{"id":7994,"date":"2013-01-08T15:15:19","date_gmt":"2013-01-08T20:15:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/?p=7994"},"modified":"2013-01-08T16:18:18","modified_gmt":"2013-01-08T21:18:18","slug":"trope-tuesday-elegant-weapon-for-a-more-civilized-age","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/trope-tuesday-elegant-weapon-for-a-more-civilized-age\/","title":{"rendered":"Trope Tuesday: Elegant Weapon for a More Civilized Age"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"540\" height=\"405\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0aRtupiY9Dw\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Before <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/CrapsackWorld\" target=\"_blank\">the world fell apart<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/TheEmpire\" target=\"_blank\">the Empire<\/a> took over, when there were still <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/IGaveMyWord\" target=\"_blank\">men of honor<\/a>&nbsp;in the world who <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/KnightErrant\" target=\"_blank\">stood boldly against evil<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/RightMakesMight\" target=\"_blank\">fought for the weak and the downtrodden<\/a>, there was <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/ElegantWeaponForAMoreCivilizedAge\" target=\"_blank\">this trope<\/a>. &nbsp;The <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/WeaponOfChoice\" target=\"_blank\">weapon of choice<\/a> of a <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/GoodOldWays\" target=\"_blank\">bygone age<\/a>, more elegant and noble than the <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/GoodGunsBadGuns\" target=\"_blank\">crass instruments of wanton destruction<\/a> so common in the world today. &nbsp;It <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/AwesomeButImpractical\" target=\"_blank\">might not be practical<\/a>&#8211;or sometimes, <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/UnusableEnemyEquipment\" target=\"_blank\">even usable<\/a>&#8211;but it <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/RuleOfCool\" target=\"_blank\">definitely will be cool<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Because <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/KatanasAreJustBetter\" target=\"_blank\">katanas are just better<\/a>, this weapon often takes the form of a <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/CoolSword\" target=\"_blank\">cool sword<\/a>, especially in science fiction. &nbsp;The eponymous example is of course from Star Wars, where <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/KnightErrant\" target=\"_blank\">Jedi Knights errant<\/a> fight against evil with <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/LaserBlade\" target=\"_blank\">laser blades<\/a>, but it also features prominently in Star Trek (ever been to a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=j4OpNWjaI5w\" target=\"_blank\">Klingon wedding<\/a>?) and Dune. &nbsp;The one who introduces the weapon is usually an <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/OldMaster\" target=\"_blank\">old master<\/a>, or a mentor figure of some kind. &nbsp;Often, the weapon is <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/AncestralWeapon\" target=\"_blank\">handed down from generation to generation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In a lot of ways, this trope reflects the age-old tension between <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/RomanticismVersusEnlightenment\" target=\"_blank\">Romanticism and Enlightenment<\/a>, hearkening back to a simpler time rather than looking ahead to a glorious future. &nbsp;Perhaps that&#8217;s why many of these weapons tend to be <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/GunsVsSwords\" target=\"_blank\">swords rather than guns<\/a>. &nbsp;And since science fiction is traditionally the more forward-looking genre, perhaps that&#8217;s why it&#8217;s invoked so often in subgenres like space opera that <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Analysis\/SpeculativeFiction?from=Analysis.ScienceFantasy\" target=\"_blank\">lean more toward fantasy<\/a>&#8211;to provide ready contrast.<\/p>\n<p>When used well, the effects of this trope can be awesome. &nbsp;It wasn&#8217;t just the shiny blade and the cool sound effects that made lightsabers so awesome as a kid&#8211;it was the sense that something about the weapon was&nbsp;<em>special<\/em>. &nbsp;None of the <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/Mooks\" target=\"_blank\">mooks<\/a> had one, after all, and Luke&#8217;s came from his long-lost father. &nbsp;It probably helped that Star Wars paired this trope with the <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/CallToAdventure\" target=\"_blank\">call to adventure<\/a> (in <a href=\"http:\/\/tvtropes.org\/pmwiki\/pmwiki.php\/Main\/TakeUpMySword\" target=\"_blank\">a very specific way<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>In my own work, this appears in&nbsp;<strong>Desert Stars<\/strong> with the heirloom rifle that Sathi gives to Jalil. &nbsp;At least, I think it qualifies. &nbsp;The rifle is more of a status symbol than a combat weapon, but it does figure prominently in the story. &nbsp;However, my forthcoming novel&nbsp;<strong>Stars of Blood and Glory<\/strong>&nbsp;goes a lot further with this trope than&nbsp;<strong>Desert Stars<\/strong>. &nbsp;It has Katanas, and a far-future Polynesian-Japanese society that knows how to use them.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"540\" height=\"304\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/irGnnyGyHwU\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Before the world fell apart&nbsp;and&nbsp;the Empire took over, when there were still men of honor&nbsp;in the world who stood boldly against evil and fought for the weak and the downtrodden, there was this trope. &nbsp;The weapon of choice of a bygone age, more elegant and noble than the crass instruments of wanton destruction so common&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/trope-tuesday-elegant-weapon-for-a-more-civilized-age\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Trope Tuesday: Elegant Weapon for a More Civilized Age<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[44,569],"tags":[306,776,641,565,626,117,573],"class_list":["post-7994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ds","category-sbg","tag-star-wars","tag-swords","tag-trope-tuesday","tag-tropes-and-cliches","tag-tvtropes","tag-violence","tag-weapons","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7iXK-24W","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7994"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7994\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8000,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7994\/revisions\/8000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}