Would you rather...

[tm20]

why roll eyes? i dont get it ._.

[Ashen Key]

Originally Posted by tm20

why roll eyes? i dont get it ._.

Sorry! The Jedi council make me facepalm a lot re: Anakin - they really should have been paying better attention to the boy. And I'm kinda amazed at their lack of awareness at how off the rails he was getting, given they are supposed to be wise and perceptive and all of that.

[tm20]

oh i see, well what i didnt understand was how obi wan couldnt read his mind. im sure jedis can do that so as if you wouldnt be able to think what he is thinking. if he's acting strange then that's what i'd do...but i;ll end here. it's getting off topic >_<

[Fkeu'itan]

Yeah, Na'vi for me all the way.

I never really was one for supernatural powers, but very cool natural powers? That's another bag.

[Mika]

Well I would have to say Na'Vi definitely!

But following the rest of the discussion ..

Since I was a young teenager when it came out .. while I'll admit didn't want to be a Jedi, BUT Princess Leia .. lol!

.. and well ok if it had been around when I was a little girl .. I propably would have wanted to be an Airbender . I used to pretend that I had various element powers, so I would pretend for hours to be Fire Girl, Ice Girl, Earth Girl, Air Girl, etc. I can still see myself, dressed up and playing in one of my childhood memories!

.. and ummm yeah .. remembering back then .. and my age .... amazon queen, Wonder Woman .. maybe the Bionic Woman as well! It was all about wanting to save the world!

[xcrunner08]

Originally Posted by Eltu

HNM, you talk as if your opinion of Star Wars is fact. People have different opinions, get over it. And this is highly ironical - since your complaint is this:

"People who dislike Avatar cannot respect that others like it, and see their opinions as fact."

Yet you do the exactly same thing - you say that your opinions of Avatar and Star Wars are the only valid ones - where really, ALL opinions are valid. We just have to respect that all of us have different tastes, opinions and viewpoints. Star Wars is not INHERENTLY bad - however, it may not be of your personal taste. Avatar is not INHERENTLY good - however, most of us think so according to our personal interpretations of it.

Well said. I myself enjoy Avatar but on the whole I like Star Wars better. Its something I saw as a kid and it just is more interesting to me. Just because someone doesn't like Avatar or likes something better then Avatar says nothing about their intelligence. Some people just have different tastes. I like all the stuff about Star Wars HNM mentioned as weird (lightsabers, powers, etc). Its just opinion. All this thread was about was comparing aspects of two different movies I like.

[Human No More]

Originally Posted by Ashen Key

After some deliberation, Jedi. Books and lightsabres and entire galaxy, combined with a sense of purpose and interesting philosophy. Also, I have a tendency to need to know things, and the Na'vi seem rather 'your mind is a vessel to be filled', while I'm more 'your mind is a fire to be lighted' - Yoda was teaching the little Jedi to think, not just telling them things they needed to know.

Mo'at just meant that you can not teach someone who think they know everything. That is the ONLY reference, which has to be blown hugely out of proportion for a statement like that.

I never said SW was bad - just that I don't like it that much (I've watched the entire series, it had some good points, the action was mostly well done (other than the ridiculous lightsaber fights where anyone with a real knowledge of swords would have no problem winning)). It was an average way to pass some time, but not much more.

I've never felt like I honestly cared that much throughout it. A space station appears and blows up a planet I didn't even know the name of - I don't see how there is supposed to be any emotional investment there. Darth Vader is Luke's father - oh noes. I will admit that was marginally more original back then, but it's not some ultra powerful plot twist that makes it into a good film (or even that having a convoluted plot in the first place does, there are a lot of bad films where it was assumed that complicated plot == good film). Something which may well be defined more in non-canon or background works, but wasn't obvious to me - the empire seems bad, sure, but how do we know what the Jedi are like? That they are good simply because they oppose the current government? I know that one is being picky, but it's still a point I wondered before. The soundtrack is quite good when thinking back, but I never notice those in films and certainly do not watch a film for one unless perhaps if one had an EXCEPTIONAL one.
As I mentioned before, the science is honestly terrible, and that is a huge annoyance of mine in scifi. I would argue that there are multiple types of scifi - in ones like SW, space is an incidental setting (they even actually say "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" - if any modern scifi did that, nobody would ever take it seriously) and it could be set anywhere else, while I prefer scifi which is honest science fiction - that is, scientifically accurate/plausible, even if it is alternate history (start date before modern times, but theoretically could have happened).

All I said about people who dislike Avatar was that, in my experience, then tend to be less able to understand the concepts. I would also argue the same about star wars against other scifi. Honestly, scifi is my very favourite genre, and I don't dislike SW by any means, but I do consider it overrated and generally wouldn't choose to watch it over other scifi.

Also, it still uses parsec as a measure of time

[Ashen Key]

Originally Posted by Human No More

Mo'at just meant that you can not teach someone who think they know everything. That is the ONLY reference, which has to be blown hugely out of proportion for a statement like that.

