From: shoham@ll.mit.edu (Daniel Shoham)
Subject: C-3PO and the Princess
Organization: MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Date: Sat, 7 Nov 92 02:45:29 GMT

In article <BxBHnp.6vE@nic.umass.edu> HDW@UCSVAX (H D WALDEN) writes:
>	Greetings from fanboy! I have another question for you all, if you think
>you're up to it. Here goes: Toward the beginning of ANH, when Luke first dicov-
>ers the secret message in R2-D2( Leia begging for help to Obi-wan), he asks
>C-3PO, "Who is she? She's beautiful." C-3PO then responds( more or less), "I'm
>afraid I'm not quite sure--a person of some importances I believe, sir." What
>gives?! C-3PO obviously DOES know who Leia is, for in one of the first lines of
>movie he says, "There'll be no escape for the PRINCESS this time." Some of you 
>will say that the restraining belt has weakened 3POs memory. Well, I've already
>thought of that one--if the restraining belt HAS weakened his memory, then why
>does he go on to say, "Our last master was Cptn. Antilles."??? And if you say
>that 3PO just didn't want to reveal to Luke their secret plan, then I say that
>3PO never KNEW about the secret plan. If you recall earlier in the movie, when
>R2 and 3PO are about to get into the escape pod to get away from the Emperial
>(BTW, when does one spell "Emperial" with an "I" as opposed to an "E"?) troops,
>R2 bleeps something to 3PO, and 3PO responds, "Secret mission? What secret mis-
>sion? What plans? What are you talking about?!?" This tells me that 3PO never 
>knew of R2's plans to find Obi-wan. So my question is, why didn't C-3PO tell
>Luke who Leia was when Luke discovered R2-D2's secret message toward the begin-
>ning of ANH?
>
>	Anyone,anyone...Bueller,Bueller,...
>
>				-"There will be no one to stop us this time!"
>
One could argue that C-3PO is not quite *sure* who that important passenger
is other than that she is a princess.

However, this brings an interesting point: C-3PO was DELIBERATELY *minimizing*.


Well, much is made of the fact that C-3PO *strongly* disapproves of R2-D2
adventuresome missions. While never actually lying C-3PO uses every opportunity
to shade his speech in the manner that will most discourge further adventures.
This behavior is most pronounced in the first third of ANH (the Tatooine part)
but continues - in a more moderated fashion - throughout the trilogy. In fact
a *major* plot device of this trilogy is the human-like but "amateur" manner
in which C-3PO exerises this behavior. (No need to provide examples, more than
half the lines C-3PO has are of the "amateur attempts to avoid adventures"
type).

After being sold to this quiet farmer family on Tatooine, C-3PO hopes of 
adventure-less "life" seemed to be realized. R2-D2 playing the tape was a
*very* unwelcomed reintroduction of the "adventure" world C-3PO hoped he had
left behind. C-3PO did not hesitate to show R2-D2 his displeasure! 

Young Luke surprised C-3PO with his excited interest in the rebellion. C-3PO
knows that getting Luke involved in the rebellion is the surest way back to
a life of adventures. C-3PO response was that there was not much to tell and
anyway he is not a good story teller (a little white lie, there is a lot to
tell if you believe his previous claim that he & R2-D2 have seen a lot of
action. C-3PO is a *SUPERB* story teller, as seen when he tells the Ewoks of
the rebellion). Luke is visibly disappointed, but seems to have given up on
the droids as a source of adventures (or at least adventure stories). That's
when R2-D2 pops his recording (while Luke was trying to get something unstack).
C-3PO tries to discourge Luke again by minimizing the relevance of the message.
Using a word like "princess" would DEFENITELY not get Luke off the subject
(recall how Han jumped the first time he heard the word "princess"). The best
C-3PO could do is to shade the truth without actually lying. He does this by
answering the question in the most unglamorous fashion he can. Luke, once
again disappointed preaty much gives up on the idea as he heads for dinner.


BTW, I think C-3PO *DOES* know of the secret plans. After C-3PO asks R2-D2
what mission it is bleeping about, R2-D2 bleeps a response which presumably
is the details of the mission in droidese. C-3PO may still harbour doubts, but
he is suffiently convinced to enter the (ordinarily) prohibited life-pod.
(I am not sure if his "act-cowardly logic circuits" consider enetring the pod
as a cowardly or a heroic action. On one hand violating regulations and 
striking out on their own is "heroic", on the other hand even C-3PO realizes
that staying on the Blockade Runner is not such a great move. One way or the
other, his "Blame-R2-for-everything logic circuits" considers the move to
have being R2-motivated - what do you people think?)

Dan Shoham
shoham@ll.mit.edu