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My father posted the following on Facebook. Since I know that most people who post here have watched the movies, I thought I'd share. As pointed out some of the information is private, and if you do not feel comfortable sharing that is OK. Also please note, that if I see any posts that I like, or I think my father would like, it will be shared on Facebook. Note however, anything I share, will not include any names.
For those of you who are old/young enough to remember the Star War movies, what were they about? This is not a trick question, I suspect that there are many answers & that those answers could depend on age, gender, political/religious beliefs. I am interested in some serious comments. What I am NOT looking for: humor, movie critiques, technology critiques, blow by blow descriptions (I don't need them!) of each individual film. What I am looking for: A few line to 1 paragraph description of what the entire suite of films was about. If I saw you on the street & asked, what would your initial response be? Moreover, if I don't know you & you choose to respond, it would be helpful to know what your age, gender, political/religious beliefs are. I know that this is private information in a public forum so if you don't wish to share, that is OK. I would still be interested in what you think Star War movies are about. Thanks in advance for what you are willing to share.
Greebo had spent an irritating two minutes in that box. Technically, a cat locked in a box may be alive or it may be dead. You never know until you look. In fact, the mere act of opening the box will determine the state of the cat, although in this case there were three determinate states the cat could be in: these being Alive, Dead, and Bloody Furious.
Orks always ride in single file to hide their strength and numbers.
Gozer the Gozerian, Gozer the Destructor, Volguus Zildrohar, Gozer the Traveler, and Lord of the Sebouillia
Star Wars is a science fantasy story based on Joseph Campbell's monomyth theory (also called The Hero's Journey) which can easily be summed up by this chart:
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d-usa wrote: "When the Internet sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending posters that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing strawmen. They're bringing spam. They're trolls. And some, I assume, are good people."
It is the oldest story. It is the triumph of Good over Evil, the finding of redemption even for those thought lost, it's the power of belief and the fact a single action can change the fate of the world. It is a story of faith, of trust, of hope and of adventure.
But ultimately, more than anything else, it's fun. There is a beautiful simplicity to the storytelling, and it's far from the deepest of tales, but there are few things as endlessly rewatchable, and limitlessly enjoyable. And that trumps any kind of moral or message for me.
And yes, I'm largely talking about the OT here, the Prequels and wherever it goes next are slightly more complex.
It is about the Evil Empire (the USA) wanting to rule the world and opress Russia by taking away the power of its nukes.
Oh wait...
That other Star Wars...
That is a pretty generic fantasy story about 'the chosen one's' struggle against the opressive empire. There is hundreds of stories like that, it is really cliché. But none of those other stories have lightsabers. Lightsabers are cool.
For some reason, I actually prefer the prequels over the OT (heresy, I know).
Paradigm wrote: It is the oldest story. It is the triumph of Good over Evil, the finding of redemption even for those thought lost, it's the power of belief and the fact a single action can change the fate of the world. It is a story of faith, of trust, of hope and of adventure.
But ultimately, more than anything else, it's fun. There is a beautiful simplicity to the storytelling, and it's far from the deepest of tales, but there are few things as endlessly rewatchable, and limitlessly enjoyable. And that trumps any kind of moral or message for me.
I'd go with this. Meaning wise, Star Wars isn't that complex or deep and that is in part it's strength. It's a simple tale of good and evil and a really strong example of less is more. EDIT: It's actually so simple that people in the Space Opera genre blame Star Wars for dumbing the genre down.
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Star wras wasnt the first space opera?....How many space operas are older then star wars?
Kote!
Kandosii sa ka'rte, vode an.
Coruscanta a'den mhi, vode an.
Bal kote,Darasuum kote,
Jorso'ran kando a tome.
Sa kyr'am nau tracyn kad vode an.
Bal...
Motir ca'tra nau tracinya.
Gra'tua cuun hett su dralshy'a.
Aruetyc talyc runi'la trattok'a.
Sa kyr'am nau tracyn kad, vode an!
Da krimson barun wrote: Star wras wasnt the first space opera?....How many space operas are older then star wars?
John Carter on Mars, Flash Gordon, and Buck Rogers were three of the first Space Operas to popularize the genre. Foundation by Asimov. Space Battle Ship Yamato and Mobile Suit Gundam from Japan. EDIT: people might debate me on it, but I'd personally consider Star Trek TOS and some of TNG to be Space Opera as well.
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The prequals are about Corruption and Greed while the sequals are about loyalty and overcoming oppression all wrapped in a sci-fi setting.
Early 20's, Male, Agnostic
Hope thats the kind of answer you were looking for
"That's how a Luna Wolf fights."
"If you can't keep up, go and join the Death Guard"
"It had often been said that Space Marines knew no fear, but when Angron charged, he ran"
It's a thrilling story about a devil-may-care smuggler realizing his heart of gold and saving the galaxy. There was something about magic powers and an farmer's adopted son too, but that was just sort of glossed over as I recall.
