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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 6129621" data-attributes="member: 22779">I totally agree with this.  And totally agree that it is one of the big draws of the movie.But, it also provides very good examples of the differences in theme, at least for me.  Look at R2D2.  Now, in Star Wars, he's (it's?) a droid who goes around solving problems.  He's basically a Deus Ex Machina magical handwave.  Need past those blast doors?  R2D2 opens them for you.  Need to hide the Death Star Plans?  R2D2 does it for you.But, nothing in the movies really deals with what R2D2 actually is.  And, what he is is an intelligent machine whose creators are so horrific that they don't even let their slave creation have a voice.  R2D2 is obviously intelligent and certainly appears to be self-aware.  But, beyond very basic elements, he cannot ever voice an opinion to anyone other than other slaves.  He's a slave with his tongue cut out.But, that whole concept is completely swept under the carpet because this isn't what the movie is about.  He's Tinkerbell.  His function in the movies is pretty much exactly like a Good Fairy.  But, like Tinkerbell, he's never allowed to have any motivations beyond what his slave masters dictate to him.For an SF approach to R2D2, look at Blade Runner.  C3P0 gets satirized as Marvin The Paranoid Android in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.  There is an excellent episode of Star Trek TNG where Data is put on trial to determine if he is, in fact, a sentient being with rights.  In Star Wars, despite the Republic apparently fighting for freedom against tyranny, no one has the slightest problem enslaving sentient droids and treating them as objects.</blockquote>

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