Unpopular Fandom Opinion (singular)

[krpalmer]

I've noticed people making declarations of how they stand against what everyone else in one fandom or another seems to believe in, and thought I might try my own hand at it. I suppose I could say something on the lines of that I seem to feel sympathetic for every major character in the Star Wars movies who gets insulted by viewers, and go on from there to declare that the stridency and unpleasantness of negative takes on the movies may have turned me not against the films, but against the opinions themselves. That could then tie into my not being interested in the minor bounty hunters and background Jedi who appear (to me) to be popular because they're blank slates to be projected upon by comics and fanfics alike and be made "cooler" than just about anyone whose character is actually established... but even all of that might not be that daring any more.

Instead, I'll say this. When I first started reading in the early novels of the Expanded Universe about Wedge being the leader of "Rogue Squadron," my consistent thought was "Why is the X-wing squadron 'Rogue' Squadron?" To me, the "Rogues" are the snowspeeder squadron of The Empire Strikes Back. In Return of the Jedi, Wedge was "Red Leader." (However, some might yet try to make a point of different fighter types apparently being mixed together under the "Red" callsign in that movie.) I know it's a minor point; after all, "Rogue" sounds cooler than "Red." Nor do I think it really affected my drifting away from the Expanded Universe. Nevertheless, I wanted to say it at last.

Comments

[lazypadawan.livejournal.com]

Rogue definitely sounds cooler ;). Unless you type it wrong and give it a whole new meaning with "Rouge Squadron."

I see what you mean about the popularity of background characters. I think part of it is the tendency of fan geeks to obsess over the smallest detail, even the third stormtrooper on the left. And part of it is showing your street credibility by being so knowledgeable about SW, you know who Gonk, Bossk, and Bultar Swan are. You may be right about the "blank slate" theory as well.

[krpalmer.livejournal.com]

I'm positive I once saw an "early draft" of TESB online somewhere where the snowspeeder call signs were "Rouge," although I just chalked that up to the name "evolving" from "Red." (Of course, given the minor crisis once created out of hot chocolate being mentioned in the "Zahn Trilogy," the thought of a second Earth language existing in Star Wars might have been hard for some people to take.) Unfortunately, the early draft on the Jedi Bendu Script Site (http://www.starwarz.com/starkiller/) uses "Rogue" as well.

[lazypadawan.livejournal.com]

Actually, I was picturing a squadron full of female impersonators ;).