Whacky Wookiee's Domain

What's Wrong With Major League Baseball (part 1) **Repost

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 02 Feb 2016 17:29:00 +0000

Where to begin? These are my “too-sense.”

Does MLB need a salary cap?

Yes, when in the past 91 years, 38 World Series championships have come from the same two teams (Yankees and Cardinals).

It's a tale of haves and have-nots. Like a crappy 80's prime-time soap.

Does MLB need Revenue-Sharing?

Yes, when in the past 91 years 38 World Series championships have come from the same two teams—Why do I feel like I'm repeating myself?

That's 42% of MLB championships from the same two cities. Over ninety-one years. The Yankees have nearly a third on their own.

And neither of those are even my biggest complaint...

Why the migration to cable TV guys?

It makes the games seem less important. Less like “History in the making.” It creates a rift in team interest for those that can't ever afford cable, at least. Not to mention those who might have an “on-again/off-again” relationship with pay-TV providers, and the channels seem to be in a higher-tier programming packages anyway.

Aside from that, is the fact that the average fan doesn't always keep the sports channels in their standard flipping habits.

I know this is the trend all over the sport, and as an example; Growing up in Cleveland, the Indians always had a lot of games on local channel 43, and a lot of commercials advertising those games during other programing.

Now they have one a week on local TV, if that, and I believe that going out to the ballgame, instead of say a movie, is losing its general appeal to the average consumer.

One of the many reasons why MLB attendance is struggling all over (this article may need a few updates.)

Oh, and one more thing...

Please flip-flop Inter-league play so that the rules follow the visiting teams. It would give the fans some extra incentive to come see the game and an unfamiliar style of ball, while visiting teams could at least find some comfort in familiar rules, in an unfamiliar park.

Oh, and one more "one more thing"...

Thanks for fixing the “Transfer rule,” but Instant replay is worthless if it's not handled correctly.

Why is there not the ability to always appeal to the Replay-umpire? More than once, if needed, even if they don't get the call?

And why does the Replay-umpire not always have the ability to let those visually-handicapped morons know when they're being even bigger idiots than usual, and they just made much more than a routine horrible-call?

Hopefully MLB doesn't bite it as hard as comedy-clubs did after the late 80's.

WhackyWookiee

--Part 2 here.

**Repost--The original isn't working.

LeBron James : Back in Cleveland - Now I Need a New Favorite Joke

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 13 Jul 2014 02:52:00 +0000

Welcome back.

Just Do It right this time.

http://youtu.be/n3QW9LebjuE?list=UUjGYuzQGveMB_QApsvwCQkg

Plants vs. Zombies: Young Zoms

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 09 Jun 2014 03:22:00 +0000

Just a little parody video I made of Plants vs. Zombies, Young Guns, and Jon Bon Jovi.

Warner Bros. and Sony are killing Gotham City Impostors!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 31 May 2014 21:22:00 +0000

Warner Bros., SONY, and GameSpy are killing PS3 GCI.

This is my tribute and a call to action for a sequel.

Please call 1 (818) 954-6000, Warner Bros. headquarters, and ask for more GCI.

Death of PS3 GCI Tribute

***Update June 9, 2014. The game IS running peer-to-peer on PS3, but the matches are more laggy than usual, and they stopped selling the PS3 version so: No more new players.

What's Wrong with Major League Baseball? part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 03 May 2014 02:25:00 +0000

Welcome back to my Major League Baseball gripe-fest. Have an eye-full.

It will probably be clear soon that I am a Cleveland Indians fan, and that all other teams are the unholy demon-spawn of the underworld.

Except maybe the Cubs, whom I chose as my NL team back before interleague play, because I've always felt they were like the National League counterpart to the Tribe.

Besides hating-on the Cubbies is like picking on the "special-kids."

I mentioned in part one that I may need to amend my original—What'sWrong with Major League Baseball?—with further complaint(s), and like your average Horrendous Space Kablooie—This is a big-one.

With this uneven divisional-based scheduling—Why are MLB teams currently playing nearly half of their schedules against the same four clubs?

