Star Wars Widows 70
Mycroft-X writes "Here
is a link to a Salon story about the sacrifices fans are making for their Star Wars habit. "
Figured I better post something besides to poll question
to talk about this little movie thing. No, I still haven't
seen it. Damn conferences.
. . . and to settle THAT old argument. . . (Score:1)
WERE
ON
A
BREAK!!!!
"The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
-jafac's law
Re:What the...Star Wars obsession limited to males (Score:1)
My fiance is WAY more hyped about this than I am. At the theatre I saw several women in full Queen Amidala makeup.
But I do see that Leia was the only major female character in the trilogy (Mon Mothma doesn't count). While this is not a major anomaly when there are only four major characters (Luke, Leia, Han, and Darth Vader), I can see how some might find this offensive.
pretty happy... (Score:2)
I must admit I was very impressed with the film.
Those critics were way off base when attacking
it. Jake Lloyd actually is quite good, and I
really enjoyed all his scenes. Jar Jar is also
not as bad as people make him out to be. Just
get into it and enjoy it.
Camped out in line from Sunday to Wednesday at
the Uptown theatre in D.C.; it was worth it.
It was such a fun time, in this world where
evreyone seems to try to destroy any hint of
people having a good time.
It's Star Wars! woo-hoo!
they're BOTH kids! (Score:1)
Amidala's only 14 -- Anakin's 9, IIRC.
Won't matter much in a few years.
Re:Perhaps a bit of both? (Score:1)
I don't think there's a single "mixed marriage" in SCA history. It just doesn't work. Talk about your time-consuming hobbies!
Personally, I loved it. The one Pennsic war I fought in (1994) was the greatest time I ever had. Both me and my wife were there and were fully into the SCA thing, but once we had kids, we had to give it a rest. I know there are lots of people who do SCA with kids, but for us it was just too much. We'll see you again in 15 years when our kids are old enough for us to get back into it.
I like the movies as much as the next guy, but I just can't see Star Wars taking up as much of a person's life as SCA. I mean, a few hours every month or so sitting and watching one of the movies, maybe playing with legos or something, fine. But SCA was something that took DAILY commitment (fighter training), and literally hours per week in shire meetings, and monthy or biweekly camping trips (during the spring and summer seasons), equipment maintenance, historical research, craft. In fact, I think the women spent a lot more time at it, because the most popular women's crafts were like needlepoint and sewing and stuff. That crap just takes hours and hours!
If you're spending that much time worshipping Star Wars, you DO, in fact, need a life.
"The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
-jafac's law
Re:Those Lovely Feminists (Score:1)
Re:What the...Star Wars obsession limited to males (Score:1)
While people in a relationship need a fair number of common interests to be compatible, people need to have their own lives, too. The article's author does not seem to understand that sometimes, our mates will do things that are annoying or boring, or make us feel left out. Boo-hoo! Deal with it!
Disclaimer: I, myself (a male), have no real interest in sci-fi movies and have no plans to watch starwars, so no anti-starwars flames, please.
-D
Re:what about the rest of us?? (Score:1)
Somehow, I think Amidala ends up being Leia's mother. I just get that feeling. . .
"The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
-jafac's law
Re:What the...Star Wars obsession limited to males (Score:1)
(I'm just carefully moving through
Re:they're BOTH kids! (Score:1)
still, i wasn't exactly checking out elementary schoolboys when i was a freshman in high school.
*waves hands dismissively* nevermind.
Re:Do Not Read Poll!! (Score:1)
Well said. I'd just like to add that all of you morons posting summaries of your favorite scene/favorite line/whatever, just remember, TPM WAS ONLY RELEASED IN THE U.S. - NOBODY IN ANY OTHER COUNTRY HAS EVEN HAD A CHANCE TO SEE IT.
From another slashdotter who had his day totally trashed by assholes who just had to prove that they had seen the movie. Well done, guys. You suck.
