The stories we love often involve teen and younger kids jumping into a mech suit, picking up a lightsaber, or using their superpowers to fight for justice, sometimes quite literally going to war. Yet in our own world, we generally recognize that using children to fight wars or enforce justice through violence is wrong, dangerous, and incredibly harmful. How do we reconcile those two ideas?

Riki and Matthew talk about stories like Gundam, Star Wars, Ender’s Game, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and The Last Starfighter through the lens of child soldiers. They explore a number of questions including:

Bonus member content on the idea of episodic television shows in Star Wars. 

**************************************************************************
This episode is a production of Superhero Ethics, a The Ethical Panda Podcast and part of the TruStory FM Entertainment Podcast Network. Check our our website to find out more about this and our sister podcast Star Wars Generations.

We want to hear from you! You can keep up with our latest news, and send us feedback, questions, or comments via social media or email.

Want to get access to even more content while supporting the podcast? Become a member! For $5 a month, or $55 a year you get access to bonus episodes and bonus content at the end of most episodes. Sign up on the podcast’s main page. You can even give membership as a gift!

You can also support our podcasts through our sponsors: