In 1996 when I was 14, I wrote several letters to Dark Horse Comics, expressing my concern over what I thought was unrealistic and cheesy dialog spoken by members of Rogue Squadron in the Shadows of the Empire mini-series. Dark Horse published one of these letters in a subsequent issue, complete with an editor’s rebuttal. Since then, my enthusiasm for Star Wars has slowly wavered, partly because entering into a discussion about Star Wars is such a loaded gambit. Outspoken support of contemporary Star Wars is rare among adults. But through adventures in babysitting, I’ve discovered the most vocal fans of modern Star Wars. Children. And these kids—the current generation of rabid Star Wars fans—they like The Clone Wars best of all.
Now, I am not one of the haters who believes that George Lucas has “raped my childhood” or some other hyperbole. My adult Star Wars philosophy for the most part has been a passive one; I figure Star Wars is owned by George Lucas, not me, and he can do whatever he wants to it. But lately, while babysitting, I’ve been asking a new question—what about the active childhoods out there? Is their Star Wars not their babysitter’s Star Wars?
Full disclosure: I have not seen every single episode of the current Clone Wars animated CG series. But I have seen enough to know the basic characters and situations. I know who Ahsoka is and that her nickname is “Snips.” Most of this I learned because of babysitting, but I admit to having watched some of the 1st season of the CG Clone Wars out of fan curiosity. (While not as rabid in my fanboy praise as others, I really did enjoy the Genndy Tartakovsky non-CG version back in 2003)
The eight-year-old I sit for most frequently loves The Clone Wars. His favorite character? Captain Rex, a clone commander. His least favorite character? Obi-Wan Kenobi. This kid, (we’ll call him Boxy in order to protect the innocent) has an encyclopedia which lists every single character from the series. On more than one occasion, he’s handed it to me and asked me, “Who is your favorite clone?” The first time I was taken aback and simply said, “I don’t like the clones. They end up being stormtroopers.”
“But they’re so cool!” Boxy insisted, “Captain Rex can kill anybody!” At the end of this conversation, I calmly told him that I like Ahsoka better than any of the clones, because at least Ahsoka is a Jedi. He responded that Ahsoka is “lame”, to which I had no rebuttal. If I was a kid, I might not like Ahsoka either, but as a babysitter, I’m really glad she’s in there. Because Ahsoka is the only character who isn’t a solider spewing generic military dialog, or a Jedi/senator saying confusing things about galactic politics, her presence makes the show a little more human.
The next time we had the discussion concerning “who’s the best clone?” I looked over the book in a little more detail. Lo and behold, I found a clone who had deserted the Army of the Republic! Great, I’d found my favorite one. He’d never be a stormtrooper.
“This guy,” I said, “He’s my favorite clone.”
“He doesn’t even count!” Boxy said, “Why would anyone leave the clone army? That’s stupid.”
Another boy I watch, a seven-year old who I’ll call “Wesley” is significantly confused as to what actually happens to Anakin. His parents haven’t let him watch Revenge of the Sith, because of the PG-13 rating. I wholeheartedly support their decision, because at this point, I’m not sure if this kid could handle the idea of Anakin turning on everybody, to say nothing of all the clones going ballistic. Like Boxy, Wesley likes the militaristic and shoot-em’-up aspects of The Clone Wars. He’s constantly making shooting sounds when we go to the park, and constantly refers to himself as “Captain Rex.” One day, we were playing with Star Wars Legos, and I was desperately trying to find one character from the classic trilogy. Suddenly, I find Lando and promptly stick him in the pilot’s seat of one of those faux-X-Wing things the clones flew in Revenge of the Sith.
“You can’t do that!” Wesley says, “Lando doesn’t know how to fly spaceships!” I’ve been babysitting for awhile, so I didn’t snap at him or anything. I calmly asked him if he remembered how Return of the Jedi ended. “I don’t like that one,” Wesley says, “It’s boring.”
Now beyond personal taste, I’m not sure I have any real proof that a show centered around soldiers is any less Star Wars, than my Star Wars, which was pretty much all about guys who were anti-establishment. Through the eyes of these kids, I try to see The Clone Wars the same way I saw the Rogue Squadron comic books back in the 1990s. But therein lies my problem. All the characters in Rogue Squadron had different personalities. The majority of the characters on The Clone Wars are literally the exact same person.