Honestly, I watched this earlier this week and I think this video just nails it on the head. The Prequels are (more seriously less jokingly) about the same things as the OT, but the actual plot points become so inane, that we marvel more at the annoyance and stupidity of the plot and characters. That simplicity that made the OT so good makes the prequels horrible.
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Lucas is paying homage to the Saturday morning serials of the 1930s like Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers.
It is also a reinvention of epic fiction and heroic fiction in the doldrum years of the US after the fall of Saigon in 1975.
n'oublie jamais - It appears I now have to highlight this again.
It is by tea alone I set my mind in motion. By the juice of the brew my thoughts aquire speed, my mind becomes strained, the strain becomes a warning. It is by tea alone I set my mind in motion.
Star Wars is the single individual thing that got me into science fiction. Nothing else has had the effect on me that Star Wars did. Empire and Jedi defined my 6th grade year, I'd purposefully fake sick to stay home and watch them, back to back. Without Star Wars, I wouldn't have cared about Star Trek, Firefly, Warhammer 40k, or any other type of media that occurs in deep space.
Reality is a nice place to visit, but I'd hate to live there.
Manchu wrote:I'm a Catholic. We eat our God.
Due to work, I can usually only ship any sales or trades out on Saturday morning. Please trade/purchase with this in mind.
Star Wars is about adventure and redemption. Also, toys.
Da krimson barun wrote: Star wras wasnt the first space opera?....How many space operas are older then star wars?
Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, Captain Video, Forbidden Planet, Star Trek, Lost in Space, lots of low budget movies, etc. In books, thousands and thousands of titles.
Generally, good vs evil. But if that's too simple, it's about succumbing to our fears vs overcoming our fears, respect for others vs lust for power, the oppressed minority vs the tyrannical majority, cunning and intelligence vs brute force, finding yourself vs abandoning your principles, hope vs hopelessness.
The Kasrkin were just men. It made their actions all the more astonishing. Six white blurs, they fell upon the cultists, lasguns barking at close range. They wasted no shots. One shot, one kill. - Eisenhorn: Malleus
Episodes IV - VI are about how the younger generation fulfills its destiny by redeeming the older generation. Keep in mind these films appeared at the end of an era characterized by Cold War paranoia, the rise of the military-industrial complex Eisenhower warned us about, culturally traumatic wars in Korea and Vietnam, and the devastation of public confidence in authority symbolized by the assinations of JFK and MLK Jr, police brutality during the civil rights movement, and ultimately Watergate.
Episodes I - III are about how potential is squandered and twisted into fear, hatred, and evil. The films emerged out of naked commericalism, mass killings, militarization of police, terrorism, hawkish militarism driving the US and its allies into wars of revenge, nationalism, xenophobia, liberterianism, government-sanctioned assassination and torture, burgeoning WallStreet corruption, and the rise of an overt, pervasive national security apparatus.
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Seeing them on the big screen when they first came out...PRICELESS
Proud Member of the Infidels of OIF/OEF
No longer defending the US Military or US Gov't. Just going to ""**feed into your fears**"" with Duffel Blog Did not fight my way up on top the food chain to become a Vegan...
Warning: Stupid Allergy
Once you pull the pin, Mr. Grenade is no longer your friend
DE 6700
Harlequin 2500
RIP Muhammad Ali.
Jihadin, Scorched Earth 791. Leader of the Pork Eating Crusader. Alpha
As has already been pointed out, Star Wars is modeled on the hero's journey, or the monomyth or whatever else you want to call it. Boiled down, it's basically the best way of telling a heroic coming of age story, in which the central character goes from adolescent to a big damn hero.
LordofHats wrote: John Carter on Mars, Flash Gordon, and Buck Rogers were three of the first Space Operas to popularize the genre. Foundation by Asimov. Space Battle Ship Yamato and Mobile Suit Gundam from Japan.
It gets kind of complex, because there was space opera before Star Wars, but after Star Wars the term was redefined to mean a big spectacle like Star Wars.
EDIT: people might debate me on it, but I'd personally consider Star Trek TOS and some of TNG to be Space Opera as well.
Roddenberry sold his concept for Star Trek to the TV stations as a Wagon Train to the stars. Take the genre of the hero travelling the West, turning up at a new town each and solving some problem, and put that in to space. It was to be put in to space in part because that's where TV audiences were going, but also because it was cheaper to make alien foam worlds than to make fake western towns
Roddenberry had more ambition than that, obviously, but it's a funny story and you can definitely see it in the original series.
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“We may observe that the government in a civilized country is much more expensive than in a barbarous one; and when we say that one government is more expensive than another, it is the same as if we said that that one country is farther advanced in improvement than another. To say that the government is expensive and the people not oppressed is to say that the people are rich.”
Adam Smith, who must have been some kind of leftie or something.
I've always thought that between reading the wikipedia article and a few other webpages about the Monomyth combined with http://www.tvtropes.org (SORRY!), I've learned far more about literature than I ever did through English classes at school.
