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Star Trek once again has beaten Star Wars.......

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  • majorcharvenakmajorcharvenak Member Posts: 226 Arc User
    azrael605 wrote: »
    Ah but don't forget major, the "job benefits" of being a slave include beatings, r.a.p.e., having your family sold, and in the Star Wars universe having your explosive implant detonated. Doesn't leave a lot of room to object, and pushing Anakin to refuse to race would most likely end with hin dead or sold off.

    Yeah. I guess that's fair. Point to you, Sir.
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  • nightside#8350 nightside Member Posts: 10 Arc User
    Star Trek Picard is a good illustration of how Star Trek is multiple genres, while the newer Star Wars stuff is an illustration of how it (SW) is a genre transforming.

    Picard is part of the Next Generation mood and setting of classical space opera, while Discovery was a radical departure and more like a combat action series. Kirk materials are actually 'shoot em up cowboy westerns' in space with a heavy hand of introspective Western Philosophy thrown in - that philosophy aspect carried over into Next Generation and hopefully will be present in the Picard series, as it was lacking in Discovery and "Enterprise".

    But having gone back over and rewatched some of the old and news series, its all together still "Trek". Despite my favorite Trek stuff (philosophy/space opera) being more of a niche...

    And no, I don't get that feeling at all with the various Star Wars. They are one genre, but what changes seems critically self destructive to that genre. The blood cell force script change that took the nebulous philosophy of Yoda and turned it into a Eugenics fantasy, or the gender/racial politics of representation in the latest iteration - space adventure remained space adventure, but the fans of that genre weren't given a niche, rather their sacred cows were retconned into the recycling bin, Leading to new audiences, but losing the old.

    I think Picard is a step in the right direction. And as for Discovery, Stamets and Wiseman were among my favorite characters, fitting perfectly into the Exploration/Space Opera aspect. I wanted to like Burnham, but those familiar with Mary Sue/Black Hole Sue tropes will understand how this didn't work. Actually, Burnham's icon could probably be the new Poster Child for Mary Sue. It's characters like Stamets and Culber that saved the series for me.
  • crypticarmsmancrypticarmsman Member Posts: 4,100 Arc User
    Star Trek Picard is a good illustration of how Star Trek is multiple genres, while the newer Star Wars stuff is an illustration of how it (SW) is a genre transforming.

    Picard is part of the Next Generation mood and setting of classical space opera, while Discovery was a radical departure and more like a combat action series. Kirk materials are actually 'shoot em up cowboy westerns' in space with a heavy hand of introspective Western Philosophy thrown in - that philosophy aspect carried over into Next Generation and hopefully will be present in the Picard series, as it was lacking in Discovery and "Enterprise".

    ...
    ^^^
    How can you claim the above before seeing the ACTUAL Picard series? (Just curious.)
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  • thegrandnagus1thegrandnagus1 Member Posts: 5,165 Arc User
    edited September 2019
    azrael605 wrote: »
    Burnham is categorically not a mary sue. Mary sues do not fail, had Burnham been one the Battle of the Binary Stars would never have happened, she would have had no charges filed against her, etc. Maybe you should make sure you understand the term before using it?

    There is no "official" definition of a Mary Sue. Different dictionaries and sources describe the term in different ways, but "never failing" is not a universal trait listed in all definitions. Some describe a Mary Sue as simply being "too good" at "too many things". You know, like Wesley Crusher.

    Anyway, the point is that since the term is described differently in different places, you don't get to say that your personal definition (which includes the "never failing" trait) is more right than someone else's personal definition that may not include that exact trait.

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  • thegrandnagus1thegrandnagus1 Member Posts: 5,165 Arc User
    edited September 2019
    > @azrael605 said:
    > Interesting yet incorrect that you claim there is no official definition. I found it in a dictionary entry in about 5 seconds. Quote.

    You missed my point. I know there are definitions out there. But DIFFERENT dictionaries and sources have DIFFERENT definitions, and "never fails" is not a universal trait found in EVERY definition.

    So no, there is no "official" definition; just a bunch of different definitions from different sources. And while you may favor a definition that fits your personal preferences, that doesn't make that definition better than a different one someone else prefers.

    And just for the record, I'm honestly not trying to play semantics with you. The point I'm trying to make is simply that this whole "Mary Sue" thing is more of a "concept" than a strict definition. That being the case, people are going to see characters they feel fit the "concept", even if you don't think they perfectly fit a strict definition you adhere to.

    For example, lots of people think Wesley Crusher is a Mary Sue, even though he isn't female and had his failures. Like I said, it's more of a "concept" than a strict definition.
    Post edited by thegrandnagus1 on

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  • starswordcstarswordc Member Posts: 10,963 Arc User
    azrael605 wrote: »
    Burnham is categorically not a mary sue. Mary sues do not fail, had Burnham been one the Battle of the Binary Stars would never have happened, she would have had no charges filed against her, etc. Maybe you should make sure you understand the term before using it?

    There is no "official" definition of a Mary Sue. Different dictionaries and sources describe the term in different ways, but "never failing" is not a universal trait listed in all definitions. Some describe a Mary Sue as simply being "too good" at "too many things". You know, like Wesley Crusher.

    Anyway, the point is that since the term is described differently in different places, you don't get to say that your personal definition (which includes the "never failing" trait) is more right than someone else's personal definition that may not include that exact trait.

    The most complete definition I've found is from TV Tropes. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MarySue

    One thing that reasonable Mary Sue definitions (i.e. "female character I don't like" doesn't qualify) do tend to include is that the character has a more or less flawless personality and is universally loved. Or when s/he isn't, the person who criticizes them is always made out to be a dickhead who unreasonably has it out for him/her.

