A second look at Solo: A SW story

[the_raven]

 

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In the original post for the movie here on the forum, i wrote that i liked the movie overal, save for a few things here and there. Recently, it occured to me that the movie is actually pretty bad. Why? Well, it's not the SJW bullshit (in fact, i feel like the movie actually pokes fun at SJWs, but more on this later), nor was it the actors. No, the reason why i got these second thaughts came from rewatching my favorite SW movie - Empire strikes back, upon which Solo is mainly based. The problem is in the characters, namely Han and Lando.

As i wrote before, i didn't like the fact that they stuck everything Han Solo is known for - saving Chewey, getting the Falcon, meeting Lando, the Kessel run, and working for Jabba - into this one single incident, or a series of directly interconnected incidents, featuring the same participants and a very short timespan. To me, it's very lazy, it's like saying that Luke became grandmaster of the Jedi Order right after leaving Tattooine. Sure, one thing lead to the other, but it didn't happen in a week, as it did with Han. Most of the subplots in the film were left unresolved and we didn't see much development for Han - he started out as a daredevil merc wannabe, but with a kind and loving heart who turned out to be a small fish in an ocean as soon as he got off Correlia. Yeah, sure, he got by, but everyone would constantly push him around because he was just that green. By the end of the film, he got only barely smarter, but generally remained the same duffus, nothing like the experienced, unscrupulous (remember, he shot first!) smartass we see in the OT.

Lando. In Empire and RotJ, Lando is indeed a scheming charmer, hitting on Leia, running a business, but he's also a good guy, feeling actual remorse for betraying Han and the gang, and even joining the Rebellion later on. Nothing to suggest that he is a narcissistic pansexual with a penchant for capes who otherwise doesn't lift a finger to do squat. Now ok, i get it, they wanted to explore the character further since he was mostly forgotten... mostly... And i get it too, he was mainly along for the ride, but again, a narcissistic cape-lover feels like lazy writing, and like a joke in general - capes were a commong piece of attire in 70-80's sci-fi (alongside robes/ dresses/ tunics), especially in prosperous societies, or in the wardrobe of rich and arguably powerful characters, so making a wealthy businessman wear a cape doesn't automatically mean he's a fetishist (next thing you know, we'll get a Vader spinoff showing Vader's cape-filled wardrobe). His pansexuality is an entirely different issue. He's not really pansexual (as advertised on the internet), he isn't attracted to men, or androgynes, or animals, just to women - that annoying droid in the film? It had female programming. Likewise, in Empire, when the gang arrives to Cloud City, there's a brief scene where Lando and Han are reminiscing the past, saying 'so many memories' - this cannot be attributed to their brief encounter shown in Solo, meaning that either the two had other adventures together (Solo sequel, follo-up media), or that the makers of Solo don't care for details.

Finally, i come to the SJW part. In the original post i wrote that i was happy with how the SJW budget all went on that lame droid. So we didn't see much of anything else of that - a hammy feminist droid, a black supporting character with a questionable sexuality, and a capable female supporting character (three actually) - at least two of these aren't even such a big deal anymore. Now look, it's not that i have a problem with women, black people, or sexual minorities, et al, i just think that characters should be included not because of their skin color or sexuality or whatever, but because they are actually relevant - if you're a deadbeat, you're a deadbeat, and no one's gonna bother with you even if you're ten times a minority. It's all i'm saying. Not to mention that i don't have any particular issue with Lando's skin color or sexuality (the latter being a fraud anyway) or with the female characters. But back to the topic. I think the film makes fun of SJWs, and of feminists in particular, and that droid is the main reason. In one scene we have Qira talking to the droid in the Falcon's cockpit, discussing Han and Lando as lovers. The droid acts all sassy, all 'i'm a strong, independent woman' like, says that it (she) is only with Lando because it (she) only wants it, and that Lando decides nothing, despite the fact that it (she) still wears a restraining bolt, obeys Lando's orders (however reluctantly), and factually counts as his property rather than equal or even girlfriend. Throughout the film, it (she) constantly makes remarks on the state of droids as slaves, or of women (i think in at least one or two instances this), and gets on everyone's nerves with its (her) constant bitching. Other than following orders, it (she) does nothing useful. Is this not how contemporary feminists are? Always bitching, stirring up trouble when there shouldn't be any, never being there to defend women when women really are being mistreated, and overally, just being an internet nuissance? By contrast, Qira is also a woman, and a very capable and smart one at that, but does she act all sassy? Does she constantly bitch? No, she's a well-rounded person (as much as that's possible), talks as necessary, does things without showing off, etc. There's an old saying about how the empty barrels make the most noise, well that's the case with that droid. More so, it kinda suggests that internet feminists - who make noise but do nothing actually useful are fakes, just as that droid wasn't really a woman or a person but a machine with programming. It's rather subtle trolling, if you think about it.

Thank you for your attention,

Until next time.

 

 

By popular request - "tl, dr"

1) On second thought, the movie is bad. It's lazily written.

2) Everything Han is known for is stuffed into a single incident, and Han, despite going from zero to hero in roughly a week/ month, is still the same wannabe that he started out as and not the the Han from the OT.

3) Lando, despite being the same smartass smoothtalker is actually a narcissistic and useless fetishist, despite capes not being a fetish, nor does the film deliver his promised pansexuality.

4) The film doesn't deliver a plausable enough interaction/ chemiatry between Han and Lando to make them such good friends in Empire and RotJ.

5) Movie pokes fun at SJWs and especially modern feminists by introducing a sassy female droid who, like them, is annoying, arrogant, and almost entirely useless, who stirs up trouble when it's entirely uncalled for, and otherwise thinks itself more important and useful than it is. By contrast, the movie also has real women who are strong, motivated, and do what is needed, with or without the "priveledged males" telling them to.

[Noodle]

Just a tip, work on your spacing. If you'd rather separate your ideas with spaces between your paragraphs it'd be much easier to read what you've shared. As it is, it's an eyesore and I'm 100% sure most people won't read it for that reason. 

 

Don't waste a whole paragraph on what can be said on a single sentence. Be brief and straight to the point and you'll see a better reception to your ideas.  

[the_raven]

  On 6/21/2018 at 12:46 PM, Noodle said:

Just a tip, work on your spacing. If you'd rather separate your ideas with spaces between your paragraphs it'd be much easier to read what you've shared. As it is, it's an eyesore and I'm 100% sure most people won't read it for that reason. 

 

Don't waste a whole paragraph on what can be said on a single sentence. Be brief and straight to the point and you'll see a better reception to your ideas.

 

Yeah, sorry, i'm writing from a tablet and can't yet figure out the formatting, haven't been using tablets very long, you see. Still, i tried separating the main ideas.