Authorial intent in Star Wars - does it matter or not?

Started by Geistalt5 pages

Doubt he's even heard of the exponential growth formula.

Won't stop him, though. He still thinks it holds more relevance than the statements that other Force-users were stronger than Vader and the consensus that he wouldn't be able to kill Tyth or survive the devastation of a planet.

Originally posted by Petrus
Um, so who else would know the correct interpretation if not for the people who wrote the material...?

What you're asking for right now is ridiculous imo. The moment any SW material the author created is introduced into games, movies, comics, etc., it's canon. That canon material is up for interpretation by fans, and the only guy who knows what the actual interpretation of the canon material is, is the author.

Or are you honestly suggesting Disney should ask every single author what is the correct way to interpret his/her created material to make it officially and irrevocably canon? You're asking for too much.

Nobody knows it, because a correct interpretation doesn't exist.

Except yours, which is based on official statements. 👆

Originally posted by Beniboybling
The argument here is that regardless of the author's intents, they do not have full control over their creation. No, the author is not consulted on what the correct way to intepret his or her created material is and that's precisely [b]the point. The moment the book, game etc. is published and enters into wider continuity, the author relinquishes creative control over their own work (ergo, the death of the author) and instead Disney or whomever, are free to read, mold, or even rewrite the material in anyway they please.

For example according to the author of Dark Empire Force storms are not a direct product of Palpatine's power, but a product of the minds of two powerful Force wielders colliding. And yet despite this all secondary sources are unanimous in describing it as a direct manifestation of his power, that he can indeed unleash at will, the intents of the author have been entirely overridden. [/B]

You are the only person who has had the mental faculties to comprehend this so far. Thank you.

Beni being the only person to support your arguments is not good PR at all, actually. 😬

Author intent isn't infallible and can be overriden, but if they're just elaborating on their own works and their claims aren't contradicted by canonical information, then it's worth taking into account.

Their opinions on the outcomes of fights or something are irrelevant.

Originally posted by Geistalt
Except yours, which is based on official statements. 👆

Except that even those official statements can be interpreted in a variety of ways.

Originally posted by SunRazer
Author intent isn't infallible and can be overriden, but if they're just elaborating on their own works and their claims aren't contradicted by canonical information, then it's worth taking into account.

Their opinions on the outcomes of fights or something are irrelevant.

But again, regardless is contradicted or not, it's still not part of canon.

I didn't say it's canon; I said it's worth taking into account. Much like TSLRCM or DS options.

To suggest than an author's clarification of something that he wrote, especially if it isn't contradicted by any canonical material whatsoever, is completely not worth factoring in at all, is confirmation bias. Their claims might be fallible but they know better.

TSLRCM is canon :woah:

The people who don't think of it as canon will still believe that it's usable. That's the approach I'm taking. It should apply to everyone other than blatant agenda-peddlers.

Why take it into account if it's not canon?

Everyone appears to have conveniently forgotten the fact that the Son died in 21 BBY.

Originally posted by SunRazer
I didn't say it's canon; I said it's worth taking into account. Much like TSLRCM or DS options.

To suggest than an author's clarification of something that he wrote, especially if it isn't contradicted by any canonical material whatsoever, is completely not worth factoring in at all, is confirmation bias. Their claims might be fallible but they know better.

👆

True.

All Leland's position on the matter means is that gameplay feats represent the authors' opinions of their own characters.

We may have disagreements over some official aspects of the lore at times since the lore is continously expanding (conventional wisdom is that new information takes precedence over older information but older information does not looses its validity completely and should not be discarded without context). In these situations, clarification from the relevant author on the relevant matter is a meaningful way to address a 'case of uncertainty' in it.

Originally posted by NewGuy01
Because the authors know the correct interpretation of what they wrote. Duh.
This seems obvious enough, unsure why it's contested. The author knows best about their own work, so as far as I'm concerned, if an author or a creative leader says something about THEIR project, it's just as valid as the source itself.

You mean it's just as valid. It's not officially canon.

Originally posted by SunRazer
You mean it's just as valid. It's not officially canon.
Right, wrong word choice, my mistake.

What is an example of a specific quote or question that an author clarified that you disagree with? @Azronger