Classical Geek
January 10, 2017 7:41 PM   Subscribe

The Galactic Civil War had one pernicious side effect: fighters on both sides neglected their cultural heritage in the name of military expediency.
A Handy Guide to the Archaeology of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, an analysis rich with links to the deepest layers of overthought.
posted by Rumple (22 comments total) 39 users marked this as a favorite
 
If the internet were made entirely of this sort of thing, I would be on it 24/7.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:04 PM on January 10, 2017 [4 favorites]


time was the internet was made entirely of this thing in black text on a grey background.. before the dark times... before the empire.
posted by entropicamericana at 9:16 PM on January 10, 2017 [23 favorites]


AOL?
posted by efalk at 10:05 PM on January 10, 2017 [1 favorite]


Professional First Order White Background
posted by Artw at 10:16 PM on January 10, 2017 [5 favorites]


September never ended.
The Empire never ended.
posted by otherchaz at 10:17 PM on January 10, 2017 [9 favorites]


Folks who enjoy this long read will probably also enjoy Leia Organa: A Critical Obituary.
posted by trackofalljades at 10:27 PM on January 10, 2017 [1 favorite]


Folks who enjoy this long read will probably also enjoy Leia Organa: A Critical Obituary.

Previously for anyone curious about the discussion.
posted by lumensimus at 10:52 PM on January 10, 2017 [2 favorites]


I had mixed feelings about RO but one thing I loved was how it was absolutely created with overthinking in mind and establishing this expanded, detailed universe they could set more "Star Wars Stories" in
posted by The Whelk at 11:22 PM on January 10, 2017 [3 favorites]


This makes me start asking questions, and next thing I know I am freebasing wookiepedia. My wife and kids find me two weeks later in a rat infested Phnom Penh guesthouse, oily, unwashed, and inexplicably wearing nothing but a loincloth, muttering about structural problems caused by the death star being hollow. Thanks, Rumple, you ruined my marriage!
posted by Literaryhero at 12:33 AM on January 11, 2017 [15 favorites]


Some details might need to be altered, but otherwise I'd absolutely be interested in hanging out in a Phnom Penh guesthouse, discussing Star Wars.
posted by dominik at 3:57 AM on January 11, 2017 [3 favorites]


> "Believe it or not, there are lessons for archaeologists here ... In a time when magnetic media are slowly being killed off, tapes and physical media like vinyl continue to come back in fashion."

You know, I would totally believe that the Emperor irrationally insisted that the Death Star plans be stored on magnetic tape because "the sound is so much warmer".
posted by kyrademon at 4:37 AM on January 11, 2017 [14 favorites]


They explain why the Empire holds on to seemingly antiquated analog media like magnetic tape, which essentially comes down to rigorously maintaining galaxy-wide data compatibility standards.

This got me thinking of a Rogue One where the Empire stores its data on networked computers, and the movie is basically Hackers in Spaaaace.

No dogfights, no warships, no D-Day callbacks. Just unrealistically pretty and quirky 'nerds' sitting in front of impractical 3d GUIs, spouting made up jargon and 'hacking into the mainframe'.

They could even call their deus-ex-machina super-virus/malware thingie "The Force".
posted by signal at 4:42 AM on January 11, 2017 [3 favorites]


This got me thinking of a Rogue One where the Empire stores its data on networked computers, and the movie is basically Hackers in Spaaaace.

No dogfights, no warships, no D-Day callbacks. Just unrealistically pretty and quirky 'nerds' sitting in front of impractical 3d GUIs, spouting made up jargon and 'hacking into the mainframe'.


I'd be totally down for a Star Wars movie centered around Slicers. We've already seen some wonderful examples in the Disney Canon, but I'll admit, I'd love it if my third favorite character from the Legends-Era EU would make the transition back into Canon. The blue hair and facial tattoos would certainly qualify him, for certain values of "unrealistically pretty and quirky".
posted by radwolf76 at 6:35 AM on January 11, 2017 [1 favorite]


How long has the Empire been around in Rogue One? Less than 20 years? A lot of this "Imperial" infrastructure like the archive, could have easily pre-dated the transition from Republic to Empire.
posted by thecjm at 7:03 AM on January 11, 2017 [2 favorites]


How long has the Empire been around in Rogue One? Less than 20 years? A lot of this "Imperial" infrastructure like the archive, could have easily pre-dated the transition from Republic to Empire.

Definitely. But alternatively, the Empire was big on construction projects, obviously, and could have built it not long after the transition from Republic to Empire. In support of that possibility is the aesthetic of the interior of the tower, which is very Imperial - just contrast it to the Death Star interiors in A New Hope. (And arguably, it was retrofitted - such as the Jedi Temple on Coruscant became the Imperial Palace.)

One thing about the technology, and I wish I could find the quote by Lucasfilm Story Group member, Pablo Hidalgo (the man who gets asked questions like, "Does Darth Vader still have a penis?" on Twitter all the time), is that technology in Star Wars is supposed to always have a base around mid-20th Century, be it what existed then or what was imagined. I think beyond the story requirements, that may have also explained the storage system.

I liked the article, but it felt a little thin.

And yeah:

To get answers, I had to turn to the awkwardly titled Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide (UVG) by Pablo Hidalgo, Lucasfilm’s story czar. Published for kids and incurable nerds, this volume provides canonical explanations for the tiniest details of costume, prop and set design for the film.

That's me. There in the back. And because of that.

Interestingly, Yavin 4 was not completely abandoned, as a small colony was set up there after the Battle of Endor, and this happens to be where our new favourite flyboy Poe Dameron was born.

Dameron was born before the Battle of Endor. OMG.
posted by Atreides at 7:24 AM on January 11, 2017 [1 favorite]


Some details might need to be altered

I have altered the details. Pray I do not alter them further.
posted by tobascodagama at 8:07 AM on January 11, 2017 [11 favorites]


Some details might need to be altered, but otherwise I'd absolutely be interested in hanging out in a Phnom Penh guesthouse, discussing Star Wars.

Next time I'm in a job interview, and they ask me where I see my self in 4 years, this is going to be my response.
posted by ethical_caligula at 10:22 AM on January 11, 2017 [2 favorites]


This got me thinking of a Rogue One where the Empire stores its data on networked computers, and the movie is basically Hackers in Spaaaace.

Wait wait what if instead of Hackers it was Mr. Robot in space? Rami Malek as a delusional Bothan, coming soon in Rogue Two.
posted by Maecenas at 10:26 AM on January 11, 2017 [2 favorites]


Dameron was born before the Battle of Endor. OMG.

Uh... I'm pretty sure his parents (mother was a fighter pilot, father was a commando) met at the post-battle celebrations on Endor, at least as far as the comics are concerned.
posted by Nice Guy Mike at 10:47 AM on January 11, 2017 [1 favorite]


Uh... I'm pretty sure his parents (mother was a fighter pilot, father was a commando) met at the post-battle celebrations on Endor, at least as far as the comics are concerned.

Naw, they, ah, "re-united" during the celebration, but they were already married. You're referencing the Shattered Empire series. Their marriage status is mentioned in #1 and Poe is mentioned (being with Shara Bey's father) in #3.
posted by Atreides at 11:10 AM on January 11, 2017 [1 favorite]


I just did a quick re-read. You're right, I thought that they met at the post-Endor celebrations, but it was a reunion.

I admit that I was wrong, I was clearly thinking about Alderaan timeline.
posted by Nice Guy Mike at 6:21 PM on January 11, 2017


Your admission of error is insufficient. I demand the Yub-Nub Dance! DANCE!

It's no biggie.
posted by Atreides at 11:14 AM on January 12, 2017


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