Re:pretty happy... (Score:2)
Perhaps it was just the material they were given to work with however.
Both Liam and Ewan were good however. Overall the movie was the weakest of the four -
however, it will likely improve significantly once the prequels are viewed as a whole.
TPM spends a fair bit of time setting up the plot for the following movies in addition to the stories in TPM.
Lucas has recaptured the feel of the original movies and the effects are topnotch
(except for some explosions that seemed substandard, and a few lipsynching problems towards the beginning.)
The story as a whole however didn't seem as engrossing, the characters didn't draw you into the story.
I almost think the amazing cinematic shots hurt the movie ironically... the viewer is left thinking
"Wow... that is an amazing shot", rather than being immersed in the story.
The souveneir books being sold in Canada are quite well done.
Re:Do Not Read Poll!! (Score:2)
All I can say is, the movie has been out for ONE DAY and already people are posting spoilers as if everybody has seen it three times. Quite frankly, some people have JOBS and can't spend three hours in line to get tickets, or, even if they could get tickets, can't watch a movie that starts at midnight if they want to keep their job. The boss doesn't appreciate people coming in on 1hr of sleep and falling asleep on the job.
It really pisses me off... the mentality of more than one person that I've seen posting seems to be "you should have seen it already if you're reading this, so don't whine if we spoil it for you". See my above paragraph for reasons some people can't see TPM within the first 10 seconds of its release.
I was planning on going next Monday, when I actually have time, but I don't know whats going on now. I'm kinda pissed at this point, because a couple good parts of the movie have been ruined already. Some people are dickheads who should keep their goddamn mouths shut.
I've waited a LONG time to see TPM, and now because some people are retards who can't fathom the fact that in the real world, where your mommy and daddy don't pay for everything and you need to work for your money, you can't spend three weeks in line for a movie, I'm not even sure if I want to.
Thanks for ruining my day, assholes.
-= FLAME ON =-
[p.s. you're right, smoking is VERY bad for you]
Re:Ouch. (Score:1)
not the only one it seems buddy
>Star Wars Widows indeed.
well ppl say the sky is blue to the naked eye.. but hey, i'm still not going to beleive it
hey its not just star wars addicts that brake up marrages,as addictions of many kinds do, its just that fact that they do, and you are unwilling to see that
Seriously funny... (Score:1)
"I have you now...."
-S. Louie
Yes... but why did she? (Score:1)
What the...Star Wars obsession limited to males?? (Score:3)
I only read the first page of the article, but it seemed heavily biased against the male gender. As if obsession with the Star Wars saga was only limited to men. I have some female family members that are more obsessed than me.
I don't like the author hinting that the men were rejecting their mates because they were indifferent, or did not like, or had not seen Star Wars. When I choose a mate, if they fall in said category they would need to have a lot of highly redeeming qualities in other categories to make up for this shortcoming. Star Wars is a big part of my life. It's the second religion I was raised on. If someone does not understand and/or is not open to understanding this (which, apparently the "Star Wars Widows" are not), a large part of common ground between us would be non-existent. Do you really want a mate have nothing in common with you?
The URL (Score:1)
Someone changed the timestamp of the plutonium story to 10:30am, and Slash dutifully waits for that time to come to display it. anyway, the URL is:
http://slashdot.org /article.pl?sid=99/05/20/1320256&mode=thread [slashdot.org].
Re:NOT an obsession, a girl with a hobby (Score:1)
alt.fan.star-wars daily, and tell me that
*alone* ain't a hobby !
I even went to the local Wal-Mart "Star Wars
Event" (today only) which was basically a little
ole lady handing out Dixie cups of Pepsi and
tiny bags of Lay's potato chips, as well as
various "locker posters". Got Amidala and Padme
posters, and the 1999 Portrait Edition Leia doll
after an eight-store search earlier this week.
It's a hobby.
Oh, and I'm an ole married woman (33 yrs old).
My hubby indulges me !
