Welcome to Endor: A Forest Getaway You Won’t Forget
Are you looking for an escape from the bustling metropolis world of Coruscant or Eufornis Major? Do you desire an adventure in a forested wonderland where you can experience nature in its purest form? Have you always wanted an unforgettable experience you can tell your friends about for years to come? If you answered yes, then a trip to the amazing forest moon of Endor is just what you need. Our attractive vacation packages will take you on adventures even dreams could not imagine. And with six new hyperspace lanes dedicated to travel into the Endor system, it’s never been easier to bring the whole family to this incredible moon.
Struggles in Heroism: On the (New) Star Wars Expanded Universe
It’s probably not a big secret that I have had “issues” with Star Wars in its Disney years. There are a lot of things I love about the direction things are going — a more diverse cast, the emphasis on big sprawling adventure, etc. — but there are also problems I have with the cohesion of the stories, the structure of the narratives, Disney’s treatment of character, etc. Yet, it’s still Star Wars, and even when it’s not quite on the mark, it’s still enormously fun. However, there’s something a tad “off” for me about Star Wars, especially the new Expanded Universe. Recently, I’ve been listening to several audiobooks of new Star Wars novels — Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath and Rebecca Roanhorse’s Resistance Reborn — and it got me thinking a lot about some of the things that have made the Disney era so difficult for me as a Star Wars fan. To be clear: I have zero intention of bashing Star Wars here; rather, I want to talk a bit about what I have found less enticing about this new era while still keeping my love for this franchise.
All the Star Wars
I was all set to let a blog post slide for the evening. There’s a lot going on today, so it just seemed like a lost cause. And then this happened. What’s that? Here, let me quote it for you:
The “True Fan” Argument of Stupidness (or, Could We Stop This Nonsense Now?)
As a giant Star Wars fan, it is inevitable that I’ll come into contact with people claiming to know what a “true fan” looks like. In the last year, that argument has become more prominent than ever. In the wake of The Force Awakens, hundreds of people flocked to the Star Wars franchise to declare themselves fans. And old school Star Wars fandom wasn’t happy. Those new folks didn’t understand Star Wars. They didn’t really love it; they were just in it for the exciting new ride. They were just half-assed fake fans. None of this is particularly new to the fan world. People have been calling other people out for being fake fans longer than I’ve been alive. But as an argument, the “true fan” reasoning is, at best, bullshit. There are a couple reasons for this:
Addendum: Strong Male Characters (or, That Rogue One Review is Full of Crap)
Two days ago, I wrote a post about “strong male characters” that took to task some comments made in a review by Todd McCarthy. At the time, I had not seen Rogue One, so my argument essentially rested on the idea that we don’t need “strong male characters” in every movie. Now that I have seen the movie, I feel it necessary to come back to McCarthy’s review to address the substance of the claims. Expect some spoilers ahead! As a reminder, here is the relevant quote from McCarthy’s review: What the film really lacks is a strong and vigorous male lead (such as Han Solo or John Boyega’s Finn in The Force Awakens) to balance more equally with Jyn and supply a sparring partner. None of the men here has real physical or vocal stature, nor any scenes in which they can decisively emerge from the pack in a way that engages audience enthusiasm. Both Luna and Ahmed have proved themselves repeatedly in big-screen and television performances, but their characters never pop here, to the film’s detriment. And given that Jyn is rather less gung-ho and imposing than was Ridley’s Rey, there’s an overall feel of less physical capacity on the part of the main characters. None of this is remotely accurate. Actually, I’d hazard to call it complete and utter bullshit.
Shaun’s Rambles 014: Anticipating Rogue One
So, I’m about to see Rogue One. In this totally random and very short episode of Shaun’s Rambles, I talk about why I’m looking forward to the latest addition to the Star Wars franchise! Let me know what you thought of the movie in the comments! https://media.blubrry.com/shaunsrambles/archive.org/download/ShaunsRamblesEpisode014AnticipatingRogueOne/ShaunsRamblesEpisode014–AnticipatingRogueOne.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS