Up until the point in the movie where Obi Wan is introduced the main characters seem to be R2-D2 and C3PO, the droids that the story has been following. When he is first introduced, Luke's bratty attitude makes him seem like a secondary character in the story. When the team of misfits arrives at the cantina, the droids start to take a backseat roll and Obi Wan takes more of a leading roll with Luke still seeming like a secondary character that Obi Wan has to get out of trouble. As the story progress I'm sure that Luke will take on more of a leading roll, but right now he just seems like a teenage side kick to the awesomeness that is Obi Wan Kenobi.
Great point. Audiences typically attach to the first character they meet, so this is a risky move, narratively. What do other folks think?
ReplyDeleteSince our class is only 15 minutes into the movie, all we know so far is Darth Vader, Princess Leia, and these two droids. So far it seems that this movie is going to focus on these two than anything else. R2-D2 seems to have what Darth Vader is looking for after Princess Leia in a brief scene appears to be pulling out a floppy disk from R2-D2. So, so far I think it is C3Po and R2-D2 who are going to be the main characters in this movie.
ReplyDeleteCould c3po and r2-d2 actually be the heroes of the beginning of the movie? Before we are introduced to Luke, the two droids hide the message for Obi Wan and later deliver it to him. I think that the droids themselves could be seen as the heroes of the beginning of the movie.
DeleteI agree with you in that it seems like C3PO and R2-D2 are being set up in the opening scenes to be the heroes of the film. It's pretty strange that they would make the film this way considering how the focus on the droids will soon be shifted onto others. What were the writers trying to achieve by including these opening scenes?
DeleteMy thoughts are that C3PO and R2-D2 are programmed to be the heroes. Becuase they are droids, they are programmed to obey their "masters" and what they command. So my question would be, would Luke be the hero because he commanded the droids, or would the droids be the heroes because of their obscure personalities that seem human like.
DeleteI think you could argue that, although not main heroes, or heroes that we would generally think about, R2D2 and C3PO are heroes. It's already been established that they are on the "good" side, or at least not on Vadar's side. As my class is only 15 minutes in, we haven't been introduced to the 'real' heroes of the movie, so we are led to believe that R2 and C3PO are heroes as of now.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Watching the movie the first time, the "hero" usually is hard to guess especially when there is a group of people who equally could turn out to be the hero in the end. Just like the avengers, I personally could argue that all of those characters (such as Princess Leia, R2D2, etc.) could be the heroes as a unit, rather than just Luke. I think sometimes watching Luke as a teenager, we didn't even want him to be the hero, rather wishing for another character. Personally I looked at all characters on the good side to be the hero, rather than one.
DeleteR2D2 and C3PO are absolutely heroes. The androids both make conscious decisions, and while C3PO may be more cowardly, he still follows R2D2 into the pod.
ReplyDeleteI disagree in that I feel that of the two, R2D2 definitely holds more defined characteristics which one would classify as heroic. To finally be convinced into entering the pod, C3PO had to be shot at, and only then did he enter the pod. However, R2D2, from the beginning, accepted Princess Leia's risky task, as despite being a robot, R2D2 made a conscious decision to put the survival of the rebellion over its own life.
DeleteI would disagree with the thought that droid could be heroes. I feel they are introduced for purely story telling reasons. R2 and C3PO don't have the qualities necessary to be heroes, R2 can't even talk and C3PO is quite cowardly. The idea that the droids would be heroes also brings in the question if we consider the droids to be living or not. Although they have personalities and voices they are technically not living. I don't necessarily agree with this but I thought it was an interesting point.
ReplyDeleteJust because the droids don't have human personalities and aren't technically living doesn't make them ineligible to be heroes. As we discussed, the major qualities of heroes are the characteristics they possess along with the moral standards they uphold.
DeleteWe also discussed in class that examples like the 'water bottle' and the 'heart' were not heroes because they are not living things. When creating a robot or anything of the sort, a human conscious is well beyond our comprehension. In the time period that star wars was filmed, I would say that these two are heroes because they are responsible for their actions. If they couldn't make decisions, I would say that the creator of the droids would be the hero.
DeleteGood discussion. Of course, "inanimate" and "not human" are two different things. The fact that a water bottle or a heart can't be a hero doesn't mean a tree, a sponge, or a toaster can't be a hero. Ask Groot, or The Brave Little Toaster, or Sponge Bob. The issue is inanimate. C3PO and R2D2 are heroic - R2D2 already has been, leaving the safety of Luke's home to deliver the message for the princess. C3PO will eventually become a heroic, though reluctantly. Luke has shown reluctance, too. He told Obi Wan "no," right?
ReplyDeleteI have to agree that the typical droids in Star Wars could not be heroes. C3PO and R2D2 on the other hand have many characteristics that make them almost human. Also, they do possess many heroic traits, but even though they are not the main heroes in the story in the 15 minutes we saw they are certainly important and the protagonists. This questions the idea that there can be a difference between the hero and the protagonist?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Maddie. After watching only the first 15 minutes of the movie, C3PO and R2D2 seem as though they possess heroic traits. After all, they voluntarily leave the ship and land on a new planet for a "secret mission". I think after watching more of the film we will realize that they are not the main heroes however at this point in time they could very well be the heroes in the film that end up saving Princess Leia. This is because two robots seem to possess a sense of loyalty to Princess Leia as well as courage.
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