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Keith4832's Replies
Where's my option? :)
That is, "The kind of fan that likes OT and the Sequels".
What is the usual experience with Star Wars commentaries?
Luke milks creature, takes a swig and stares at Rey, creature looks round at Rey plaintively, Rey looks concerned. :)
What to make of it? Luke makes do but that's his choice as a hermit, even though not necessarily the most comfortable. A hermit is a diametric opposite to a wealthy corporation - so who is milking whom or giving the finger? The lone fan may feel compelled to accept the product being offered by the corporates but he doesn't have to be happy about it - he has his own mental life unbound by them. But maybe the "milk" is the original trilogy which he/she may prefer, even though it's old and maybe a little boring since the fan knows the story all too well.
Similar analogy but blue milk is probably of a different origin to green.
By recycling I mean mundane duplication. As I've found lately this is often the case because productions don't invest in originality for one reason or another - it's not storytelling to steal popular motifs and art or even closely model scenes or cliches ultimately to conform or look good or compete with other films. You notice these things when you've seen a lot of media.
A story can have similar themes to another, regale us about the same characters or adapt stories but you know when several elements line up together and someone is trying to exploit the success of another (without attribution). B-grade movies are notoriously known for this but many big budget films are also guilty.
It's certainly hard now because "it's all been done", I agree. We're not seeing a lot of inventiveness. It might take an impetus from the literary world or something that occurs in real life that has significant ramifications in some area for inspiration in the arts world to occur.
Example of Flash Gordon text scroll: [url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_ihQCcqFAY[/url]
"Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe" was the second and last instance in which it was used in a Flash Gordon serial. The studio Universal introduced scrolling text for serials in 1938:
"Exposition of what led up to the previous episode's cliffhanger was usually displayed on placards with a photograph of one of the characters on it. In 1938, Universal brought the first "scrolling text" exposition to the serial, which George Lucas first used in Star Wars in 1977 and then in all of the following Star Wars films. As this would have required subcontracting the optical effects, Republic saved money by not using it." (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_film )
Omgosh! Scrolling text in other serials from the same period! -
"The Green Hornet Strikes Again": [url]https://youtu.be/aDKUgLkvNQE?list=PLeCRINwoI8VYA5HNmf4F8cVj8J3rxKEC7[/url]
"Buck Rodgers": [url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp8Py-ENZgA[/url]
"Sky Raiders": [url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_cvpnG-4Nc[/url]
So, it can be said that scrolling text was a studio convention applied to several serials and by no means a signature device unique (or intended to be unique) to Flash Gordon films.
There was a lot of strategic cost cutting and duplication in the days of Flash Gordon serials just as there is recycling left, right and centre in films today:
"The major studios had their own retinues of actors and writers, their own prop departments, existing sets, stock footage, and music libraries. The early independent studios had none of these, except for being able to rent the sets of independent producers of western features.
The firms saved money by reusing the same cliffhangers, stunt and special effect sequences over the years. Mines or tunnels flooded often, even in Flash Gordon, and the same model cars and trains went off the same cliffs and bridges. Republic had a Packard limousine and a Ford Woodie station wagon used in serial after serial so they could match the shots with the stock footage from the model or previous stunt driving. Three different serials had them chasing the Art Deco sound truck, required for location shooting, for various reasons. Male fistfighters all wore hats so that the change from actor to stunt double would not be caught so easily. A rubber liner on the hatband of the stuntman's fedora would make a seal on the stuntman's head, so the hat would stay on during fight scenes." (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_film )
Flash Gordon eventually was remade in 1980...
[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OROLRvKamdE[/url]
Very entertaining trailer, passable movie, hip music of the period.
However, no sequels were made unlike Star Wars which continues to this day. So Star Wars is the better "Saturday matinee" adventure story of the two. Star Wars is the movie "serial" of today or one of many given the success of Marvel movies for example. But serialisation in the form of sequals risks dumbing down the original films and interesting concepts of each narrative.