I know that the Yankees and Red Sox would prefer to play the entire season against only each other, and then battle for the “World Series of Smugness” trophy—but right now each division has five teams, and each team is scheduled to play the other four teams in the division: 19 times each!

These lopsided schedules promote inflated stats and bored fans. Sure a clear divisional champion will be declared, but on occasion some good teams, and players, get to pound on the weak to pad their stats and win/loss records.

This scheduling practice, in effect, fragments the two leagues into six mini-leagues, further segmenting fans.

Fans whom on a chilly Thursday night may veto a trip to the ball-yard because—yawn—the visiting team is the Minnesota Twin-kees [sic] for one of ten visits. I hate admitting it, but certain teams put “asses-in-seats."

Teams like Boston or the Bronx-Cheer Bombers, [sic, straight-up] and other larger-market teams are generally good for a lot of extra fans coming through the gates for a visiting series. That means a lot of extra dough for struggling teams—struggling teams without revenue sharing that is.

Spread the wealth MLB—and the misery—balance the schedule. Give some variety to the fans.

Fans that currently won't get to see their team play the Yankees, Orioles, and Red Sox nearly 60 times a year—which is wasted on Canadians and Floridians anyway.

One extra series among the divisional teams, or a home-and-home four-game series is plenty.

What season-ticket holder wants to look down and realize that nearly 1/2 of what they're holding is to see the same four teams over and over? I'm sure even the “Fenway Fart-ful” [hell-yeah, sic] aren't always thrilled getting 20 home games of Tampa-on [sic(k)] and the Toronto BJ's (tee-hee, tee-hee, no "[sic]" necessary.)

So basically Major League Baseball is currently robbing most fans of quality entertainment, by hogging the biggest marquee teams to play mostly against each other.

I love my Tribe, but the Cleveland Indians benefited from the goofy-schedule themselves, temporarily, when in 2011 they jumped off to a bloated record that had the fans screaming: “Pennant!”

But Cleveland was mostly beating-up-on three struggling teams, and splitting with the fourth. Eventually—as often happens with Cleveland teams—everything went to hell, and a rival went on to win the American League Central Division, with a lopsided 15-game lead, and then get themselves mauled one step shy of the World Series. Isn't that right Detroit Tiggers? [sic, damn-right sic]

So things did even-out eventually, and the Indians accepted their traditional place during the October playoffs—curled up with a nice plate of pierogi.

WhackyWookiee

Texting While Driving Laws?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 28 Apr 2014 03:23:00 +0000

Not that long ago I had a near-miss incident whilst on the road.

I was behind another car waiting to right-on-red onto the highway. The first car stops, and then makes a legal turn. As he is halfway through, the light turns green in both directions—I assume—as I was forced to break and avoid colliding with a midsize-sedan showing no sign of yielding the right of way.

I managed to get a look at the driver: a young brunette woman holding a smartphone—now I can’t be sure—but I think I detected thumb movement.She casually glanced up at me—possibly for the first time—then went on her way.

I could be wrong to blame this incident on texting.

It could be complete ignorance of the “when making a left-turn, a driver must yield to another vehicle coming from an opposing direction making a right-turn” law.

So yes, I believe there should be laws that apply to anything that takes one’s eyes off of the road while driving—in fact I believe there already are laws on the books—like in the Ohio Digest of Motor Vehicle Laws, page 30 section five.

Which means: Texting has been illegal all along.

So why do we need the Federal Government involved? Or involved again?

We’re supposed to keep both hands on the wheel at all times—most of us violate that every day. So where do lawmakers stop listing offending tasks? The fine-print of the law would be 139 pages long—

"A driver shall not, while operating a motor vehicle, text or make cell-phone calls of any kind without a hands-free device. […]

The driver shall not make a pastrami-sandwich—regardless of bread-choice—nor shall the driver prepare cold or hot food-dishes of any kind. […]

The driver shall not assemble model-kits of any scale, color, vintage or collectability. […]

The driver shall not at any time perform a “pressed-ham.”[…]

The driver shall not “pass the wheel” to another person in the car—action-hero style—then exit the vehicle while it is in motion, board another vehicle and engage in combat with the driver or passenger(s) of the other vehicle. […]

The driver shall not perform Paul Walker’s “stare (at the passenger) and drive” move from the Fast & Furious film-series. [...]