MTFBWY,
Shinobu
spoiling jerk (Score:1)
Do Not Read Poll!! (Score:5)
Also, smoking is bad for you.
*rolls eyes and gets a double 6* (Score:1)
It seems to me the so-called "non-obsessed" obsess FAR more about the "obsessed" than the "obsessed" EVER do about whatever they enjoy. If there's anyone with a problem, it's them.
Obsessions Forever!
Re:Perhaps a bit of both? (Score:1)
I'm probably what some people would consider a borderline 'obssesed Star Wars fan', and my SO just isn't quite as 'into' it as I am anymore than I am 'into' the Monkees (her 'obsession'). But that's not what's important. She understands that I love the movies, and has even gone to Toys 'R' Us with me on a Star Wars run.
But, that's because we both share enough interests and activities that we don't look at each other's obsessions as being the sum total of each other's personality. She thinks I spend too much time on my computer, I think she spends too much time watching TV. We could just let that be the end of it, but there's more to each of us than the little annoying habbits that we all have. We tend to like the same kind of informational shows (though I can't understand how she can insist on watching the same series half-a-dozen times), and she's willing to learn about computers, even though she jokes about my laptop being 'the other woman' on occassion.
If a hobby or interest is enough to break two people appart, then there just wasn't enough else there for them to expect to stay together very long in the first place. That's all there really is to it.
NOT an obsession, a girl with a hobby (Score:2)
What is this obsession now with the word obsession? Otherwise normal people are now obsessed. I heard someone the other day referring to a guy as a stallker because he called her twice. Good word people, lighten up on us. We have interests. Should we all be ho-hum about everything in our lives just to avoid being called obsessed?
Well, if refusing to date anything less than a full Han-Solo clone is obsessed, I'm obsessed and proud of it!
Hey, now! (Score:2)
What's with battling one stereotype with another that he, of all people, should understand better? In reality, there's very little difference between the stereotypes of Star Wars nuts and Star Trek nuts, or between the actual people. The dork description (taped glasses, etc.) is not at all fair to either; in fact, I've never known anybody who matched that, or even seen such a person outside of movies and TV.
I'm both, of course -- Star*. I used to be more into Star Trek, but unfortunately there is no Star Trek show currently running. I've always thought Star Wars was pretty cool, but I've gotten a lot more interested in it lately -- as in, in the past five years or so, not just with the recent hype. I just don't get why some people think there's more than a friendly rivalry between the two.
This guy's comment could have just been meant as a friendly jab, and "We're big enough to take a few insults.", but it doesn't really belong in an article whose overall focus seems to be to increase the "normal" people's perception of us as freaks. Along those lines, I second those who complain about the article's bias against men. One of the women on our team says she wanted to work for SGI just for the chance to deal with Lucasfilm. She's been instructing the rest of us on what theaters to go to for "the proper experience". Oh, and she managed to be at the premier in New York with Lucas, while I didn't go until last night after work, and the rest of the team isn't going until tomorrow.
David Gould
Re:What the...Star Wars obsession limited to males (Score:1)
One out of four, I can handle (though arguably the droids and Obi-Wan are pretty major as well).
What bothers me is this: since she IS the one out of four, it would be nice if she didn't turn into a jellyfish when she falls in love with Han. Blah.
what about the rest of us?? (Score:1)
i was one of those chicks you saw in full amidala face makeup. i was there and i was excited!! my boyf was home trying to get another machine to talk on the network.
it does kinda annoy me that there is only one major female character per episode. honestly, i went expecting amidala to be a token female decoration. fortunately, this was not the case.
the only redemption for this imbalance (for me) is the fact that amidala and leia especially are very strong female characters. there was no demureness about leia; she was as harsh and bitchy as i am in real life. most movies don't portray women in that manner and thus influence the whole female subliminal-guilt-trip-for-being-opinionated thing.
overall, leia and amidala may be rather token due to the fact that there are so many male characters, but they are actually significant in their own right and definitely hold their own.
movie opinion: great!
