So sometimes I'm with a friend and we're watching a movie like Rogue One and the movie ends and the main two characters die. My friend is next to me sobbing like she's at a funeral and I'm sitting next to her confused like, "You know their entire purpose in the story was to die, right? They were underdeveloped so you wouldn't cry, yet here we are." Who else thinks that?
I don't care if they're underdeveloped, I guess you could say a stranger is "underdeveloped" in your own eyes. But they're still human, and they still made a sacrifice, and that still always gets me.
I know, but… they get so little screen time… no one really cares most of the time. I get that they're "human" but they're fictional characters all the same. Tell me, what is the difference between a beloved character we spend episodes learning about dying? , in comparison to someone who gets a second of an episode dying?
I think its more the reaction of the other characters that gets me. You know, the part where A goes, ‘No! B!” And then we have to watch them sob over their body, etc.
I think its more the reaction of the other characters that gets me. You know, the part where A goes, ‘No! B!” And then we have to watch them sob over their body, etc.
Exactly!
@Winter You're right, there are definitely times when I couldn't care less about a character's death. For example, in books or movies when it's SO OBVIOUS a character was created just to be killed off later because the author was too wimpy to kill off any of the core characters.
I feel like Rogue One was a type of movie that tapped into my emotions because it was a war story. I really like war stories, the camaraderie of the soldiers, their pain and suffering for the people they love and the greater good, it's just one of the best kinds of stories of sacrifice ever (if done well). You don't even need to know the soldiers' names in order to care about them when you see them hugging each other or bravely running out into battle. If you've seen Dunkirk, that movie does an amazing job at making you care about characters even though they don't have names, or even character arcs. And in Rogue One, those people at least have names, character arcs, and some backstory. I was sad because of the friendships between the characters, their resolve to do the right thing even though they knew they would probably die, and that they would die nameless heroes. It's a timeless story (the "tale as old as time" is sacrificial love, man). And maybe the movie didn't make you feel anything, and that's totally valid, since you shouldn't let movies tell you how to feel. Some things won't speak to everyone the same way. But it worked for me, and everything I wrote above is kind of me venting how it worked? Yeah.
YES
@Masterkey Agreed! I'm not really that big into war stories, so that might have had something to do with my confusion towards my friend
@Winter, yeah, that's probably why. Kind of a tangent, but what's your favorite Star Wars movie?
@Masterkey It's Empire, obviously. I really liked The Last Jedi as well, but let's not turn this discussion into a flame war…
Hahaha okay let's not. ;) But yeah Empire is soo good