Ahem.

Too soon?

It’s a very tragic situation—but this is legal text here. […]”

WhackyWookiee

What's Wrong with Major League Baseball?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 28 Apr 2014 03:09:00 +0000

Where to begin? These are my “too-sense.”

Does MLB need a salary cap?

Yes, when in the past 91 years, 38 World Series championships have come from the same two teams (Yankees and Cardinals).

It's a tale of haves and have-nots. Like a crappy 80's prime-time soap.

Does MLB need Revenue-Sharing?

Yes, when in the past 91 years 38 World Series championships have come from the same two teams—Why do I feel like I'm repeating myself?

That's 42% of MLB championships from the same two cities. Over ninety-one years. The Yankees have nearly a third on their own.

And neither of those are even my biggest complaint...

Why the migration to cable TV guys?

Aside from that, is the fact that the average fan doesn't always keep the sports channels in their standard flipping habits.

Now they have one a week on local TV, if that, and I believe that going out to the ballgame, instead of say a movie, is losing its general appeal to the average consumer.

One of the many reasons why MLB attendance is struggling all over (this article may need a few updates.)

Oh, and one more thing...

Oh, and one more "one more thing"...

Thanks for fixing the “Transfer rule,” but Instant replay is worthless if it's not handled correctly.

Why is there not the ability to always appeal to the Replay-umpire? More than once, if needed, even if they don't get the call?

Hopefully MLB doesn't bite it as hard as comedy-clubs did after the late 80's.

WhackyWookiee

A Blog Reborn.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 27 Apr 2014 16:30:00 +0000

Hey World,

If anyone is listening/reading, I appreciate it very much. I started this blog a while ago, as part of a school project, and I've left it to rot, more-or-less, but no more!

I apologize for my lack of commitment, I enjoy griping about what irks me, why Michael Bay is Satan, and how God seems to hate Cleveland Ohio—He doesn't. He knows we're up for a challenge.

I may as well critique the realms of popular-culture in a venue that may inspire others, through meaningful discussion, to attain new levels of “creative-bitching.”

That's what it's all about...Something you can be proud to tell your grand-kids someday.

Besides, I've noticed on the Internets recently that there seems to be a shortage of people pointing out perceived flaws in the things they enjoy.

I'm also having a hard time finding anyone attempting ambiguously-humorous pseudo-journalism.

That's me: I see a void, and I fill it.

WhackyWookiee

P.S. Please don't sue me Disney.

A “WhackyWookiee” is no more a “Wookiee,” than an Elephant-Seal an Elephant.

Video Games and Humane War

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 06 May 2011 15:12:00 +0000

         There is no greater infringement on Human rights than War. Fighting, in all of its glorious forms, has plagued mankind since before there was a word for it. The inevitable truth of War is that somebody is going to die. Someone needs to make a rule. In every instance, War, not only gives death to both sides, but sadness. Orphaned children and childless parents, homes destroyed, all for the sake of arguments and/or taking what is not rightfully theirs; War is a merciless machine of death and destruction. War is not always fought with armaments, nor is the prize new land to rule; War for profit leaves many in its wake.

                 ***Violent Video Game?
          Group Sex? Gluttony? Cannibalism?***

Part 2: Double Kill! Triple Kill! Killtacular!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 06 May 2011 15:11:00 +0000

****This is the main menu and theme from Halo
Towards the end is a short game-play demo****

Video games, and their evolved form, Real-Time Simulations, could not only be used to train soldiers, but should also decide the ultimate victor as well. Scholars theorize that wars will be fought by robotic soldiers soon. Why not “duke it out” over Pac-Man or Battle Chess instead? The entire World already meets at the Olympic Games every two years to compete physically and mentally. Political conflicts likewise could be settled, well…Politically, and with a series of fair and balanced competition.