*bemused* It's called extrapolation. I never see Neytiri teaching Jake how to ask questions about his world, just hitting him over the head and going "this is how it is/how we do things." In addition, to keep the balance of their society, you don't WANT people working out different ways of doing things.

Originally Posted by Human No More

I never said SW was bad - just that I don't like it that much (I've watched the entire series, it had some good points, the action was mostly well done (other than the ridiculous lightsaber fights where anyone with a real knowledge of swords would have no problem winning)). It was an average way to pass some time. but not much more.

As a swordfighter, I get used to Hollywood swordfighting. Not everyone does, of course, but I get used to it. I treat it like, say, the damn near flying of some Chinese films. If I can accepted that in Hero they can have a fight on a lake, I can roll with Star Wars.

Originally Posted by Human No More

I've never felt like I honestly cared that much throughout it. A space station appears and blows up a planet I didn't even know the name of - I don't see how there is supposed to be any emotional investment there.

Because the deaths of billions of people who have no weapons is a terrible thing, even if you don't know them?

Originally Posted by Human No More

Darth Vader is Luke's father - oh noes. I will admit that was marginally more original back then, but it's not some ultra powerful plot twist that makes it into a good film. The soundtrack is quite good when thinking back, but I never notice those in films and certainly do not watch a film for one unless perhaps if one had an EXCEPTIONAL one.
As I mentioned before, the science is honestly terrible, and that is a huge annoyance of mine in scifi. I would argue that there are multiple types of scifi - in ones like SW, space is an incidental setting (they even actually say "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" - if any modern scifi did that, nobody would ever take it seriously) and it could be set anywhere else, while I prefer scifi which is honest science fiction - that is, scientifically accurate/plausible, even if it is alternate history (start date before modern times, but theoretically could have happened).

I really don't think anyone watches Star Wars for the science. And it's okay. You can not like something. But you don't need to go it's terrible at us for enjoying it? There is nothing wrong with just a plain old "I don't like it".

[misstammie]

Originally Posted by Fkeu'itan

Yeah, Na'vi for me all the way.

I never really was one for supernatural powers, but very cool natural powers? That's another bag.

I completely agree with you on that, very well said my friend. I did like Star Wars and I remember being a kid and seeing in the theater for the first time. It really blew me away! I had all the toys, t-shirts, posters, etc. I totally enjoyed all the movies in the series and still do today just not my favorite or top on my list. Still epic though.

Avatar on the other hand, I had more of a deeper kind of connection to it just because I love biology, animals, and the whole Na'vi lifestyle. My dad has worked very closely with the Native Americans for over 30 years helping them preserve their culture. I have been exposed their beliefs and way of life since so AVATAR and the Na'vi really hit home for me in a big way.

[Human No More]

Originally Posted by Ashen Key

*bemused* It's called extrapolation. I never see Neytiri teaching Jake how to ask questions about his world, just hitting him over the head and going "this is how it is/how we do things." In addition, to keep the balance of their society, you don't WANT people working out different ways of doing things.

I understand how it can be seen that way - but Neytiri teaches Jake to understand for himself. To appreciate life, from the plants to the hexapede he kills, which culminates with connecting to the tree of voices. It's very different from 'do it this way because we do' - while you could argue that is the case for things like using a bow, that is simply technique and not understanding-based.

As a swordfighter, I get used to Hollywood swordfighting. Not everyone does, of course, but I get used to it. I treat it like, say, the damn near flying of some Chinese films. If I can accepted that in Hero they can have a fight on a lake, I can roll with Star Wars.

True enough - I know a little but I'm sure you know more than me since I don't have any actual physical experience. It's the same with how even with most scifi, I still suspend my interest in realism to a degree (faster than light travel is probably the biggest example, since a significant majority of scifi would lack a plot without it). Also, I saw one Chinese film with the 'flying' before and while the actual film was good, I found myself struggling not to laugh at those points.

Because the deaths of billions of people who have no weapons is a terrible thing, even if you don't know them?

I didn't mean to imply it wasn't. It just wasn't as well executed in that respect.

I really don't think anyone watches Star Wars for the science. And it's okay. You can not like something. But you don't need to go it's terrible at us for enjoying it? There is nothing wrong with just a plain old "I don't like it".

I didn't make any judgement about reasons for liking it or anything else. I have nothing specifically against it. I know people like it, and I can respect its influence on other scifi (even if I would say it is both a good and a bad thing there). I watched the entire series, although I lack the time, money and inclination to know the books, games or other works. It's by no means a bad film, especially with the age of the original trilogy. I even like the idea of some of its technology in terms of interest, and I do understand it's hard to get the balance between science and fiction and the two very different audiences each attract. I enjoyed it to a degree, I watched it WELL before Avatar, but it never made me rethink what I am doing like Avatar.

[Pa'li Makto]

We all know (If you remember the Star Wars films) that the Planet that the Death Star blew up was the planet of Princess Leia's adoptive parents and her childhood home. The emotional attatchment/ significance of Alderaan getting destroyed was through Leia as you could see the devestation and hurt on her face as she was held hostage in the Death Star by Vader. They blew up Alderaan as a threat to her to talk.