Benjamin (he/him/his)
@benzed.bsky.social
“Being able to speak freely is the lifeblood of love.”
— Satoshi Kon
youtube.com/@honeycuttvideos
— Satoshi Kon
youtube.com/@honeycuttvideos
And I don’t think that mutual muting is conducive to a productive conversation. I think the sharing of information, with an established agreement on what are and are not accurate references to the media at hand, is conducive to a productive conversation 🤝
November 29, 2025 at 4:27 AM
And I don’t think that mutual muting is conducive to a productive conversation. I think the sharing of information, with an established agreement on what are and are not accurate references to the media at hand, is conducive to a productive conversation 🤝
I don’t think that at all. Implicit in Lucas’ words and the content of his films is that you keep both in balance. I’m focusing on one in this discussion since that’s what you seemed to need clarification on.
November 29, 2025 at 4:27 AM
I don’t think that at all. Implicit in Lucas’ words and the content of his films is that you keep both in balance. I’m focusing on one in this discussion since that’s what you seemed to need clarification on.
"The Sith practice the dark side and are way out of balance. The Jedi aren’t as much out of balance because they’re the light side of the Force. They still have the bad side of the Force in them, but they keep it in check. It’s always there, so it can always erupt if you let your guard down."
November 29, 2025 at 3:59 AM
"The Sith practice the dark side and are way out of balance. The Jedi aren’t as much out of balance because they’re the light side of the Force. They still have the bad side of the Force in them, but they keep it in check. It’s always there, so it can always erupt if you let your guard down."
This is exactly what Lucas explains in the Star Wars Archives books: "You have the light side and the dark side in you. Your job as a human being is to try to keep those things in balance so you don’t go all over the dark side."
November 29, 2025 at 3:59 AM
This is exactly what Lucas explains in the Star Wars Archives books: "You have the light side and the dark side in you. Your job as a human being is to try to keep those things in balance so you don’t go all over the dark side."
Upon realizing that he's playing into the Emperor's plan, risking losing his humanity the way his father lost his, and that he would be repeating the cycle of suffering his father is trapped in, Luke regains his composure, refuses to strike his father down in rage, and asserts his status as a Jedi.
November 29, 2025 at 3:59 AM
Upon realizing that he's playing into the Emperor's plan, risking losing his humanity the way his father lost his, and that he would be repeating the cycle of suffering his father is trapped in, Luke regains his composure, refuses to strike his father down in rage, and asserts his status as a Jedi.
Easy as pie! So in ROTJ, Luke is struggling to control his own feelings and gives into Vader's threat against Leia. He loses control of his own anger and attacks Vader in a blind rage. In this moment, he is failing to control his own feelings.
November 29, 2025 at 3:59 AM
Easy as pie! So in ROTJ, Luke is struggling to control his own feelings and gives into Vader's threat against Leia. He loses control of his own anger and attacks Vader in a blind rage. In this moment, he is failing to control his own feelings.
It’s not a subjective interpretation, it’s Lucas’ intent and he communicated it clearly within the contents of his films. Force users having control over their own inner darkness and not letting it overtake them is exactly how the Force is kept in balance.
November 29, 2025 at 3:36 AM
It’s not a subjective interpretation, it’s Lucas’ intent and he communicated it clearly within the contents of his films. Force users having control over their own inner darkness and not letting it overtake them is exactly how the Force is kept in balance.
Balance to the Force means the absence of dark side Force users — when all those who consciously use the Force have control over their own inner dark side.
November 29, 2025 at 3:18 AM
Balance to the Force means the absence of dark side Force users — when all those who consciously use the Force have control over their own inner dark side.
"Ben hopes Luke will either save his father or kill him, because whatever extra powers Luke's got in his lineage, he is the one person that can probably fight his father and win."
- The Star Wars Archives: 1977-1983
- The Star Wars Archives: 1977-1983
November 29, 2025 at 1:33 AM
"Ben hopes Luke will either save his father or kill him, because whatever extra powers Luke's got in his lineage, he is the one person that can probably fight his father and win."
- The Star Wars Archives: 1977-1983
- The Star Wars Archives: 1977-1983
"A Jedi can’t kill for the sake of killing. The mission isn’t for Luke to go out and kill his father and get rid of him. The issue is, if he confronts his father again, he may, in defending himself, have to kill him, because his father will try to kill him."
- Making of ROTJ
- Making of ROTJ
November 29, 2025 at 1:33 AM
"A Jedi can’t kill for the sake of killing. The mission isn’t for Luke to go out and kill his father and get rid of him. The issue is, if he confronts his father again, he may, in defending himself, have to kill him, because his father will try to kill him."
- Making of ROTJ
- Making of ROTJ
But Vader has an unfortunate history of killing his loved ones -- he killed Padme, he killed Obi-Wan, and he could very well do the same to Luke. A Jedi only kills in self-defense, and what Obi-Wan is warning Luke of is that he needs to be willing to defend himself if Vader tries to kill him.
