Question: Has there ever been any sort of canonical discussion about the morality of droid treatment in any Star Wars titles? They're intelligent/sentient, are treated well by most people, even like friends/pets by some. And yet they also seem to casually get their minds wiped, or if they're destroyed many people shrug rather than mourn. Tools to some, valued comrades to others, it's just a bit all over the place. Idle thought really.
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Answer: Not in the films, but several of the books removed from canon by Disney mentioned a "droids' rights movement" that decried memory wipes and other dismissals of sentience. https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Droid_rights_ (movement).
Solo, which is canon, features a subplot about droid's rights. So not everything has been scrubbed regarding this topic.
Chosen answer: Nobody in the Star Wars universe, except on rare occasions, has shown sympathy towards a droid or any AI. Even though these robots learn, they don't really evolve beyond their programming so they aren't considered "alive" (unlike in other fiction like Wall-E), not even by the most sentimental of people. Organic beings develop attachments to droids, but mostly towards their usefulness, not because they like their personality, not even Luke Skywalker towards R2 or Poe towards BB-8. If they are destroyed, too bad. Memory wiping doesn't remove the droid's original programming either, and their way of talking and manners stay.
In Episode 2, Obi-Wan makes the offhanded comment "Well, if droids could think there'd be none of us here", implying that droids do not actually possess artificial intelligence. R2-D2 seems to be a particularly unusual droid in that he is uncommonly resilient and steadfast, which makes his allies quite fond of him. Poe and BB-8 appear to have a bond that goes beyond simply being attached to the droid's usefulness, but like you say that appears to be a unique case.
Just because he said that doesn't mean they didn't have AI. They think for themselves, so they have AI. Just not as advanced as in other fiction.
The point is raised again later in the film when the cloners state that unlike droids, clones can think for themselves.
Question: Why hasn't Ash's pikachu evolved into raichu?
Answer: I don't think so. Pikachu needs a thunderstone to evolve and I think in that episode Pikachu said it was happy the way it was.
Answer: He refused to! He is also not the only Pokemon in the series to have done that, the first time in episode 14 fighting a Raichu, and then other times in the series (episode 540 comes to mind). Pokemon have their own free will (for being a bunch of critters locked in tiny balls...) and some are so happy with themselves that they prefer not to turn into their evolved version. Which usually is way less cute, incidentally.
Unlike most Pokemon which evolve as they gain levels, Pikachu can't evolve into Raichu unless it uses a Thunder Stone. In Indigo League episode "Electric Shock Showdown", Pikachu explicitly refuses to evolve, wanting to win its rematch with Lt. Surge's Raichu itself. Pikachu again refused to evolve in the Diamond and Pearl episode "Pika and Goliath!", simply resolving to train harder.
What I heard is that pikachu is the mascot of the franchise, and evolving it into raichu the anime would enrage a lot of pokemon fans.
Even if Pikachu had evolved into raichu, wouldn't there be a risk that it would decrease the number of the show's viewers?
Question: Assuming the mother's not arrested despite assaulting the teacher, shouldn't her son be removed from her home given how horrible a drunkard she is and could abuse him?
Question: The whole plot of this movie makes no sense. What was the purpose of having all the soldiers "brainwashed' when they just used one to carry out what they wanted? Plus, why go to the trouble of doing all this when they could have just hired an assassin? Plus, how did they know, in 1952, that this man would be chosen to be the Vice-President?
Answer: It's confusing. The entire platoon was brainwashed to be witnesses and verify the fabricated story that Raymond was a "war hero" who saved their lives. Raymond was unknowingly mentally programmed to become a sleeper agent to be used when needed by the Russians or Chinese. He was chosen because Raymond's monstrous mother, Eleanor Iselin, was married to a ruthless, ambitious "Joseph McCarthy-esque" U.S. Senator. She was propelling her husband into being their party's presidential candidate and contacted Communist agents to arrange for her husband's political rival to be assassinated. She was initially unaware that her son would be the chosen assassin. Raymond, being brainwashed, never realised he was a programmed assassin who would have no memory of executing his assignments. He apparently was recruited because of his step-father's political position. It is a rather incredulous plot, to say the least.
Question: When the Xenomorph is mere inches from Ripley, how was it able to know there was a queen inside of her?
