The AT-AT Walkers Were A Brilliant Analogy of Useless Empire Weaponry That We Still See To This Day

[Yavin4]

In the Empire Strikes Back, the All Terrain Armored Transport served as a brilliant analogy to how our military loves to make big, huge, expensive weaponry that's extremely vulnerable to attack:

"Part of the idea behind their slow movement was that they could be overpowered and they would lose. That was part of George's vision on it. They were big, lumbering, you know, obsolete machines that could be overcome by a clever person in the right spot with the right weapon. I think we might have talked about it being an analogy to Vietnam..."



http://www.starwars.com/movies/episode-v/chronicles20100310.html

One of the reasons is why the first trilogy was so great.

[realisticphish]

1. the one on Endor in Return of the Jedi was especially hilarious

yeah, a big lumbering, top-heavy machine in the middle of this uneven and heavily forested planet

[Yavin4]

4. Tanks Take A Beating in Iraq

The U.S. military's Abrams tank, designed during the Cold War to withstand the fiercest blows from the best Soviet tanks, is getting knocked out at surprising rates by the low-tech bombs and rocket-propelled grenades of Iraqi insurgents.


http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2005-03-29-abrams-tank-a_x.htm

[Dr. Strange]

2. You know what?

They still got the shield generators knocked out. So don't get cocky, Rebel scum!

[flvegan]

3. How many Death Stars did your Empire lose, Boner Fett?

[Dr. Strange]

5. Two and a half.

I blame Vader for the second one.

[Ryano42]

7. Have you been to the canteen on the Death Star?

The Penne ala Arrabiata is fantastic! :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv5iEK-IEzw

[Brickbat]

6. They were very much a terror weapon, though, too.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

8. Um, the AT-ATs completely over ran the rebel position.

They were rather obvious analogy for Hitler's panzers.

[MicaelS]

9. The idea and visual appeal of walking or running AFV is fantastic...

Especially giant robots, and mechs in Anime. But the reality would be much different, they would be hideously vulnerable.

[Yavin4]

10. See My Post About Our Tanks in Iraq Above n/t

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

11. Yeah, saw it.

Thought it was pretty dumb.

[MicaelS]

12. OK, tanks are getting "knocked out", but here's the important point....

The casualties are the lowest in any Army vehicles, despite how often the Abrams is targeted — about 70% of the more than 1,100 tanks used in Iraq have been struck by enemy fire, mostly with minor damage.

When a Humvee or Bradley gets knocked out, the casualties are much higher. So "at least" 15 soldiers have been killed as crew members on Abrams, how does that compare to Humvees or Bradleys?

[MilesColtrane]

13. The real walkers will be agile enough to overcome the pesky rebels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gi6Ohnp9x8&feature=channel

[jp11]

14. But not so powerful to overcome a weighted length of cord.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolas

[Duer 157099]

15. And it sucks as a Lego, too

Damn thing always falls over

[tigereye]

16. I have to say I really enjoyed all his commentary from the box set editions

it was really interesting to hear his rationales for all the choices he made - they were much more complex than I expected.