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Fallon Kell
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 Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 3:23 am Post subject: Common animals |
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I have noticed over and over again things being described as dog-like, cat-like, and other earth animal-like in the SW Galaxy. I just wondered if any of the characters or anything else "in universe" ever said anything like that. If they do, I'd say it's reasonable to assume that somewhere in that 120,000 light year galaxy, a dog or cat or chicken or horse or whatever else actually exists. Anyone remember any "slip-ups" like this? I hear Lando once had a rare beverage called "hot chocolate" and didn't like it...
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CRMcNeill
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| Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 3:42 am Post subject: |
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Exact quote from the E4 Novel Adaptation:
Obi-wan: Still, even a duck has to be taught to swim.
Luke: What's a duck?
Obi-wan: Never mind.
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Bren
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| Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 9:41 am Post subject: |
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| crmcneill wrote: | Exact quote from the E4 Novel Adaptation:
Obi-wan: Still, even a duck has to be taught to swim.
Luke: What's a duck?
Obi-wan: Never mind. |
Ewww. I'm glad they ducked that anachronism by leaving those lines on the cutting room floor. |
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Fallon Kell
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| Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 5:04 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks, guys. After checking Wookiepedia, I found references to dogs, cats, wolves, hawks, and horses. I suppose that it's reasonable to assume if I want to use an earth animal, I can still make the case that it's still Star Wars...
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Whill
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| Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 5:06 pm Post subject: |
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Star Wars does not exist in a future of our galaxy where ducks are extinct. How could the mention of ducks in Star Wars be an "anachronism" (by definition a person or thing that belongs to another time)?
Captain Panaka: "We'll be sitting ducks!"
Very earthlike ducks were actually shown in the prequels as a native species living on Naboo, and it is someone from that world that uses that expression. Ducks were canonized to exist in the Star Wars galaxy of the films. Humans, a species known to have evolved on the planet Earth in our galaxy somehow also exist in the Star Wars galaxy, so why not ducks too?
Let's just count our blessings that the films didn't have have a sentient species of anthropomorphic ducks like Howard the Duck! 8)
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Fallon Kell
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| Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 5:19 pm Post subject: |
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I thought he meant the quote was an anachronism.
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CRMcNeill
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| Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 5:20 pm Post subject: |
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| Whill wrote: | | Let's just count our blessings that the films didn't have have a sentient species of anthropomorphic ducks like Howard the Duck! 8) |
Give it time
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Bren
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| Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 5:42 pm Post subject: |
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| Whill wrote: | | Star Wars does not exist in a future of our galaxy where ducks are extinct. How could the mention of ducks in Star Wars be an "anachronism" (by definition a person or thing that belongs to another time)? |
"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...." was Star Wars. In a galaxy right, here and now there are ducks. Thus ducks in Star Wars are both chronologically and geographically misplaced. Ergo, anachronism and anatopism. |
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Fallon Kell
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| Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 6:05 pm Post subject: |
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I've heard that the "Long time ago" part was from a frame of reference in our distant future. Star Wars takes a lot from our universe. Not just animals and words. The X used in X-Wing for example. The Lambda-class shuttle and base delta zero operations. The B in B-wing... may be a little bit corrupted... But since there are humans, and some humans like ducks, why couldn't ducks get there however humans did? If I went to another galaxy, there is no way I would leave without cattle and chickens for steak and eggs!
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Bren
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| Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 6:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Fallon Kell wrote: | | I've heard that the "Long time ago" part was from a frame of reference in our distant future. Star Wars takes a lot from our universe. Not just animals and words. The X used in X-Wing for example. The Lambda-class shuttle and base delta zero operations. The B in B-wing... may be a little bit corrupted... But since there are humans, and some humans like ducks, why couldn't ducks get there however humans did? If I went to another galaxy, there is no way I would leave without cattle and chickens for steak and eggs! |
When I saw the opening crawl on the screen in 1977, I interpreted them as meaning what they said to me, then and there. If there was some other audience intended for the story, then the frame should have made that clear.
One does have to remember that whenever and whereever Star Wars is supposed to occur. They wouldn't be speaking 20th century earth English there. But in the movie the actors need to use a language the audience can understand in some fashion. Just like when watching a movie set in ancient Rome, one typically wouldn't expect an actor to speak in ancient Latin. So the mere fact that the dialog is in a different than actual language often escapes a charge of anachronism or anatopism.
Seeing duck-like or wolf-like animals in Star Wars is fine. I would tend to name them something other than simpley duck or wolf e.g. Naboo Duck, Wedge Duck, Saber wolf, or Hanson's Wolf. To me it is more Star Wars sounding to hear "scruffy nerf herder" than "scruffy sheep herder." But that is more a preference in tone and what I personally find breaks my suspension of disbelief. Not a criticsm of what you want to do.
Regarding X and Y wings, if they had referred to Y-wings as Vev-wings it would have been more accurate in-Universe but confusing to the audience. It is a bit odd that the Aurabesh doesn't seem to have an X shaped letter though. Maybe X was used by Xim the despot to mark the spot on maps to his buried treasure?  |
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Fallon Kell
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| Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 6:34 pm Post subject: |
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Fair enough. I guess the simplest distillation of my position is that ducks can get to Star Wars from Earth or to Earth from Star Wars the same way humans did. I have no problem with calling them Naboo ducks either. They probably are different in some way or another from Dagobah ducks or Earth ducks or wherever else.
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Bren
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| Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 6:40 pm Post subject: |
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| Fallon Kell wrote: | | Fair enough. I guess the simplest distillation of my position is that ducks can get to Star Wars from Earth or to Earth from Star Wars the same way humans did. I have no problem with calling them Naboo ducks either. They probably are different in some way or another from Dagobah ducks or Earth ducks or wherever else. |
Interesting. I never assumed the Han, Leia, Luke, and company were necessarily the same species as us here and now on earth. I just figure we look enough alike that human actors can play them in the movies without needing a lot of makeup or a muppet.  |
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Fallon Kell
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| Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 6:44 pm Post subject: |
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I suppose that would explain why Luke's arm is hollow when it's cut off...
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Whill
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| Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 2:51 am Post subject: |
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QUI-GON: They have Podracing on Malastare. Very fast, very dangerous.
ANAKIN: I' m the only human who can do it.
| Bren wrote: | | Interesting. I never assumed the Han, Leia, Luke, and company were necessarily the same species as us here and now on earth. |
OK, so they just look like humans and are called humans in the films, but they aren't really humans. That's one way to look at it. One might feel the same way about ducks (or rather, the duck-like animals that are called ducks).
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Last edited by Whill on Mon Apr 04, 2011 2:54 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Whill
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| Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 2:54 am Post subject: Re: Common animals |
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| Fallon Kell wrote: | | I have noticed over and over again things being described as dog-like, cat-like, and other earth animal-like in the SW Galaxy. I just wondered if any of the characters or anything else "in universe" ever said anything like that. If they do, I'd say it's reasonable to assume that somewhere in that 120,000 light year galaxy, a dog or cat or chicken or horse or whatever else actually exists. |
I view those animal adjectives to usually be out-of-universe description intended to be meaningful to us Earthlings.
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