Where’s the Outrage??

We all know the story by now that Kelly Marie Tran deleted her Instagram account, allegedly in the face of cyberbullying by a few, nasty, outspoken jerks. Social media has enabled people to eschew civil discussion and a healthy exchange of views in favor of flinging insults, spreading information of dubious veracity, and much worse. Public discourse is often such that the vast multitudes of well-meaning people prefer to keep to themselves, rather than engage in conversation that too often turns sour.

Pop site Mashable picked up a Twitter discussion in which writer Dennis DiClaudio decided to drop a deuce on the idea that Lucas based the wardrobe of the entire Jedi Order in the PT directly on Ben Kenobi's supposed desert dweller disguise from Tatooine. He (and others that responded) said it was creatively lazy, and that Jedi uniforms should have been completely different from Ben's outfit.

If I were to argue anything, it would be the exact opposite of DiClaudio's point. Ben's robes were Lucas's notion of Jedi garb all along, as we know from seeing Anakin's (Sebastian Shaw's) Force Ghost wearing an identical ensemble to that of Obi-Wan. The laziness, if there is any, would be that Obi-Wan did nothing to physically disguise himself on Tatooine, changing only his first name to mask his identity. But whatever.

In a well-conceived rebuttal, written with a refreshing lack of sarcasm, nastiness, or general buffoonery, Twitter user Kevin Tong responded...and you can see how it ended...

Dennis DiClaudio

Gotta get something off my chest: In the first #StarWars film, Obi-Wan Kenobi dressed to blend in on Tatooine so that nobody would suspect he was a Jedi.

Basing all Jedi fashion on that one everyday-Tatooine costume is absolutely (expletive deleted) ridiculous.

On top of just being pointless, it means that Obi-Wan spent his 20 years hiding out on Tatooine dressed like a (expletive deleted) Jedi.

I HATE THIS SO MUCH!!!!Anyway, I hope you guys are all having a nice Tuesday.

Kevin Tong

I disagree with this thread and will lay out key points that show that the apparent visual blandness of the Jedi fashion choices serve the film, both in terms of story and visuals

First off, the Jedi don’t really have a specific set of clothes. They do wear mostly Earth tones, but so do most people in the Star Wars galaxy. Luke and Rey dress very similar to Jedi when we first meet them

So Obi Wan isn’t in danger of being discovered on Tattoine for dressing like a Jedi, bc Jedi dress more or less like everyone else. The only real Jedi uniform is his lightsaber & belt, which he hid under his non descript robe until it was time for Ponda Baba to get got!

Yoda, Qiu Gon Jinn, Obi Wan, Anakin, and Luke all dress very similarly, but not the same, because they all trained under each other, starting with Yoda. It makes sense that a pupil would emulate the master

Further note, many of the costumes in Star Wars (esp the Jedi) are based on traditional Japanese clothing. The Jedi wear what samurai would wear under their armor, but they don’t wear armor bc the Force is their armor in concept...

... Funny story to add to that: My friend’s dad was from rural Japan and had never seen Star Wars (not even the ads) until recently. When he watched A New Hope w/ his son for the first time, he asked why everyone in this American film was wearing Japanese clothing

Most of the galaxy in Star Wars dresses in drab colors because most of the individuals we see are from the lower class. The wealthy upper class in SW dress more elaborately and in brighter colors (trade federation, Queen Amidala, Lando)

The difference in color palette between the rich and the poor is very intentional, so you instantly know from the visuals what kind of place and people you’re dealing with as the story takes us to many worlds and civilizations

The farther people live from the core planets, like in Tatooine or Jakku, the more drab they dress, bc they’re people who live in isolation on desert worlds and are largely isolated from galactic commerce

Although the Jedi as an organization have power and resources, they live an ascetic live, eschewing indulgences like fashion and displays of wealth. Their garment choice, the Earth tone garment of the people, implies humility & that they are of the people (implies)

The dull Earth tone color palette serves a cinematic function to contrast the light sabers as much as possible, highlighting them. It is visually striking to see an unassuming person suddenly produce and swing a blindingly bright sparking laser sword

Star Wars presents a realistic lived in world. The clothing choice of the Jedi was carefully considered and is not a creative void. Films are a form of art. With all the best art, every part of it is carefully considered and there for a reason.

DiClaudio

This is all very good post hoc justification for what was essentially lazy design choices on Lucas' part in the prequels.

Tong

Hi Dennis, wow, this got nuts! I wrote this thread mainly because I didn’t want to get out of bed this morning and I wanted to politely offer another POV on this. Looking forward to your cosmic horror novel, it’s one of my favorite genres of literature and film!

DiClaudio

Cool! I was afraid that you'd maybe taken this in some way other than how it was intended, based upon all the angry responses. Your points are excellent and well-thought-out, and I genuinely do appreciate you contributing your POV.

Tong

Haha I thought your post was funny & a good opportunity to practice my ability to present a cohesive counter argument to addresses the issue in a civilized way while highlighting some of the strengths of SW, it’s debt to Japanese culture, & the awesome art of Ralph McQuarrie

DiClaudio

My thread was something I wrote in five minutes to put off doing real work. Wasn’t expecting anything like this. I’ve really been enjoying the conversation since though. Well, for the most part.

Honestly, I could talk about this (expletive deleted) all day long.

Amazing. Tong handled it with the deftness of a seasoned diplomat. Mixing in thoughtfulness, facts, and imagery without sarcasm or vitriol, even taking the time to throw in a personal compliment. It would seem that DiClaudio, perhaps unintentionally, was trolling his readers with an incendiary (as far as Star Wars goes) series of statements. Tong diffused it completely, while essentially eviscerating DiClaudio's point in the most pleasant and civilized way possible. The discussion ended with kind words, and DiClaudio actually being curious about the slew of negative responses to his tweet.

It's nice to see a happy ending when you would expect things to go very wrong even over the most supremely trivial of matters. Sometimes Star Wars fans aren't jerks!

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