The “Halo” universe is a perfect simulation of the futility of War; there is literally no way to win, without dying thousands of times. Firstly, there is the story mode, which details an Earth of the future, invaded by a race of fanatically religious aliens driven to destroy those that do not believe as they do. Similar scenarios have occurred numerous times in the real world, Hitler, Bin-Laden, the Medieval Crusades; the creators of “Halo” were apparently counting on history repeating itself in 500 years. Playing a game like “Halo” has always suited my tastes; I prefer my killing to have a Sci-Fi/Fantasy tinge. In recent years, perhaps due to the popularity of “Halo,” many similar games, like the “Call of Duty” series, have gained in popularity. Although they share fans and similar game play, a realistic presentation changes the ultimate effect, on me anyway. Games that are basically war simulators, are being, uh, “enjoyed” by millions. Sure one could argue that it is all a stylized game of tag; that it is no different than watching a film like “Platoon.” I play video games, I love video games, and I can tell you it is very different. Seeing a realistic weapon firing in your face, as blood splatters on the screen, and civilian non-player characters run in terror is a terrifying thing. I once viewed a play through of the “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” level entitled, “No Russian;” in it you play an undercover C.I.A. operative who has infiltrated a Russian terrorist group, in this level you slowly march through, slaughtering innocent civilians at a crowded airport; to protect your cover and get the leader’s trust. It was a nightmare in polygons.

****WARNING!!! VERY GRAPHIC!****

I’ll take magic flowers that make me shoot fire from my nose any day.

Secondly there is the Multiplayer Halo experience; all things considered, a flawless model of “Mutually Assured Destruction” and the “Domino Effect;” unfortunately in real war, combatants do not “re-spawn” ten seconds after a death. From playing “Halo” multiplayer online I have learned that in a real war, I would last approximately thirty seconds (at least that is what my game stats say my average life span is.) No matter how good you are, there is somebody better, luckier, or just in a better physical position; you will die, many times. The good players die less often; but they die. You may have a good team, but you will die; if one goes down the others will fall eventually. Often a player you have “killed” will get a new life, remember where you are and kill you a few seconds later; granted the least realistic part of the game. In the real world it might be your victim’s comrade that gets “revenge,” but it will happen.

****A Typical Halo Multiplayer Match****

Videogames have long been a controversial subject in regards to violence. Claire Suddath gives a few key highlights;

“The first major campaign came in 1976, over Death Race, an 8-bit arcade game in which a vaguely car-shaped blob runs over stick figures, turning them into tombstones. In 1993 two games--Mortal Kombat (with its hyper violent, torso-ripping "fatality" moves) and the lesser known Night Trap (in which a male protagonist protects a houseful of scantily clad women from vampires)--caused such a stir that a Senate hearing led by Senator Joe Lieberman proposed federal video-game regulations. In an effort to pre-empt congressional legislation, toy stores pulled Night Trap from shelves, and the video-game industry founded the Entertainment Software Rating Board, a self-monitoring panel that instituted a tiered rating system to track games' sexual and violent content.”

As teenager, I personally remember entering in a special code to get the bloody graphics in the home version of Mortal Kombat for the Sega Genesis; while wishing the superior playing Super Nintendo version had one. Is it because I had an unquenchable thirst for gore and violence? Possibly; but my desire to play a decent conversion of a cool Arcade game was stronger. The violence in MK was pretty cartoonish, even though it was digitized photos of real people. Yes, the nine gallons of blood that would dip from the zipper-like spine of your defeated foe, as you tore the head from his torso, looked very unrealistic and so over the top that it really did not deserve the controversy; but it did help sales. Street Fighter II was way better anyway. As is often the case controversy breeds public interest; the best way to get somebody to do something is by telling them not to. Firing a weapon, hand-to-hand combat, and video games go together like flies on stink; there really is not too much else to do but squash, throw, or consume ravenously a spectral foe for the high score. Even puzzle games like Portal and Puzzle Fighter have shooting and hitting. There are sports simulations like…(A-hem)…Hockey. Driving games with fiery crashes, skateboard games with head-crushing wipeouts, and cooking games that involve sharp cutlery, giant horny primates fall and get their heads crushed, and I shudder to think of all of those poor frogs; violence is sometimes in the eye of the beholder. Many nursery rhymes and fairy tales involve murder, cannibalism, and broken skulls violence is engrained in our subconscious. Without the threat of an ending, a game could last indefinitely; getting shot is a definite end. One could argue that even the balls in PONG “died” when they left the screen.