An old friend of mine started teaching Junior High drama last year. He played a theatre game with his students, telling them to pretend to be any fictional character they wanted. The other students would then guess who they were by the clues given. One student said the only person cooler than him was Captain Rex. Immediately, another student knew who he was. “You’re Commander Cody!”
Obviously the ironies here are numerous. But the most important one is this: the Commander Cody they are talking about is the guy who tries to shoot Obi-Wan in Revenge of the Sith. Why is this guy cool? And further, why is there an entire kid’s show in which these sorts of identical, personality-lacking automatons are depicted as the heroes?
Last time I checked, stormtroopers/clones were known primarily for one personality trait: Being “the weak-minded.”
Ryan Britt’s writing has appeared here as well as Clarkesworld Magazine, Nerve.com and elsewhere. Ryan once made a lightsaber out of a broken sprinkler and still has numerous copies of the Shadows of the Empire, and X-Wing comics in which his childhood letters to the editor were printed.
Why are they there? To make money off the parents of kids who think they’re cool. But to be fair, in the context of pre-Vader, they ARE the good guys. They’re trying to keep the republic together, they work with the Jedi, etc. etc. The problem is what their ultimate purpose is.
Off topic from that, the phrase, “Who’s your favorite clone,” left me rather dumbstruck. They’re clones. They’re all Jango Fett with military training. They were all raised the same way, from the same DNA, in the same place, in waves at the same time. They wouldn’t have individual personalities and unless certain clones were selected for greater training as commanders, you could literally take Rex and swap him with clonetrooper #203482.
Also, I think it’s kind of weird/funny/ironic that Anakin in the show is a) far more LIKEABLE than Anakin in the movies and b) apparently more well-adjusted.
It’s a kind of terrible symmetry that Revenge of the Sith and the Stormtroopers in Eps 4-6 will destroy the legacy of the Clone Wars show that these kids love just like the prequels destroyed (or at least tarnished) the previous generation’s childhood Star Wars experiences.
I never got into the new Clone Wars series after watching droid soldiers hum a happy tune while inflicting horrible cruel death to Republic troops by snapping open their escape pods. IMHO, the show has no idea who its public really is. It may have improved, but I’m no longer curious enough to try it.
Although I agree that Ahsoka is the one salvageable thing… but prolly Anakin butchers her first when he goes Vader…
I enjoyed the Republic Commando by Karen Traviss book precisely because they gave the clones personality and showed they were more than mindless automatons. Though I didn’t read past the first book so perhaps that changed later.
It is strange, because for my son (4) Anakin is the hero and I think he does like the newer movies more. I’m not sure he has entirely made the connection between Anakin and Vader.
He won’t decline watching the older movies though, and still likes the characters from those movies. Empire or Jedi are my go to picks when I put a movie in.
It’s all about your frame of reference. I’m boomer generation and I have two sons aged 7 and 10. My favourite is Empire Strikes Back, I think Han Solo is cool and that Luke’s a big sissy.
I can just imagine in twenty years or so the Lucas estate decides to make Star Wars VII, VIII and IX…and I will hear my sons telling their sons: “Kid, these new Star Wars films are nearly as bad as those really old ones they made first time around…Commander Cody owns those Jedi twins.” “Dad, they don’t say ‘owns’ any more.”
Am I missing something, or can we please do a search and replace on ‘Stormtropper’ -> ‘Stormtrooper’ ?
I love the Clone Wars CG series! I grew up on the original Star Wars and adored them. I experienced Episode 1-3 in high school and early college. I liked Ep 1, and hated 2-3 (Anakin was creepy beyond words, and Padme putting up with his crap was equally bizarre).
The Clone Wars is brilliantly, fantastically done! I thought I would hate it because I hated the 2d “movie” and didn’t immediately like the look of the boxy designs for the show. One night my fiancee and I caught an ep from season 1 that was entirely about the clones. We were surprised at how amazing every thing looked, the great dialogue and writing, and the character development. Typically when we buy a new series we watch one episode a night. With Clone Wars we watched 2-4 a night! Everyone who’s a SW fan should really give it a chance. It’s not like the sad, uninteresting toy fare that children’s shows usually are.