During the making of the original trilogy, he combined ideas from the "Flash Gordon" serial, "The Hidden Fortress", "Buck Rogers" serial, "The Fighting Devils Dogs" serial, " Once Upon a Time in the West", "Lost Horizon", "The Dam Busters" to name a few motion picture media. He was also influenced by a host of historical and literary sources like Joseph Campbell's "The Hero with a Thousand Faces", the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy by JRR Tolkien, Isaac Asimov's concept of a galactic empire appearing in his "Foundation" books, Arthurian mythology, Frank Herbet's "Dune", and possible influence of the comicbook series saga by Jack Kirby called "New Gods" (appeared from 1971 to 1975); historically you have the World War 2, Vietnam War, Roman Empire, ancient Eastern philosophy and ancient Middle East culture. So quite a range of interests and ideas from that collection of sources. Having studied a range of similar subjects myself I can attest to the amount of detail and deeply interesting subjects and concepts that can be found in those areas that Lucas was drawn towards.
Seeking to emulate these influences is not necessarily a bad thing. Clearly it was not a mundane copying and combination process that resulted in the original trilogy.
Yeah, Lucas was concerned that he wouldn't be able to continue making the films so struck a deal that was attractive to the studio and left him an avenue to obtain needed funds as well as possibly make other films. He was certainly very successful as a result of those decisions as you say. Merchandising became very important early on - when you think about it every action figute or mug or lunch box is an advertisement and a reminder about the movie, not merely fun objects that run on consumer desire.
Yeah, never forget the past because it provides context. Again, however, Lucas with some editorial help from his movie buddies created something quite interesting unlike these days where recycling is the main game.
True, but proportionately male leading characters well outnumber female ones in the OT. That said, we could agree that some effort was being made to show women who have reached positions of seniority.
Not necessarily. They may have been influenced by reviews or are new to the series and are curious. Some people don't watch a film for years after its release and then decide to watch it.
The Star Trek movies are known to having varying levels of quality and interest. I think most of the time they tried to make every movie worthwhile. I actually like some of those movies that were panned or disliked, like Star Trek 1 and Star Trek 5. The TNG movies seem to go downhill after the "First Contact" one which may been a reflection of running out of ideas and trying to compete with the cultural cache of the at the time new dystopian scifi franchises like "The Matrix" films.
Fans in the cinemas and later in their basements kept exclaiming - "What?! What happened?!" and "What did I just see?!" and "This is not Star Wars!" and "Bring me Lucas' head! Quick!" "Uh, Lucas doesn't own Star Wars now..." "Um, well, who's that lady who turns up to conventions who seems senior?" "You mean Kathleen Kennedy?" "Yes! Kennedy! Bring me HER head!!"
;)
The basic point of Star Wars is that it is a story....an entertaining story. Movies are mostly about entertainment. Star Wars goes further and offers philosophy and some commentary on issues embedded in the story and contextual to the narrative. If SW movies were rote copies of each other they would cease to be entertaining and become doctrinaire. Even serve as propaganda. That said, SW risks becoming propaganda if it's used to impress a globalist diversity message on an audience - globalism is not actually diverse - it uses diverse cultures as economic and political capital to service the needs of wealthy elites.
I agree.
Yeah, to some extent she is involved in balancing conflicting points of view, but it is quite noticable that consistently women are being chosen as lead characters in a genre typically represented by men. What is this saying to the audience? Is it coincidental that female characters are coming more to the fore in Star Wars films? Is it serving a market need to please larger numbers of female fans who are frequently also active consumers of merchandise (women have more discretionary income than before and represent a significant market segment across the economy). Is it an attempt to serve a political agenda to balance female representations and opportunities, to symbolically communicate the idea that women are highly capable and men sometimes are obstacles to that achievement (ie. In Star Wars, symbolically males like Kylo Ren, General Hux and others are barrier to Rey finding herself)?
Do the movies really appease an international audience by being racially diverse? You would think so but is it true?
