This weekly roundup thread is intended for all culture war posts. 'Culture war' is vaguely defined, but it basically means controversial issues that fall along set tribal lines. Arguments over culture war issues generate a lot of heat and little light, and few deeply entrenched people ever change their minds. This thread is for voicing opinions and analyzing the state of the discussion while trying to optimize for light over heat.
Optimistically, we think that engaging with people you disagree with is worth your time, and so is being nice! Pessimistically, there are many dynamics that can lead discussions on Culture War topics to become unproductive. There's a human tendency to divide along tribal lines, praising your ingroup and vilifying your outgroup - and if you think you find it easy to criticize your ingroup, then it may be that your outgroup is not who you think it is. Extremists with opposing positions can feed off each other, highlighting each other's worst points to justify their own angry rhetoric, which becomes in turn a new example of bad behavior for the other side to highlight.
We would like to avoid these negative dynamics. Accordingly, we ask that you do not use this thread for waging the Culture War. Examples of waging the Culture War:
-
Shaming.
-
Attempting to 'build consensus' or enforce ideological conformity.
-
Making sweeping generalizations to vilify a group you dislike.
-
Recruiting for a cause.
-
Posting links that could be summarized as 'Boo outgroup!' Basically, if your content is 'Can you believe what Those People did this week?' then you should either refrain from posting, or do some very patient work to contextualize and/or steel-man the relevant viewpoint.
In general, you should argue to understand, not to win. This thread is not territory to be claimed by one group or another; indeed, the aim is to have many different viewpoints represented here. Thus, we also ask that you follow some guidelines:
-
Speak plainly. Avoid sarcasm and mockery. When disagreeing with someone, state your objections explicitly.
-
Be as precise and charitable as you can. Don't paraphrase unflatteringly.
-
Don't imply that someone said something they did not say, even if you think it follows from what they said.
-
Write like everyone is reading and you want them to be included in the discussion.
On an ad hoc basis, the mods will try to compile a list of the best posts/comments from the previous week, posted in Quality Contribution threads and archived at /r/TheThread. You may nominate a comment for this list by clicking on 'report' at the bottom of the post and typing 'Actually a quality contribution' as the report reason.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
I don't see why it matters? The EU was considered a separate continuity by most everyone except us nerds. They could have just wiped it and taken the bits they like and have now adapted anyway like Thrawn.
But there's plenty of stuff you could have used for background worldbuilding or character inspiration (like the post-Emperor warlord era and how the Republic grew) as opposed to doing no worldbuilding at all.
You can shove in Vader into many works because he's a guy in a suit. The problem with the ST that basically mandates a single canon is that Luke, Leia and Han (who elevate Vader in their interactions) just are certain actors. They didn't start as comic book characters, they are fixed in our minds as certain people in a certain, bounded story that has always been the only certain canon. Everything else changes around that canon but it's what people think of as Star Wars, not sixty different DC continuities and reboots. This is why the ST is a one-shot deal.
You can do what Douthat suggests on the TV side but - and I fully grant it might be the nerd in me - I don't see the point in having thousands of years of open canvas and not simply trying different stuff in different time periods or regions. This is, historically, how the EU handled the need for variety.
More options
Context Copy link