I'm lucky... (Score:1)
Star Wars meets Amber (Score:1)
Kithran
Re:what about the rest of us?? (Score:1)
one question:
isn't it a little weird that amidala is destined to hook up with anakin, a mere child??
i donno abou that....
Re:Perhaps a bit of both? (Score:1)
If your SO leaves you because you really like Star Wars (or whatever your obession may be), then there was a problem with the relationship. If your SO leaves you because you cashed in your kids' college fund to buy that Special Star Wars Edition Yugo, then you're the one with the problem.
It's all a matter of perspective.
Re:Do Not Read Poll!! (Score:1)
world should revolve around your little area or
time zone, right? I live in Hawaii, and as such,
get the news, tv, movies, everything later than
the mainland. I read many msg boards, etc, and
I have never imagined to try to make everyone one
else clam up about something they are excited
to talk about, just because I haven't gotten to
see it yet. I'm not Queen Of The World, just yet.
People are going to talk. Deal with it. Don't read
it. It's simple. They have every right to talk about
a film they've just seen, and most likely have been
waiting to see for a long time. Just scroll, use your head, realizing that if it has the letters TPM in the title, you may not wish to view it, and live a less bitter life; it's just plain silly to expect people half way around the world to live by
your rules, IMO. : )
uilani
Addiction (Score:1)
To refer to another "obsession" I once had, Dr. Drew of the "Loveline" Radio Show liked to define an addiction as something that you continue to do even in the face of extreme negative consequences. Maybe that applies to Star Wars and other SF/Fantasy interests. If SW is so important to you that the rest of your life could go to hell as a result of your fandom and you would still keep at it, then maybe you've gone too far.
Then again, the loss of an SO who refuses to accept that fandom might not be considered an "extreme negative loss". Relationships require a two-way understanding of each other, right? Sometimes I think I'd rather be single than with somebody who thought I was wasting my time on such things as Trek, Comics, Programming, etc.
After all, most guys, with a "normal" obsession with NBA/NFL/NHL/MLB generally don't have to stop going to games in order to keep their girlfriends around. But even the sports freak will lose his SO if he goes too far and neglects her. What makes SW fandom immune to this same restriction? I don't think it is, or should be.
The flip-side is that geeks need to be understanding of non-geeks. There is intelligent life out there. At least, that's the theory...
So, okay, maybe I'm a geek and an addict... and I've meandered enough for this post...
Re:What the...Star Wars obsession limited to males (Score:1)
As opposed to the original trilogy being heavily biased against females, in case you hadn't noticed?
Has a lot to do with why women, even those who otherwise like sci-fi, don't generally seem to get into the whole SW thing. It's certainly why I've always liked Star Trek better than Star Wars!
*shrug*
And as for "religion," it's not a religion. It's a bad caricature of most of the world's major religions, all rolled into one. Not that this is stopping people from scrolling pagan groups with nonsense about "the Dark Side" at the moment. *sigh*
I'll be much happier when this fuss dies down.
Re:Y'know .... (Score:1)
You'd notice that the leader of the entire rebellion is female.
Politically correct enough for you?
Re:Those Lovely Feminists (Score:1)
No, just try dating someone you actually have things in common with. Works wonders, you know.
FWIW, most of the feminists I know don't like Ally McBeal et al. either.
People can get fanatical about anything - TV shows, movies, books, roleplaying games, religion, whatever. *shrug* I know people who have never missed an episode of X-files, I know people who have followed Phish to other countries, and I know people who own six different copies of the Chronicles of Amber.
Anyway, if she's driving you nuts with her fanaticism about her shows, you don't have to stay with her. There are women out there who don't watch them or like them.
Re:Fanatics (Score:1)
Friends (Score:1)
Oh, so it's not OK to obsess about Friends?
--
Rock and a (not so) hard place. (Score:1)
Burn me at the stake if you guys will, but I admit to seeing the trilogy *once* in the theaters as a small child, and that's it. I will probably rent them sometime here when Im bored wait to see PM in theaters when all the freaks are gone.