November 29, 2025 at 1:33 AM
But Vader has an unfortunate history of killing his loved ones -- he killed Padme, he killed Obi-Wan, and he could very well do the same to Luke. A Jedi only kills in self-defense, and what Obi-Wan is warning Luke of is that he needs to be willing to defend himself if Vader tries to kill him.
Obi-Wan and Yoda don't insist that Luke needs to kill Vader. Yoda says "You must confront Vader," and Obi-Wan says "You must face Darth Vader again." It's that Luke needs to fight Vader and win, because he is the only person who stands a chance at surviving a confrontation with Vader.
November 29, 2025 at 1:33 AM
Obi-Wan and Yoda don't insist that Luke needs to kill Vader. Yoda says "You must confront Vader," and Obi-Wan says "You must face Darth Vader again." It's that Luke needs to fight Vader and win, because he is the only person who stands a chance at surviving a confrontation with Vader.
This is basically how I assess all art:
1. What was the artist trying to do?
2. How well did they accomplish this in the art itself?
and then 3. Was this worth doing?
1. What was the artist trying to do?
2. How well did they accomplish this in the art itself?
and then 3. Was this worth doing?
November 29, 2025 at 1:22 AM
This is basically how I assess all art:
1. What was the artist trying to do?
2. How well did they accomplish this in the art itself?
and then 3. Was this worth doing?
1. What was the artist trying to do?
2. How well did they accomplish this in the art itself?
and then 3. Was this worth doing?
I'm not saying there aren't valuable human objective standards one should understand and apply when creating or analyzing media. But I do question their applicability and find it valuable to identify their limitations.
November 29, 2025 at 1:06 AM
I'm not saying there aren't valuable human objective standards one should understand and apply when creating or analyzing media. But I do question their applicability and find it valuable to identify their limitations.
The way they're applied by a master storyteller like Satoshi Kon are expertly well-done and make for one of the most emotionally-moving animated films ever made. His storytelling process breaks one of the most important objective standards that MauLer and his peers adhere to.
November 29, 2025 at 1:06 AM
The way they're applied by a master storyteller like Satoshi Kon are expertly well-done and make for one of the most emotionally-moving animated films ever made. His storytelling process breaks one of the most important objective standards that MauLer and his peers adhere to.
Events that would seem unlikely, near-impossible, at any other time of year, but are one-hundred percent appropriate for a story that takes place at Christmastime and centers on the most forgotten and neglected outcasts of society.
November 29, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Events that would seem unlikely, near-impossible, at any other time of year, but are one-hundred percent appropriate for a story that takes place at Christmastime and centers on the most forgotten and neglected outcasts of society.
Tokyo Godfathers is a story founded entirely upon the characters experiencing coincidences that "feel" magical to the characters themselves and to the audience -- the kind of coincidences that we would consider "Christmas miracles."
November 29, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Tokyo Godfathers is a story founded entirely upon the characters experiencing coincidences that "feel" magical to the characters themselves and to the audience -- the kind of coincidences that we would consider "Christmas miracles."
For example, MauLer has a section in his TFA review that talks about the problems with using contrivance and coincidence in narrative design, and it's a strong piece of criticism on its own. But I question how useful the lessons he prescribes would help one evaluate something like Tokyo Godfathers.
November 29, 2025 at 1:06 AM
For example, MauLer has a section in his TFA review that talks about the problems with using contrivance and coincidence in narrative design, and it's a strong piece of criticism on its own. But I question how useful the lessons he prescribes would help one evaluate something like Tokyo Godfathers.
This informs many of the criticisms I have of the MauLer crowd (not even touching on their rampant hate speech) and their methods for analyzing media, because their type of human objectivity is very limited to very specific forms of media that fall under certain storytelling standards.
November 29, 2025 at 1:06 AM
This informs many of the criticisms I have of the MauLer crowd (not even touching on their rampant hate speech) and their methods for analyzing media, because their type of human objectivity is very limited to very specific forms of media that fall under certain storytelling standards.
For years, we had agreed that Pluto was objectively a planet by the same standards as the other eight planets in our solar system. Then we reassessed the standards we have for classifying planets and reclassified Pluto as not falling in that category.
November 29, 2025 at 1:06 AM
For years, we had agreed that Pluto was objectively a planet by the same standards as the other eight planets in our solar system. Then we reassessed the standards we have for classifying planets and reclassified Pluto as not falling in that category.
Human objectivity does not reach the same level of empiricism as universal objectivity, because our rules and facts can easily change once new information comes out or new insight is gained.
November 29, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Human objectivity does not reach the same level of empiricism as universal objectivity, because our rules and facts can easily change once new information comes out or new insight is gained.
The other is human objectivity, which are rules and facts and standards that we agree upon based on our understanding and observation at the time of evaluating anything.
November 29, 2025 at 1:06 AM
The other is human objectivity, which are rules and facts and standards that we agree upon based on our understanding and observation at the time of evaluating anything.