    Michael Burnham conclusively fails this criterion. She has significant character flaws which are plot-critical, and when she blows it in a big way in the premiere, the other characters react accordingly. They're horrified at what she's done and don't fully trust her for many months, as indeed they should not.

    Is she written perfectly well? No, there's significant room for improvement (exactly how much is debatable). But she isn't a Mary Sue.
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  • legendarylycan#5411 legendarylycan Member Posts: 37,275 Arc User
    when i want to know if a character is a mary sue/gary stu, i use a test - specifically, this test: https://www.springhole.net/writing/marysue.htm​​
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  • thegrandnagus1thegrandnagus1 Member Posts: 5,165 Arc User
    starswordc wrote: »
    azrael605 wrote: »
    Burnham is categorically not a mary sue. Mary sues do not fail, had Burnham been one the Battle of the Binary Stars would never have happened, she would have had no charges filed against her, etc. Maybe you should make sure you understand the term before using it?

    There is no "official" definition of a Mary Sue. Different dictionaries and sources describe the term in different ways, but "never failing" is not a universal trait listed in all definitions. Some describe a Mary Sue as simply being "too good" at "too many things". You know, like Wesley Crusher.

    Anyway, the point is that since the term is described differently in different places, you don't get to say that your personal definition (which includes the "never failing" trait) is more right than someone else's personal definition that may not include that exact trait.

    The most complete definition I've found is from TV Tropes. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MarySue

    If you think that article is a "definition" then you are ignoring what it says at the beginning:

    "What that character type is, exactly, differs wildly from circle to circle, and often from person to person. TV Tropes doesn't get to set what the term means; the best we can do is capture the way it is used."

    I agree that is a good article, and it proves my point: there is no consensus. But even if it did lay down some strict definition, it would still only be one source among many offering one opinion among many. Personally, I think it is more beneficial to look at a character in a "big picture" way rather than tying to find some rare exception to why a character is or isn't a Mary Sue. In other words, "as a whole" does this character seem "too perfect" or "too good at everything"?

    To me personally, Burnham is one of the most unlikable Trek "good guys" I have ever seen. And because we live in the age we live in, I'm obligated to say "it has nothing to do with her race/gender". I simply find her "know it all" attitude and repeated insubordination to her superiors to be insufferable. Is she a Mary Sue? It doesn't really matter to me due to my previous thoughts.

    But despite my distaste for Burnham, I enjoyed Disco S1 for it's overall story and characters, and especially S2 because of Pike. And I'll probably enjoy whatever happens in S3.

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  • majorcharvenakmajorcharvenak Member Posts: 226 Arc User
    edited September 2019
    So...maybe...the writers can put Discovery in the future and in the Star Wars galaxy. Michael can be trained in the ways of the Force and after Rey beats the FO, she can sign onto the Discovery as an engineer. Win-win for everyone! Let there be peace between these two fandom. o:)

    *Tongue and cheek folks. I'm fully aware of the issues with that so Forum Lecturers can stand down*
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  • redeyedravenredeyedraven Member Posts: 1,297 Arc User
    edited September 2019
    Burnham is actually not bad when she is not the sole focus; as a secondary lead she'd have worked much better to begin with. The writers of DIS didn't understand that Vulcans and humans acting like them are not exactly ideal for interesting protagonists. They thought Vulcans are instantly a hit with audiences because the iconic Spock happened to be one. They took this as far as to simply re-using Spock.
    It's a bit like with the ST-movies and half of them emulating the Khan-type-villain. They took that as far as re-using him as well.

    See the pattern.
  • markhawkmanmarkhawkman Member Posts: 35,231 Arc User
    I agree that is a good article, and it proves my point: there is no consensus. But even if it did lay down some strict definition, it would still only be one source among many offering one opinion among many. Personally, I think it is more beneficial to look at a character in a "big picture" way rather than tying to find some rare exception to why a character is or isn't a Mary Sue. In other words, "as a whole" does this character seem "too perfect" or "too good at everything"?
    But as a counterpoint, if multiple disparate definitions are in play then all usages are wrong according to at least one of the definitions, and thus the term is useless to describe a character.
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  • markhawkmanmarkhawkman Member Posts: 35,231 Arc User
    Burnham is actually not bad when she is not the sole focus; as a secondary lead she'd have worked much better to begin with. The writers of DIS didn't understand that Vulcans and humans acting like them are not exactly ideal for interesting protagonists. They thought Vulcans are instantly a hit with audiences because the iconic Spock happened to be one. They took this as far as to simply re-using Spock.
    It's a bit like with the ST-movies and half of them emulating the Khan-type-villain. They took that as far as re-using him as well.

    See the pattern.
    Yeah, Vulcan characters are not actually universally liked by fans. The concept of the race is liked, but the actual characters aren't. Sometimes they're straight villains.
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  • thegrandnagus1thegrandnagus1 Member Posts: 5,165 Arc User
    > @markhawkman said:
    > (Quote)
    > But as a counterpoint, if multiple disparate definitions are in play then all usages are wrong according to at least one of the definitions, and thus the term is useless to describe a character.

    That is actually correct, hence my "big picture" philosophy described earlier.

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  • rattler2rattler2 Member Posts: 57,969 Community Moderator
    I attribute Burnham's "know it all" attitude to her background as a Science Officer. Some scientists do tend to lean a bit that way in varying degrees. However I feel this attitude only really showed up in subjects she was familiar with. In instances where she didn't know... she did have some clueless moments where she was unsure. From what I've seen she's evolved as a character in season 2.

    But still... Pike was awesome. Need more Pike now. I especially like how they actually showed Pike wasn't perfect either.
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