Answer: Most likely by smell or other sensory perception. We already know that the aliens inside the hosts adapt and take on DNA and characteristics from them, like most being humanoid from the humans or the one in Alien 3 being more canine since it came from a dog. It's likely that the creatures inside also alter the host's body chemically to better suit their growth in such a short amount of time. This would also be necessary in other situations where the aliens are catching humans or the humans are being exposed to eggs, and the aliens wouldn't kill them or take them again knowing they already have a young one inside them. Now in Alien 3, it's not necessarily the case that the alien knew that it was actually a Queen inside Ripley, but at the very least, it knew one of its own kind was already inside her and knew not to harm her.
Question: If they're spies then why are the four shown being booked in regular jail? Why aren't they in a federal prison?
Answer: Because it's just a movie, it's a comedy, and the filmmakers are not concerned with exact, realistic details. They expect the audience to just enjoy the silliness and not be overly concerned about reality. The two other Home Alone films employed similar "suspension of disbelief" in the plots.
Exactly like what happened to the guy that gave them the chip. Wouldn't he be arrested too, but we don't hear anything about what happened to him. I'm assuming since he had a plan to catch he was going somewhere he can't be extradited.
The guy who hired Beaupre and his team was in China the whole time, so he couldn't be extradited to America since China has no extradition treaty with America.
Answer: There are two possible explanations: 1) Because there is far less space available in federal prisons, compared to state and local facilities, federal prisoners and arrestees are often kept in local facilities. 2) Because the federal charges or providing support for terrorism and industrial espionage are harder to prove compared to the state-level charges of breaking and entering, assault and battery, and attempted murder.
It's doubtful the writers had all that in mind when writing a comedy holiday script. The plot simply calls for the spies to be caught and thrown into jail at the end of the story. There is also a difference between prison and jail. Prison is for those convicted of a crime. Jail is a temporary holding place after an arrest is made. With police being involved in the arrest, the spies would initially be booked and held in the local jail. The spies would later be transferred to federal custody to await trial.
Question: Why do they steal the actual NOC list instead of just giving Max another fake one to make sure the names didn't get out?
Answer: Presumably, both halves of the NOC list will interact with and match with each other perfectly in a way that won't work otherwise should one half be a fake. Think of it as two puzzle pieces, and if the computer tried to match up the wrong puzzle piece with the authentic first half of the NOC list, it would notify the user.
Question: What was so important about the pipe?
Question: Why does Evelyn kill Jeannine at the end? This isn't how the book goes and she's executed by Tori in Allegiant at the beginning.
Answer: Movies seldom follow books exactly as they were written. Details change, characters are eliminated or added, locales change, etc. This was probably done to compress and streamline the plot to better serve the film medium.
True but in the book it's more emotional when Tori does it as she did it to avenge her brother George whom she thought Jeannine killed.
Question: How does Bakula afford that bar he owns? Do Feds really make enough to make such purchases?
Answer: It should also be noted, just because someone owns a small business (in this case a bar) doesn't mean they're rich, or they had to be rich or make enough money from another job in order to afford it. Banks provide small business loans and having steady employment, good credit history, solid business plan, etc would allow someone to get a loan. Most business owners even say they "own" whatever bar, restaurant, store, or business they run even if it's leased or mortgaged.
Question: Do they ever say why the last season took place in Hawaii?
Question: When the Terminator shoots up the police station, there is a part where it cuts to him walking down a hallway after reloading his gun and there is a fire behind him. What caused that fire?
Answer: The Terminator rips the main electrical cable out of the junction box and then overloads the other cables, which cuts power to the station and starts the fire.
Question: Just before Jack enters the gold room, he passes in front of several mirrors (three or four) and his reflection is not present on the last one, but seeing that the angle does not change, one would expect to see him pass. The question is therefore the following: what happens at this precise moment, between the last and the penultimate mirror? Should there be a change in reality? A moment when Jack switches to the past? Or anything else?
Answer: I'm not sure which scene you're referring to: when he first enters the Gold Room and finds Lloyd alone, or when he enters and finds the ball in progress. In the latter, we do indeed see his reflection...due to the angles of the shot and the mirror itself, it happens as Jack is still behind the Gold Room sign. In the former, we do not see his reflection, but it's because the shot is much tighter on Jack Nicholson, and so, the mirror in question is not visible in the shot until after the point where we would see him in it.