Part 3: Territory Lost. Territory Captured!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 06 May 2011 15:10:00 +0000

Wars are not only being fought with guns, our stomachs and more specifically, who sells what goes in them is a new battlefield. Monsanto, the makers of fine stain resistant carpeting, is busy at work making financially profitable affronts to humanity, not far removed from the likes of “Soylent Green.” Citizens of this world are virtual guinea pigs to be used for experimentation and product research; when things go wrong, grease a few palms, then continue on. Corporate behavior of this sort is all too common in Modern Society.

****Trailer for documentary Food Inc.****

Monsanto, as detailed throughout her book, “The World According to Monsanto,” Marie-Monique Robin gives us a peek into the horrid business practices the makers of “rBGH” and “Agent Orange” make routine. Genetically modified crops, researched under the guise of ending world hunger, have invaded the food supply, mutating the existing strains to produce sterile offspring, forcing farmers to buy new seed every season; this sort of business plan would make a comic book super-villain shake his head in disgust.

****More of a music video; but a lot of Monsanto's deeds.****

History books report America suspending trade and hampering Japan’s oil supply as a primary reason for the attack on Pearl Harbor. In her book, The Gravedigger’s Daughter, Joyce Carol Oates spends a lot of time chronicling the hardships of a family of German immigrants trying to avoid the turmoil of WWII; she ignores the Pacific aspect like Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as the plight of Americans of Japanese decent and Asians in general. I assume because they did not have much to do with the core story.

In writing this paper I was drawn to Kevin Dockery’s book Future Weapons, mainly because of the strong resemblance between cover model the XM8 kinetic modular weapons system (page 96) and Halo’s Assault Rifle. Kevin’s book is more of a catalogue, listing rates of fire, size of rounds, range and such. Ralphie’s mom, from A Christmas Story, should be grateful that this book was not lying on her pillow. His book did provide some insight into the boundless potential for profit that weaponry affords. The XM8 itself proved troublesome, it was too heavy, expensive, had problems with overheating, and sparked controversy from companies not allowed to bid on the contract to develop them. Killing is always very profitable after all, everyone wants their “piece of the pie.”

Part 4: Running Riot!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 06 May 2011 15:08:00 +0000

In chapter 6 of her book “An Intimate History of Killing,” Joanna Bourke details several War atrocities committed by U.S. Soldiers and their allies in the Twentieth Century. First the slaughter of Son My (also known as My Lai,) a civilian village in Vietnam thought to be a secret Viet Cong base; 500 died. Lieutenant ‘Rusty’ Calley was the only man charged with a crime, more than one year after the event. He was tried and sentenced to Life in prison; two days later, through appeal, his sentence was reduced to house arrest by President Richard Nixon, he was paroled on September 10, 1975 after serving about three years.

During World War II U.S. troops of the 45^th Infantry murdered about seventy prisoners of war, at the trial of those accused of ordering the mass executions, the blame was laid on Lieutenant-General George S. Patton, who in a speech to the 45^th said amongst other things:

“…We will show him no mercy…when you get within 200 yards of him, and he wishes to surrender, oh no! You must kill him. Stick him between the third and fourth ribs. You will tell your men that. They must have the killer instinct…We will get the names of killers and killers are immortal.”

Some in charge at the 45^th thought this sounded like orders coming from a superior officer for some reason.

