Hello everyone!

Well, this week was a long one. A very long one. What with tests, homework, and the 901st being blocked once again, I've been a little down...

But then I got the chance to (finally) get onto the blogs again and I was brightened up again! Yay! Doesn't blogging just make everyone happy!?!

Anywho, one of the not-so boring moments from this week in Imperial Prison was, surprisingly, in English class. As I was doing to first period math homework, the class was discussing Fahrenheit 451 (*waves hand, saying "Read it, you must!"*) and how it is romantic literature, and thereby science fiction. We got into examining the two types of science fiction, utopian and dystopian... then my teacher asked for examples of what a dystopian or utopian sci-fi story is or could revolve around.

Well, my hand shot up before everyone else (obviously - pretty much all of kids my age these days avoid SF like the plague...), and I started spewing off such examples as Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica (the example I used was self-aware AI, which half the class didn't get... geesh...), Star Trek, and all that good stuff. Let's just say that any time I get to talk about SW in school I jump at the chance.

So then I got to thinking (as I always seem to do ) about whether Star Wars is an example of Dystopian or Utopian Science Fiction (dystopian demonstrating how society has regressed/degraded, and utopian being an optimistic, sunny projection of the future). I mean, it could be argued either way. I dunno.... For your consideration:

Dystopian
- The galaxy is at war (a galactic civil war is pretty not good...)
- An entire planet was destroyed just to prove a point (if that doesn't show the inhumanity of men then I don't know what does)

Utopian
- The Rebellion won (this shows how good triumphed over evil, and how things can and did get better)
- The galaxy was freed (I suppose the end of ROTJ is utopian, in a way)

So I really can't decide. But, also, this is why I like Star Wars so much. It's not so terribly bleak that after every turn something terrible happens that shows how negative humanity is (like, say, Battlestar Galactica ), but at the same time it's not all, "oh everything's wonderful... look how good the future can be".

I think it's the healthy balance between depressing and uplifting that makes Star Wars so great. It teaches us that life isn't all one thing - there are good times, and there are bad times, and we have to learn to deal with them both, sometimes at the same time.

Well, there's my thoughts. What do you think? Is SW dystopian, utopian, both, or something totally different? I'm very eager to hear all your opinions, because I think this is a very interesting topic.

May the Force be with you, Always!

P.S. I got my highest bowling score ever today... 222!! (EDIT: the highest possible score is 300)

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To die is nothing; but it is terrible not to live.
- Victor Hugo, Les Miserables