To the OP’s confusion on having a show about the clones, I understand. I’m sure I had the same misconception before I watched it. In truth, the execution is brilliant. It explores the idea of how really different you can be in a culture where everyone is the same dude and you all had relatively the same childhood and training. The clones DO have surprisingly different personalities some times, while still sticking to their training archetype.
They’re depicted as heroes because they ARE. Star Wars has always had some complex political (and familial!) tones that relate to the real world. In the context of the Clone Wars, the clones are on the side of the Jedi and thus “heroes”.
OP, have you discussed the show with any female children? You might get a different “fav character” answer from them. My fav is Ahsoka hands down, and I imagine she’d be tops with other girls (and boys) too.
I also agree that Anakin is WAAAY more likeable/well-adjusted in the show. Sometimes his cockiness gets a little irritating when he’s talking to Obi-Wan or Ahsoka, but overall a huge improvement. I can see why the kids might not like Obi, since his VA makes him sound really snooty in trying to match Ewan, trying to match Sir Alec. Gets a little stilted in the process.
Magentawolf: Thank you and done.
:-)
Well, it makes sense for clones to have different character traits. In research with identical twins, twins raised in separate households are more identical in likes and behavior than twins reared in the same home. Identical twins in the same home strive to be different from one another, in likes, dislikes, hobbies, and activities. So maybe it isn’t as far fetched as it sounds at first.
@JoshuaEvans–I actually just finished reading Order 66, the last of the Republic Commando series by Karen Traviss, last week, and I say that she does continue to develop the clones as individual people throughout the series.
@ryancbritt–I loved the Clone Wars series before I started reading those books, but I would certainly recommend them to anyone who is trying to find sympathy with the clones or understand why they might be cooler than the Jedi. That series gave me some pretty good insight and offered up a lot more to think on than the cartoon does. I have always been a straight up Jedi fan, I can’t even bring myself to think about playing KOTOR dark side, but those books manage to actually show/explain something the cartoon only implies–that while the Jedi theoretically are the good guys, the rest of the Republic doesn’t necessarily see them that way. And with sort of good reason.
As far as the clones, and how it’s possible to like them knowing that they turn into Stormtroopers–well, as others have already said, they ARE the good guys in that place and time. They are trained to serve and protect the Republic. When they turn on the Jedi it isn’t because they’re evil but because they believe the Jedi have turned on the Republic. And after the Republic is gone, they continue to serve the Empire because they really don’t have a whole lot of other choice, as non-citizens with no rights.
Um…I may have wandered off-topic. I mostly just wanted to say I love the Clone Wars cartoon because it fleshes out what could have been the coolest part of the prequel movies, but that they just kind of skimmed over (i.e., the actual Clone Wars). Also, if you want to try to find some understanding of the clones for future dealings with your charges, Traviss’ books might be a good source for that.
Hey- I watched Star Wars in the theater in 1977, before it was renamed. That movie was a world changing event, and is still influencing movies, TV, SF, and merchandise 33 years later.
Dismissing those with valid criticism or disappointment as “haters” strikes me as being narrow-minded.
But the most important one is this: the Commander Cody they are talking about is the guy who tries to shoot Obi-Wan in Revenge of the Sith. Why is this guy cool? And further, why is there an entire kid’s show in which these sorts of identical, personality-lacking automatons are depicted as the heroes?
Maybe the times have shifted enough that “we” want kids to identify with the faceless, nameless, identically dressed troops. The people who dress differently and fight with different weapons and tactics are not “Rebels,” they’re “Insurgents,” and our current MO is to blast them out of their huts with robotic drones and missiles. Hmm, that doesn’t sound familiar, does it?
Yes, I’m probably reading way too much into this, but I think it’s a point worth discussing.
Well, let’s face it- when Lucas started all this it was revolutionary and all about the “vision”, the scope of what Star Wars could be. Now Lucas has folded like a carp. It’s all about the Star Wars franchaise and the merchandising. Does’t matter if the show flops, will enough kids like it to go raid mom and dads wallet and haul ass to the toy store.