In War, it is sometimes difficult to tell who the good guys are; any survivors of the village of “Son My” might have a different opinion than the standard history book offers. Lieutenant Calley may also have been a victim; his reputation, career, and name forever tarnished by bad Intel and a blind devotion to orders.

In her book Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, Fannie Flagg also mentions little, if any about the Japanese or the fiduciary aspects of WWII. She does discuss how the character Big George’s son, Willie Boy, joins the military and meets an untimely end. I discussed this myself in a previous paper;

“One set of opposing views of freedom, taken from the novel and erroneously left out of the movie, is the story of Willie Boy, Big George’s son. Willie Boy was smart and a good person, Mrs. Threadgoode states the community had hoped he would become a civil rights lawyer; Willie Boy was murdered by a fellow soldier after defending his father’s good name. Willie Boy felt it was his right to smash a bottle into the face of one Winston Lewis, who had called Big George an “Uncle Tom” for working for white people. Winston Lewis then felt it was his right to murder Willie Boy in his sleep as retribution; he then realized it was the Army’s right to prosecute him for the crime of murder, so he exercised his rights again and ran away. The problem is; that the first one to have had any rights violated, Winston Lewis, took matters into his own hands. If he had reported the assault, Willie Boy would have been prosecuted, possibly squashing any hope for a career as an attorney. The dilemma; Willie Boy responded to harsh words with violence, violence begets violence. Did Winston go too far? Yes, but Willie Boy went too far first. Words can never be answered with force in a truly free world.”

In War, the opposing side is not always the only enemy.
***For this section I thought it pertinent to imbibe you with the wisdom of this man...***

Part 5: Flag Captured! Game Over.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 06 May 2011 14:52:00 +0000

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe is indicative of what happens when people feel it is one of their Human Rights, to impose their will upon other’s Human Rights. Tying it in with Video Games and War might sound odd; a collection of tales told by an elderly woman, from the 1980s, about her life from the 1930s, mostly. Sure some minor characters go to war, and Human Rights violations abound; perhaps, making a “First-Person Adventure” game, solving the murder, experiencing the pain and suffering through the characters eyes, with a slant towards education and empathy. It could help show young bullies that suffering, begets more suffering. It would need a government grant to get off of the ground as I would expect sales to be slow; if it were free to schools perhaps, it would get played.

***WAR! At it's finest.****

The pure silliness of the very real possibility of sending robots to “Duke it out” over oil and fertile farm land is laughable, and scary at the same time. One man with a gun can do a whole lot of damage. There is no telling how much damage one man in control of a thousand walking, invulnerable guns can do. When all is said and done, whoever has the biggest gun will win most Wars (barring political handicapping,) hopefully the one with the biggest gun is a good guy. Ultimately, if it were possible to get all the World’s Presidents, Prime Ministers, Kings, Queens, Self-appointed Dictators for life, Warlords, Drug Czars, Sea-Pirates, Michael Foucault, Illegal-Arms Dealers, and the United Nations to agree to settle any disputes over Pac-Man and Chess; then it probably wouldn’t be too hard to get them to a treaty signing anyhow.

Works Cited

Fried Green Tomatoes. Dir. Jon Avnet. Prod. Jon Avnet. By Fannie Flagg. Perf. Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, and Mary Stuart Masterson. Universal Pictures, 1991. DVD.

Dockery, Kevin. Future Weapons. New York: Berkley Caliber, 2007.

Bourke, Joanna. An Intimate History of Killing: Face-to-face Killing in Twentieth-century Warfare. [New York, NY]: Basic, 1999.

Flagg, Fannie. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. New York: Ballantine, 2000.

Oates, Joyce Carol. The Gravedigger's Daughter. New York: Harper Perennial, 2008.

Wookiee, Whacky. My Freedom Is More Important Than Yours. Unpublished student essay. Kent State University, 2011.

Robin, Marie-Monique. The World According to Monsanto: Pollution, Corruption, and the Control of the World. New York: The New Press, 2009.

