The stormtrooper of Star
Wars is one of its most popular characters. This is amazing when you
consider that he/she is a nameless and faceless nonentity antagonist readily
and easily slaughtered in droves.
The Imperial/First Order stormtrooper is a collective. It
is one character as many. As an individual it has a name, face and quirks.
The stormtrooper is dressed like a robot. Its individuals
are named as if robots. The character would not enjoy its everlasting
popularity if actually robots. His/her humanity makes all the difference. The dehumanizing
of this humanity is a nuance that summarizes the villainy the stormtrooper serves.
The Imperial/First Order stormtrooper is skillful and
efficient. He/she is well-trained, well-equipped and well-organized. He/she is
selfless, loyal and obedient.
The stormtroopers are common folk made as formidable as
common can be. They are the ordinary at its finest. Alas, the extraordinary
puts the ordinary to shame regardless. This is why Imperial/First Order
stormtroopers are hopelessly outmatched by heroes.
As a writer of adventure fiction I assure you: making
heroes and bosses “interesting” is easy. A character is “amazing” simply by
making it stronger, faster, tougher or stranger than what is common. Making a
character ordinary yet interesting is the acme of skill.
The least is the greatest and the greatest least, indeed.
The stormtrooper of Star Wars is one
of the greatest figments ever imagined. It is beyond the Jedi and the Sith or
even the Death Star itself.
Common is still dangerous but no match for our Heroes. Nevertheless, they make great villains in groups.
ReplyDeleteNo story of good against evil is complete without them.
DeleteThere is no substitute for the human factor, as robots they would have been soon forgotten. It is their humanity that makes them personally relatable.
ReplyDeleteIndeed. MAKANTHROPOS: Man is the measure of all things, indeed. The entire universe is designed with US in mind. Something is missing when we are nowhere to be found.
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