From the sounds of things Lucas is doing a fine job of that. I don’t see his kids having a problem with needing new shoes any time in the forseeable future.
I’m flippin’ out over here, but that is besides the point. To me, these kids are speaking blasphemy. Jedi was boring- are they bugnuts?- Nope, just young and clueless. Probably not enough CGI for them and because it is a classic movie, didn’t look “real” enough. My friend has a tatoo of the rebel alliance on her… ahem. Anyways, different generation, different perspective.
Dang kids. That’s no moon, that’s a space station. Sigh. Youth is wasted on the young. Tell those kids they are kicked out of the Jedi academy.
Woof™.
Well said, Woof.
The only thing missing from this article and most the comments is a hearty, “Get off my lawn!!”
Full disclosure, I’m a cross-generational Star Wars fan: cut my teeth and identity on the OT, found peace with prequels because of the symmetry with the themes of the OT, and find the Clone Wars to be well-written and fun additions to the mythos.
IMHO, what Ryan Britt has missed is that the Clones develop personalities over time because of their involvement with the Jedi. Lucas has touched on this before, and heavily alludes to it in Revenge of the Sith – why else would clones have names and be joked around with like fellow soldiers? This theme is the basis for the Clone Wars and it is well-executed. Unless, of course, you come to the table with pre-conceptions, of which Ryan seems to have many.
I mean, come on, the only “good” Clone is a deserter, someone who doesn’t fight? Smacks of some kind of serious military bias. No wonder you can’t see the Clone Wars and the Clones for who they are. It’s also no wonder that you classify the OT as “anti-establishment,” talk about taking things to an extreme.
The real irony with Ryan’s article, and the countless other comments backing up his sentiments, is that Ryan’s POV has become establishment.
Ryan suggests that kid are hooked on the Clone Wars because they love the violence, are too simple-minded to understand that the Clones lack personality/character, and are incapable of understanding that future actions forever taint a person’s character (“Cody is the person who shot at Obi Wan…”)
Seriously, did you not pay attention to the OT?
Hate the show, love the show – I don’t care. But give the kids you babysit for, and the countless thousands of others who watch the show, credit where credit is due. They get it, and what they get is completely backed-up by the films and cartoon … all you have to do is look.
Off subject, just tell the ones you baby sit remember 42 and dont forget you towl. That should buy you plenty of time to run.
Um, favorite clone? Did everyone forget Boba Fett?
Let’s just say, these clones, they have a lot of potential.
compared to droids and the ewoks cartoons that I was force fed as a child I think the clone wars is a maasive improvement as Star Wars cartoons go.
As for the prequels destroying my rose tinted specs for star wars I can assure the lustre was truly destroyed by Caravan of Courage and Battle for Planet Endor.
So if you think about star wars films phantom menace is actually an improvement on the previous release. People forget that lucasfilm has been making these mistake since directly after the release of Return.
I have nothing but disdain for the Clone Wars CG series. It is little more than a cash cow.
Now, I am not the star-wars-religious type that cries “Original Trilogy Only!” (though they are my favorite of the movies). I have read more than 70 of the Star Wars novels, and my favorite series happens to be the Republic Commando books by Karen Traviss. She did wonders with those characters, and kept them in the militaristic world for which they (the clones) were created. I am also a big fan of Stackpole’s and Allston’s X-Wing novels.
The bulk of my issue with the Clone Wars CG is that George Lucas has gone out of his way to spit in the face of many Expanded Universe authors. Authors who have, for years, done their best to cover up for his mistakes (parsecs, anyone?) and keep continuity in a rapidly expanding universe.
Karen Traviss rolled piles of cash into Lucas’s coffers by firmly establishing the Mandalorian culture in her novels only to have Lucas completely throw out everything that had been created by her and others with the 2nd season of his hit show. I got over his re-writing of Boba Fett’s history in the prequel trilogy, but I won’t forgive him for this. It’s just the most recent example of him ret-conning something to make it more kid friendly and… well, lame.
And I know many people will shout, “IT’S HIS WORLD!” I disagree. He created the original characters and story, yes. But from their he has allowed other established authors to develop races, cultures, planets, and factions. (probably the best example being Coruscant… created by Timothy Zahn and NOT George Lucas.