Suddath, Claire. "Brief History: Video-Game Violence - TIME." TIME.com. Time Inc., 05 Oct. 2010. Web. 05 May 2011. .
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1985999,00.html

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 18 May 2009 06:51:00 +0000

Diversity From A Galaxy Far, Far Away or:
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Jar Jar Binks.

Diversity is a word we hear often, it is a concept as old as existence itself, but to embrace diversity one must learn to appreciate things that are unusual to us, things outside of our comfort zone. In creating a fictional universe, a writer draws inspiration from many sources. George Lucas and the designers at Lucasfilm ltd. drew from the cultures of our world to make a fictional space society come to life. From the teachings of The Force, to the famous Jamaican inspired accent of Jar Jar Binks, Star Wars is itself a tribute to cultural diversity.
It is difficult to explore diversity in the Star Wars universe, with out starting with the religious influences at the core of the films, influences that led to the spiritual amalgam that is The Force. In the documentary Empire of Dreams, it is said that in creating Star Wars, George Lucas tried to find the common themes found in the world’s greatest legends like, King Arthur, Beowulf, and Greek Mythology, universal themes of Good vs. Evil, the virtuous hero, and the arduous journey of destiny. (Becker and Burns. 2004.) Religious texts are always chock full of stories like this; they also contain bits of philosophical truth one can appropriate for dramatic narrative.
In The Phantom Menace (Lucas. 1999), the Christian concept of “Immaculate Conception” was appropriated for Anakin Skywalker’s birth, most largely the influences of the ideology behind Star Wars can be traced to eastern roots. Philosophical Taoism and Zen Buddhism are the main influences. In A New Hope (Lucas. 1977), “The Force” is described as “an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.” This is very similar to the Chinese concept of “chi.” Zen Buddhist teaching, which led to the channeling of “chi” through fighting, evolved into Kung Fu. Traveling Buddhist monks would share their knowledge with worthy students. The King of Silla on the Korean Peninsula invited these masters to train an elite order of warriors to be known as “Hwa Rang“. Those chosen were taken at a young age, trained in Kung Fu, to be pure of mind, and to follow a strict code of honor, the “Hwa Rang“ also had authority over the regular military forces, just as the Jedi do. Japanese Shintoism and the traditional samurai can also be seen as an influence. Samurai adhered to a strict code, and lived to serve their nation and the Emperor. The sword is referred to as “the soul of the samurai” in much the same way as the Jedi connect to their lightsabres. (Robinson. 2005)
In 1976 when principal photography was taking place, location scouts asked to rent a section of the Sidi Driss Hotel in Matmata, Tunisia. This backdrop would eventually become known to the world as the interiors of the moisture farm where Luke Skywalker grew up, exteriors of the farm, the desert and cliffs R2-D2 and C-3PO travel through, as well as the makings of Mos Eisley spaceport, were filmed near the dried salt flats of Chott el Jerid near the Algerian border. (Sawano. 2001) This kind of piecemeal production design is indicative of the thinking behind all of the Star Wars films. While the desert dwellings may be entirely terrestrial in nature, they serve the needs of a space fantasy film quite nicely, to unfamiliar eyes, Tunisia is galaxies away.
When one mentions Star Wars, it is tough no to mention its cultural counterpart Star Trek. There seems to be something or a friendly rivalry amongst fans of each respective franchise. Personally, I have always been a fan of both, I lean more to Star Wars, also I do not like mustard, and raw onions. However, is a preference to one franchise or the other a choice, or could it be a calling? Star Wars, as detailed above, has always been based in religious ideology, whereas Star Trek, firmly in science. Science and Religion have always been at odds, well ever since somebody decided to scientifically prove or disprove God’s existence, anyway. In the Star Trek universe, it has been said that Religion has been phased out on Earth. A global higher consciousness has been adopted, making belief in higher beings obsolete. Statements like that I’m sure tick off plenty of spiritual types. I have always been amused that at their core, in a nutshell, Religion and Science have shockingly similar explanations of existence. Religion states, once there was nothing, God snapped his fingers and everything exploded into being. Science states, once there was nothing, and then everything exploded into being. Religion: “You mean like a higher being snapped his fingers and said, ‘Let there be.’?” Science: “No! No! Not like that at all!” I believe that if there is a God, he would want his creation, namely us, to ask questions about the nature of existence. Over time as answers are found, these questions would become much more complex, or these questions would evolve, as it were. Is it too far a stretch to believe in a God that could create creatures that evolve?