Re:The URL (Score:1)
It only took us about a day to build it. We've been thinking about it for a few days and we gathered the parts, and last night we assembled it. In Justin's room -- he lost the coin toss."
Y'know .... (Score:3)
... maybe there wouldn't be so many Star Wars widows if the original movies had had the sense to include a main female character other than Leia, who spends the original trilogy with her spine disintegrating.
Having been dragged to TPM by my boyfriend last night, I can honestly say that this was improved this time around. But it doesn't make up entirely for having had to sit through the originals multiple times and endure the endless discussions of exactly what is in stock toy-wise at Toys R Us (he works there).
Then again, he puts up with my Amber obsession; I guess I can deal with his SW obsession, and even joke about it a bit. (Anakin Skywalker, shadow of Brand?? *grin*)
Re:pretty happy... (Score:1)
Yes, you must have seen the other three movies to "get it", and yes, you need to take all of those events into account, and judge this movie in the context of the others. To me, looking at the movie in this context, I loved the story, and the flow was just fine, a little slow at times, but not enough to spoil anything, the acting was just fine - I think a lot of people are judging bitterly because of the hype - screw the hype, it was an excellent movie. It even acheived "greatness". Not extreme greatness, but in terms of the genre, this movie just plain rocked.
In fact, the only real arguments I have against it are technical. The special effects were not as seamless as they could have been. The droid soldiers walk seemed a little unnatural (unnatural for a droid? Of course! duh! - but the movement did seem a bit off, something in the bouce was just not right - and since hand-drawn animation HAS worked here in the past, I know it's not unacheivable with Computers). Also, the explosion on the Droid ship was hokey, and the scene where the big silver ship landed on Tatooine also bothered me. Was it lighting? I'm not sure. It just didn't look right. What I'm saying here, is that I think Lucas was relying on computer animation TOO much, perhaps the technology just isn't there yet. I have to say that the animation of the aliens, particularly Jar Jar, WAS okay. Some of the skin textures didn't seem to track right, but we're talking about something infinitely more complicated than walking droids here.
But as far as story immersion, I was in it. I was there, wondering what was going to happen next, guessing some from limited spoilers I've heard, yet not so lost in it that I could also step back and enjoy the beauty of the scenery, the fights - QuiGon ObiWan and Maul - was awesome. Totally fucking awesome, tho I am disappointed in the final outcome - you KNOW ObiWan has to survive, so that's kind of spoiled for you, but even knowing that, for a brief time, you're wondering how the hell he's going to get out of it, because you KNOW Maul is just going to kick his ass. . .
I only spent $4 to see it. But I think it would have been worth $100. I've waited 16 years for this movie, and I'm not disappointed. George, hurry up and finish the other two!
"The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
-jafac's law
Fanatics (Score:1)
Hey, my world stops once a week for RPG's, and I have no problem with that. My g/f on the other hand (who goes on and on and on about Tom Cruise) is bothered by it. But hey, if she wants me to listen about what color draw's Tom wears, she has to deal with my Friday evening to Saturday gaming fests.
Simply... Everyone has a passion about something; and don't try to change them, just deal with it and we'll all be happier.
Re:windows??? (Score:1)
Re:Do Not Read Poll!! (Score:1)
Thank you so much for your words of wisdom. And I'll return them right back to you - Don't go around thinking that the whole world revolves around your little chunk of it.
I don't know how many goddamn US-centric comments I've seen on
Re:Star Wars meets Amber (Score:2)
That *is* very cool. Then again, Benedict's better than Obi-Wan IMHO.
And well, doesn't anyone else think it's more than coincidence that Brand's son Rinaldo uses the name LUKE when he's on Shadow Earth?
It just fits far too well.
Yes, to a point ... (Score:1)
... but some people are past that point.
Spending more money than you can afford on Star Wars toys seems to be past that point.
