Chat corner 68: Droids

[annathecrow]

Welcome to this week’s chat corner!

Optional prompt

The topic for this week is “droids”. Star Wars is a franchise where the robots are characters as (or more!) beloved than many of the blood-and-bone ones. Do you have any favorites? Or un-favorites? What are your thoughts on droid sentience? And why do you think there hasn’t been a droid uprising yet? (…or has there?)

Comments

[kittywhite]

On the topic of droid sentience there was a minor plot line in a few of the New Jedi Order books where C-3PO became rather concerned with his own mortality and tied to this plot there was a droid revolt Han assisted in that certainly seemed like the droids had independent thoughts.
Apparently if droids aren't memory wiped enough they begin to develop "quirks" outside of the usual programming so it could have just been that but I did feel at the time I was reading it they were going for more of an Astro Boy vibe with the issue of droid rights.

Also on topic for this week, check out this cool R2-D2 prototype lunch pail that wasn't released
http://theswca.com/index.php?action=disp_item&item_id=66523
I totally want one!

[annathecrow]

Oh, yeah... I always thought that "non-wiped droids develop quirks" thing to be a hint at emerging sentience.

The movie narrative itself can't really decide what they are. You have Obi-Wan offhandedly mention that droids don't think in Ep II, but R2 and C-3PO are treated as people, and even the battledroids are shown as having feelings.