Fear not dual “Star” franchise fans, progress is being made in the quest for peace. Recently a new Star Trek film was released, R2-D2 the patron droid of Star Wars, makes a cameo in the new film. (starwars.com. 2009) It is always nice to see someone trying to smooth out the bumps in the road.
In March 1983, President Ronald Reagan announced an ambitious space-based defense system against enemy missile attacks. This plan consisted of laser firing, automated orbital battle stations, or “death stars.” This Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) became known as Star Wars. (Anzovin. 1986) When the leader of the free world leans over and says, “Mommy, I want to build a ‘death star.’” that speaks of diversity. The far-reaching appeal of Star Wars ensured that everyone knew what he was talking about, in just a few words. That fact that the movies were so good made everyone believe that the plan was feasible.
Jar Jar Binks, the Gungan introduced in The Phantom Menace (Lucas. 1999), a gangly orange lizard-dog with floppy ears, who speaks with an accent ambiguously Jamaican inspired, not since Poochie was introduced on The Simpsons, has a character been so universally loathed. Personally, I have never hated Jar Jar, I’ve tolerated him. I have noticed in life that many times we have to deal with individuals we may not like, people that irritate us for whatever reason. Circumstances arise which we have to deal with these types whether we like it or not, at work, school, and even family members, the proverbial Gilligan, the ones you can’t help think; life would be better without. Sometimes we may feel a sense of obligation, or feel sorry for them, whatever the reason, we put up with them. Jar Jar Binks would be one of those people. It is said in the documentary, Star Wars the Legacy Revealed, that Jar Jar Binks has much in common with the ancient Greek character of “The Parasite”. A comedic sidekick character, prone to misfortune, a character that may mean well but is often a screw up, he is there to make the hero’s journey more difficult, and by default more interesting for the audience. In the end, Jar Jar helps save the day by rallying the Gungans to fight the droid army invading the planet of Naboo. (Burns. 2007), Perhaps Jar Jar is there to teach us a lesson, not all heroes, seem like heroes. Maybe the accent is a clue to a deeper social commentary, like the United States tract record of misappropriating African-American soldiers as cannon fodder. In The Phantom menace, the “white” people come to the Gungans, and ask them to fight a bunch of laser-gun wielding robots with what basically amounts to sticks, I am reminded of Bob Marley’s song “Buffalo Soldier”, it’s just a thought.
In Ways of Reading 8th edition, pg 501 Pratt writes, “…in order to lay out some thoughts about writing and literacy in what I like to call the contact zones. I use this term to refer to social spaces where cultures meet, clash, and grapple with each other, often in contexts of highly asymmetrical relations of power, such as colonialism, slavery, or their aftermaths as they are lived out in many parts of the world today.”
Using this definition Star Wars can be seen as a contact zone, an auto ethnographic work, recording the ideas and philosophies of an entire planet. Truth observed by a resident of a global society. It may be cloaked in a work of imagination, but truth resonates through the layers of spaceships and droids.
When I set out to explore diversity in Star Wars, I didn’t really know what directions to go. Religion was a logical first step, but then what? Diversity must be embraced to understand our world; diversity is the essence of existence. When examining other cultures you must have an attitude of empathy, or you risk missing the point, not to focus on the differences, but find the similarities. At their very core, most cultures seem to have the same goal, to thrive. Occasionally, someone will come along that wants to squelch independent thought, but without great thinkers, and their wisdom to build on, we would all still be primitives. Wisdom is the core of development, truth needs to be shared and spread throughout the universe, embracing the uniqueness of others is the essence of understanding.