Robot Chicken Star Wars Ep 2

[Base Delta Zero]

A big warship bristling with guns and a space station bristling with guns, one that's designed to blow up planets, called "Star Destroyer" and "Death Star" respectively, don't seem at least a teeny bit sinister to you?

Because I'm kinda sure that's what Lucas was aiming for.

True. But if you ask me, a big warship bristling with guns called the 'Super Happy Bunny Barge' or something actually manages to sound more sinister. Stupid also, but stupidly sinister.

[NecronLord]

Like Star Destroyer? Or Death Star? The Empire is full of stuff that screams evil.

Reasonable people (post RotS) don't seem too keen on the Empire either.

[Samuel]

A big warship bristling with guns and a space station bristling with guns, one that's designed to blow up planets, called "Star Destroyer" and "Death Star" respectively, don't seem at least a teeny bit sinister to you?

Because I'm kinda sure that's what Lucas was aiming for.

True. But if you ask me, a big warship bristling with guns called the 'Super Happy Bunny Barge' or something actually manages to sound more sinister. Stupid also, but stupidly sinister.

http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/hsc1436l.jpg

Like Star Destroyer? Or Death Star? The Empire is full of stuff that screams evil.

Reasonable people (post RotS) don't seem too keen on the Empire either.

... doesn't the EU have them loved? And evil killer Nazis? At the same time?

[Darth Yoshi]

Sand-in-head syndrome, methinks. As long as it's only Wookiees/Mon Calamari/Alderaanians/what-have-you getting mercilessly oppressed and not me, what do I care?

[NecronLord]

... doesn't the EU have them loved? And evil killer Nazis? At the same time?

The EU is all over the shop, and kind of irrelevant (though even Slave 1 isn't actually named in any of the films, IIRC) to what people actually think when they see the film.

I don't think the average audience member gets anything like the impression that by the OT, the Empire is popular, from the films. What with repeated stressing that without the senate to keep order, or fear of having their planets blown up, people would turn on the Empire and overthrow it. As far as the films are concerned, the Empire is (by the OT) a very unpopular government; when its leader dies, popular riots break out everywhere to celebrate. I'd certainly say that the Empire is meant to be pretty damn unpopular in the films.

[Darth Fanboy]

Especially when farmboys in the Outer Rim grow up dreaming of wanting to go out and fight the Empire.

[Swindle1984]

Especially when farmboys in the Outer Rim grow up dreaming of wanting to go out and fight the Empire.

Wasn't Luke dreaming of going to the academy and becoming a TIE fighter? Thereby fighting FOR the Empire?

Ditto with Biggs before he defected?

[Batman]

Technically he was dreaming of going to the Academy and becoming a TIE fighter PILOT
And Luke explicitly stated he hated the Empire. Going to an institution that teaches you how to fight, even if it is run by the very entity you eventually want to fight, is not incompatible with that.

[Swindle1984]

So the best way of showing your hatred for an institution is to become its employee and put your life on the line enforcing its policies.

Yes, yes, I know, he just wanted to get off Tattooine and be a pilot. I still find it funny.

[Darth Yoshi]

No, the best way would be to suck up Imperial time and resources getting trained, and then defecting and using your training to run a guerilla insurrection. Which was what several pilots in Red group did prior to Yavin.

[Darth Nostril]

That is exactly what Biggs did.
If you ever get a chance to see the deleted scenes from ANH, Biggs is back on Tatooine on shore leave, he tells Luke that he's going to go AWOL with a bunch of other pilots and defect to the Rebellion.

[open_sketchbook]

The empire likely trained most of it's greatest enemies, not mention equipping them with the X-Wing, through defectors. The Empire was doomed from the start, sorta what you get when you're government is run by a lord of the sith and your high commander decides that it's better to be feared than loved on a galactic scale.

[Darth Yan]

where can this be watched online