrong place.

Where does it make more sense to put a protocol droid, programmed primarily for etiquette and to help with diplomatic relations? Why, on Amidala's cruiser of course. She's Queen of her planet, young, and could probably do with the help of a far more knowledgeable droid when interacting with certain species.

And R2? Well he's got a playful/mischievous streak to his personality. One might say that would reflect well from Anakin's boyhood willfulness. Combined with his impressive ability to act as a table (RotJ), store data/holovids and his various assortment of gadgets...He seems far better at helping out around the house.

It just seems to make far more sense that 3PO was Amidala's droid and R2 was Anakin's.

5. Even if all of that is wrong, it's still a dumb argument! Quick! Let's not only get rid of the Anakin figures, but also Dr. Doom, Lex Luthor, Bowser, The Joker, The Punisher, Deadpool, Magneto and everyone else who was ever a villain/ anti-hero.

How many of those characters are held up to children as role models to emulate?

 

[Beautiful End]

Forum ate my last post, so let's write it out again >_>

Mine would too. I think though that as a protocol droid C3PO is supposed to be a sort of butler-droid. I don't think it's a stretch to say he could have helped out somehow.

A protocol droid was a type of droid designed to assist sentients in their relations with one another and were programmed mostly for etiquette, and were often used as translators between sentients or between sentients and computers. Protocol droids were generally designed to look like the sentients they would be serving; for example 3PO-series protocol droids were designed to look Humanoid.

They also possessed knowledge about various cultures and customs, in order to advise those for whom they are working, and also so that they themselves may behave in a diplomatic and culturally sensitive manner.

"I'm not much more than an interpreter, and not very good at telling stories."

So what's my problem? That Lucas put the droids in the wrong flipping place! Even assuming you had to shoehorn 3PO into the prequels - which you didn't. He could've simply been an interpreter droid serving aboard Leia's ship, he put 3PO in the wrong place.

Where does it make more sense to put a protocol droid, programmed primarily for etiquette and to help with diplomatic relations? Why, on Amidala's cruiser of course. She's Queen of her planet, young, and could probably do with the help of a far more knowledgeable droid when interacting with certain species.

And R2? Well he's got a playful/mischievous streak to his personality. One might say that would reflect well from Anakin's boyhood willfulness. Combined with his impressive ability to act as a table (RotJ), store data/holovids and his various assortment of gadgets...He seems far better at helping out around the house.

It just seems to make far more sense that 3PO was Amidala's droid and R2 was Anakin's.

5. Even if all of that is wrong, it's still a dumb argument! Quick! Let's not only get rid of the Anakin figures, but also Dr. Doom, Lex Luthor, Bowser, The Joker, The Punisher, Deadpool, Magneto and everyone else who was ever a villain/ anti-hero.

How many of those characters are held up to children as role models to emulate?

None really. In all fairness, the center was just selling Anakin figures. They were not saying "Hey, kids! This should be your role model! You wanna grow up to be like him and imitate all the bad things he did!".

If the center was giving class about How to Become Darth Vader in 5 Easy Steps, then sure. Horrible idea. But this is nothing. Like I said, figures like The Joker and and stuff like that are sold everywhere. No one is telling kids to buy a toy and emulate them in every way possible. Just because I bought an Ezio figure doesn't mean I hide blades under my sleeves and I kill hobos for fun.

Kids can choose to do whatever they want with those toys. And again, I'm sure that even 3 year old kids would want to imitate Anakin's evil ways (murder and stuff). They're more interested in pretending to have space adventures and lightsabers and stuff. Same reason why they haven't banned Darth Vader figures and there are even Darth Vader/Anakin costumes for KIDS.

It's just a toy. Nothing more and nothing less.