Spending so much time on an obsession that you flunk out of college is also past that point (not to do with the article, just obsessions in general).
Is adversely affecting your relationship with a SO past that point? Depends on the circumstance. If the SO used to be neutral or slightly into the obsession, and you've made him/her sick of it, there is generally a problem.
IMHO, of course.
Re:What the...Star Wars obsession limited to males (Score:1)
This could possibly be do to gender forming, where little girls are taught to play with dolls and boys with GI Joe and other things like that.
If not Star Wars... (Score:3)
I've been married for a decade, so I can talk from 'some' experience. Whenever I've had an 'obsession' that has pulled on our relationship, it has been because the relationship was weakening--not because computer, trucks or boats are/were so great. A little work on the relationship (talking, working together, etc.), and my priorities quickly changed.
Since a major part of the
The one case in the article where the girlfriend had never seen the movie, the guy finally got her to watch it, and then she says its 'OK'. The relationship was doomed from the start, because the girl obviously didn't give a shit. My wife's an aerobics instructor. I'd rather play Doom and drink vodka. But still I drag my fat, uncoordinated ass into the gym to take a kickboxing class. Afterwards, I tell my wife what I think she did well--and not so well. I show interest in what she loves. She even condescends to help me work on my car or computer on occassion. I like to create things, she knows that, and will push me to make things she likes. We've learned to work so well together that I'm positive that we'll be married another decade or four.
To sum it up without making an over generalization. The Star Wars Widows could actually be Black Widows. It's just that in their case they killed their mates by ignoring them.
Of course, the guys in the article could just be jerks who don't realize that they're married...
Saw It 20 Min Ago (Score:1)
PS: Go in the morning, the theater where I went was 1/2 empty (1/2 full?).
Life sure sucks. (Score:1)
- A.P.
--
"One World, One Web, One Program" - Microsoft Promotional Ad
Perhaps a bit of both? (Score:2)
Yes, the guys could be jerks who don't realize they're married. Yes, the women could be miserable bitches who are failing to be understanding.
But perhaps it's a bit of both? Or perhaps simple incompatibility?
Speaking from personal experience
That said, the people who think having never seen SW is blasphemous need to get lives. I don't think non-SCAdians are lesser human beings; I DO think that my involvement with the SCA is an important enough part of my life that I couldn't be in a relationship with someone who didn't share that with me. (Then again, I started seeing my boyfriend at Pennsic, so that's not a problem.) If Star Wars fandom (or anything else) has the same meaning to someone, it is perfectly reasonable to wish a SO to share in that.
However, one of the most disturbing things about obsessed people is the tendency to look upon the non-obsessed as lesser life-forms. This is BAD. Certainly, it has no place in a relationship.
Anticipation (Score:1)
Hey, I had a blast at the movie. Of course, I only expected to be entertained for a few hours and see Jedi ass-whuppin'. I am happy to say there was more to it than that.
Those Lovely Feminists (Score:2)
They sure do.
Take my g/f for example: "I don't care if you want to go out to a nice dinner, I need to watch Dawson's Creek!", or, "we can have sex later, Ally McBeal is on!"
Of course she thinks that by sitting in the PC room with me, instead of out in the living room, she's still being close to me and doing nothing wrong. What she in fact is doing is driving me nuts with her teeny-bopper crap.
I dare not say anything insulting about her favorite characters (Not even the drunk off Party of Five). My last g/f dumped me for making fun of the lamers in Teen People Magazine, I think my current g/f would dump me if I said something bad about her shows.
I think I'm gonna go homosexual...
Ouch. (Score:4)
Star Wars Widows indeed.
...walking away, imagining Tux with a light saber cutting down the now Darth Taco for abandoning his calling as SlashDiety of the Linux Expo...
Quitting while he's (theoretically) ahead...
Dan Kaminsky
DoxPara Research
http://doxpara.netpedia.net
Once you pull the pin, Mr. Grenade is no longer your friend.