Question: How come the vampires don't die during the day and are awake? How can the werewolves transform at will instead of by a full moon?
Answer: Because they are fictional characters, and Stephanie Meyer made up new rules for them to suit her narrative.
She should've still respected the lore as most do. This series is her as Bella and the two guys are based on guys she lusted for in high school who ignored her. Read between the lines people.
Answer: The moon has no effect on the Quileutes because they are not werewolves. In the books, they are shape-shifters that can change at will. Rather than being created by a werewolf's bite, some Quileutes are born with a gene that becomes active and transforms them into wolves when vampires are near. They cannot turn other people into wolves. The movie series glossed over this fact, apparently to avoid confusion about the differences. Even though they are called "werewolves" in the movies, that is not what they are.
In addition, actual werewolves do exist in the Twilight universe. They are called "Children of the Moon." They follow most of the standard werewolf myths: changing only during the night of a full moon, feral behavior, infecting others by biting them, etc... They are also immune to vampire venom. The Volturi hunted them nearly to extinction after one nearly killed Caius.
Answer: It seems like you already decided your own answer, but like a lot of mythology and lore, hundreds of variations occur. Most often werewolves can change at will once they've gone through their first transformation. In a lot of lore, the full moon only forces them to change, even if it's against their will. It does not mean it's the only way to change. Meyer did add a twist to vampires in the sun, but in many stories, sunlight is not fatal, they can be safe in the shadows, or the sunlight only weakens, not kills, them, and/or they are strengthened by the moonlight (which is why they came out at night).
Didn't decide, only observed what I'd seen with the like of Chaney's Wolfman and Lugosi's Dracula, that's all.
The horror movies of that era, like Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolfman, etc. freely adapted their own interpretation of traditional folklore.
Question: Why didn't May pack the Iron Spider suit instead of the regular one?
Answer: The Iron Spider suit has a complex and bulky storage container. The ordinary suit can fit in a suitcase.
Question: Gwen Stacey is at Harry Osborn's funeral. Does she know that her ex Eddie Brock was the one that killed Harry? And does she know that Eddie was "the strange black suited figure" on the news (aka Venom) ?
Answer: It's unclear. Only Peter and Mary Jane knew that Eddie was Venom and that he killed Harry. Spider-Man may have decided not to tell the press that Eddie was Venom out of desire of not wanting Eddie to be vilified, given that Peter knows firsthand what the symbiote does to a person. The public could very well be under the impression that Venom killed both Eddie and Harry, but that the true identity of Venom was unknown before being destroyed himself.
Question: Why did it take Thanos 3 weeks to destroy the stones?
Answer: He was probably contemplating what to do with himself and the stones now he had fulfilled his purpose.
Also, he was nursing his wounds from the first snap. He knew that he should be healed before letting a 2nd snap damage his body badly again.
Question: If Jenny dies of AIDS or Hepatitis C then does her son Forrest have it?
Answer: In the sequel novel 'Gump and Company, ' it's revealed that Jenny died of Hepatitis C. The odds of passing that to a child are about 1 in 25, so Forrest, Jr, is likely in the clear (and it's possible she contracted it after he was born). Https://www.hepatitis.va.gov/hcv/patient/faqs/index.asp.
Question: Why did Thanos destroy the stones?
Answer: He does it for three reasons: 1) They served their purpose. His goal was to wipe out half of the universe and he succeeded. 2) To avoid the temptation to use them ("they served no purpose, other than temptation.") and 3) So that the destruction (his "work") will always be, that is to say it can't be undone.
Answer: He said "they had served their purpose" So he is arrogant enough to believe that once the stones had done what he wanted them to do he destroyed them as they were no longer useful. But its also possible he didn't want anyone to reverse what he did.
Question: Why do the mice call Cinderella, Cinderelly?
Answer: It's a term of endearment.
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Answer: Lucas has gone on record as to the treatment of droids in Star Wars being a thought-provoking allegory for the way people treat minorities. I've never heard him specifically talk about how it's almost never commented-upon in-universe, but intentionally or not, I'm of the opinion that it's more compelling this way. Why doesn't anybody do anything about the way droids are treated? Well, go around asking people why they don't do anything about the way other people are treated and you'll quickly find out.
TonyPH