I will always love Star Wars (the Dark Horse Comics, the wonderful array of novels, the action figures, and many of the games), but my love for George Lucas and any bit of Star Wars he has touched in the past few years died long ago in a galaxy far, far away.
Vikoros:
The Traviss thing is silly. She was paid, a contract for hire, to provide stories within the Star Wars Universe. All authors know upfront that their “creations” may be supplanted by Lucas at any point and time by film or television, which always trumps in the cannon department. That she choose to have a snit about a different, official iteration is her choice.
You mention that Timothy Zahn’s NAME Coruscant (Zahn did NOT create the planet, its environment, look, etc. – here merely gave it a name beyond Imperial World) was adopted into the Star Wars proper, and, I guess, by that infer that Lucas has incorporated Star Wars EU before, and so why couldn’t he have it with Traviss’ Klingonization of the Mandalorians?
Apples and oranges, apples and oranges. One is a name, and the other is an author’s idea that did not resonate with Lucas, the BULK of the fans (just check the Amazon reviews, or google around, not everyone loved her take), or the need for the culture within the Clone Wars universe.
Furthermore, I fail to see how Lucas’ choice to put his vision of the Mandalorians to the small screen makes the cartoon a simple “cash cow.” Are you faulting Lucas for making money or is it that you believe that because he is continuing to make money by telling good stories and engaging a third generation of fans that he is somehow “prostituting” the brand?
Lucas goes out of the way to tell his story in a way that stays true to his vision. He doesn’t “spit” in the face of fans – he isn’t doing anything that he hasn’t done for the past 30 years. If he truly only cared about making money, we’d see a multitude of more books, video games, television shows, brand cross-overs, etc. Think of Star Trek in the early to mid-80’s, there were a slew of books that trampled all over continuity and just turned the universe into a mess – it was a wild west. Or think of any other multitudes of sci-fi brands that went down the drain b/c of excessive work-for-hire: Aliens, Predator, Terminator, etc. That Lucas has kept such a constraint on his brand, to keep something like that from happening, to me at least, means he respects the fans. (Even if the reverse isn’t true.)
Also, and, yeah I’m nitpicking here but only because the pot shots at Lucas get tiresome after a while … parsec, give it a rest; an intelligent explanation of that gaffe from the mid-70’s – since he wrote the line in 1975 or 1976- has long been in circulation:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Parsec
Much like I said previously, like Clone Wars or not, but there’s no reason to bash Lucas and exaggerate situations in order to make your emotion-fueled point seem bigger than it really is.
Its odd to see kids identifying with characters like Rex and Commander Cody and finding them to be “cool”. They are elements of a fascist institution supporting and defending an oppressive regime, faceless and nameless for the most part. With the OT, you could identify with Luke, part of the Rebel Alliance fighting to put an end to said oppressive regime, seeking to become something significant (a Jedi) and coming into his own by ROTJ, becoming a man, a good man, through trial and error. Luke’s journey is one that resonates with the human condition and journey. What a shift from one to the other!
I also can see the shift occur in tandem with Lucas’ rise. When he was making the originals, he was a young filmmaker with a grand idea and had to fight the studio system to get the film he wanted made (obvious parallel to Luke and his quest) while once he became uber rich and powerful from it all, he in turn became what he originally fought against! So i find it interesting to see traces of support or appeal for those characters who uphold the fascist regime because that is exactly what he represents now…where he used to be Luke, he is now Palpatine! It’s unfortunate that, unlike Luke, Lucas eventually turned to the darkside.
Wow! Glad to see this post stirred up some debate! I just wanted to clarify a few things.
I am not angry with George Lucas or the kids I babysit. Instead I was confused that Star Wars seems to not resemble the Star Wars I remember anymore in a very tangible way and has even deviated from what the prequels seem to establish, at least thematically. This post was an attempt to work out that confusion.
The points about the individuality of the clones are interesting and some of them valid. But what still worries me is at the end of the day we know a switch sort of goes off in all their heads with Order 66 and they turn into mindless murderers. But unlike Lando or Anakin, there’s no redemption for these guys; a highly dubious character trait for the protagonists of what was once a morality tale.
Great posts, JediC.
Ryan, it sounds like you haven’t seen very many episodes at all. Honestly, some of your article even comes across as uninformed to me, because as someone who has seen every single episode of The Clone Wars I’d say they most definitely have given most Clones their own personality traits, quirks, weaknesses, etc. They’ve even gone out of their way to have MANY episodes centered around this very fact.
Basically, it sounds like you are the one that is confused, not the kids.
@@@@@ryancbritt: Sometimes I like to think the lack of redemption for the clones (as you say: it’s as if a switch turns on and they become stormtroopers) is part of the bitter tragedy of what happens at the end of “Revenge of the Sith.” It’s to expound the wrongness of what Palpatine and Anakin did, of what the Republic had turned into, etc…
Then again, not all stormtroopers are clone troopers. Eventually I do think they started using regular recruits since clones did eventually die out sooner than expected. But you are correct: the idea of clonetroopers is really the first steps toward developing Vader’s minions.
JediC & Starkiller-
You two both bring up some great points, and stuff worth thinking about.
I understand the clones have been sort of given “identities”, but when compared to layered characters from the original trilogy or even Anakin and Ahsoka, these personalities strike me as pretty thin. Also, inherent to the idea of a clone army is that they are sort of part of a monolithic unit that all looks the same, doing the same thing. This was the reason that white armor was so scary in the old films!
I think you have not watched enough episodes to speak clearly about the clones in it. Take, for example, the episodes with the clone who is only a janitor, who is given a clone trooper insignia by a cadet clone when he graduates in appreciation of what the janitor has taught him. Lots of funny little touches like that in the cartoons that I find interesting. I find it funny (and satisfying) that as Lucas has gone on he has been able to do more and more exactly what he wanted to do, fulfilling his vision of the whole thing, even redoing the original to match what he wanted. After all, if people don’t like what he does, they can simply not watch.
Second generationer here, my Dad was a teenager when the original trilogy came out. I always loved the OT, however the iteration of the series that really made me a FAN was the Knights of the Old Republic games. Their vision of Star Wars always felt a bit more complex and nuanced to me.
I actually like the Clone Wars series a lot, because it features a greater degree of that greyness. It’s certainly much better than the prequel series. I actually like Anakin. He acts like he’s had Jedi training, but at the same time you can see those traits that will lead him to the darkside. Because I like him, and because Ashoka looks up to him so much, it would actually be sad to see him turn to the darkside.
I also heartily approve of the clone’s getting seperate personalities and more focus, even if I’m not really a fan of any particular character. To me this is a much more humane perspective. They may have the same DNA but in my mind they are still human beings. They were trained to be loyal to eachother and to think they were defending the Republic. When they killed the Jedi they believed they were stopping a rebellion. And of course they were just following orders, something they were trained to do. That might seem paradoxical – that they can be individual humans and still mindless enough to follow orders. True, but that’s what real human beings have been doing through out all of history.
Thank you for writing this article. I was just looking at some ads for Clone Wars merch and having very similar thoughts about this series. The original series was all about rooting for clear heroes and rebels. The Clone Wars is all about getting to love people who turn evil. It’s like the adventures of young Hitler and his gang of stormtroopers.
You’ve indeed hit upon the great disconnect in this series: We the viewer are meant to root for the clonetroopers, and see them as individuals and heroes with their own personalities, and how they are close to their Jedi generals, and yet at the end of the war, as seen in ROTS, they follow the Chancellor’s order and attempt to kill their friends/commanding officers without a thought.
We see the clones occasionally mentioning that they serve the Republic and what it stands for – loyal to the state, not personally loyal to the person in charge of the state.
As mentioned at Celebration V, they are already working on season five of the show (we are currently in season 3), and I hope that there is at least the potential that they will try to address this disconnect – because we know that at the end of the war, in the middle of a battle, Cody turns on Obi-wan without any hesitation – and this betrayal (of the clones on the Jedi) may prove to be more shocking to the kids than Anakin becoming Vader.
In the Clone Wars, both the Jedi and clones are the heroes. And then they are put against each other, and who will kids conclude are the heroes after that? What will they think of the Empire and the people who serve in it vs what they think of the Jedi and those fighting for the Republic’s values?