As the far as the movies being entertaining and in some way serving the characters and spirit of Star Wars, I'd agree she is doing a good job. I think she still may have to listen more carefully to the audience and what both male and female fans are actually saying about the movies and what they think about Star Wars, especially given that Lucas made the mistake of becoming self-indulgent and overly absorbed by both CGI technology and premature scifi ideas/concepts in his prequal films.
Making the films a profitable enterpise is her core responsibility but she has other duties which are important if you value narrative and art.
She risks alienating parts of the audience who see Star Wars as a politically neutral, fun story with interesting colourful characters. The reality is in my view that Star Wars has always been political but has never sought to lecture people on any given point, choosing instead allegory to illustrate political tensions in the context of a fantasy universe. I think Lucas has Leftist sympathies but also someone who cherishes individual freedom. He was keen to show how people can cooperate in a cause for the benefit of all. It's maybe not as clear in the latest trilogy-to-be that cooperation is the main aim, even though technically all the charcters seem to strive to do that save one or two usual suspects.
If you think the replacement of male leaders with female ones is too abrupt and suspicious given that Lucasfilm management is now headed by a woman (who we can see strongly embraces female empowerment politics) and the plots appear to pander to female characters, then perhaps Kennedy is failing to support Star Wars values. But here's a point worth pondering - during the original trilogy all leaders and heroes were male, save Leia who was always important to the film as a protagonist, but why were the leaders mostly male? Is it because that was a conventional idea about social structures and warfare in the 20th century and thus transfered to fantasy worlds of the time, or was it that George Lucas being male assumed that capable leaders would likely be men and women on the whole would be more passive? Was Lucas doing a disservice to audiences in the early days by not representing in his narratives a proportionately balanced depiction of men and women, assuming equality exists always in all advanced societies?
Thank you for the info. :)
No, the video of Kennedy being irritated appears to be from a conference event.
George looks quite comfortable in the roundtable discussion but you can sense a disconnect between them as far as ideas go.
It's more involved than being a joke, which is quite interesting. After Rey presents Luke with his lightsaber and steps back to wait on his response, Luke spends a good ten seconds looking at it and then her, and only then does he nonchalantly throw it over his shoulder and walk away to his hut leaving Rey in awkward silence. It reflects his distain for the Jedi and probably for her at that moment. The move was unexpected and seemingly satirical when we were expecting a kind of serious emotional scene.
Talks like Elmer thinks like Bugs. ;)
Lulled them into thinking he was a half-inebriated outlaw type that couldn't possibly have connections or dealings with the First Order.
Not really. We stiill don't know why Rey has the ability to engage with the Force, and very much in line with the "initially lost person of humble life experience" characters of Goerge Lucas she has some kind of purpose that is a higher calling.
In the sense that Rey is not apparently linked to the Skywalkers, yes that does seem to be a break from the patterns of the past and a chance to look freshly at Star Wars.
There are more consumers than corporations. :)
Some interesting stats:
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens is widely predicted to become one of the highest grossing films of all time, with some experts suggesting that box-office revenues in excess of the current record, Avatar’s $2.78bn, are within its reach. Now, researchers have revealed who will be buying the tickets.
According to the cinema marketing data firm Movio Media, the average purchaser of an advance ticket for JJ Abrams’s space opera in the US is a 34-year-old male. And 70% of ticket holders are men between the ages of 18 and 49. According to Movio Media, the average advance ticket holder is a regular cinemagoer who usually travels to see big-budget fantasies such as Jurassic World or Avengers: Age of Ultron on opening night, and spends 2.6 times more than the national average amount on watching movies." (- https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/oct/26/star-wars-the-force-awakens-jj-abrams-average-fan )
"Star Wars Consumer Insights
Who buys Star Wars? Star Wars consumers are generally higher income, Hispanic, and lower middle age. Star Wars consumers are more likely to purchase Star Wars during larger pantry stocking trips. Brands such as Borden, Maruchan Ramen, and Chef Boyardee also tend to be purchased in the same trip. Sample consumer insights data below." (- https://infoscout.co/brand/star_wars )
Also, according to the same market survey consumers of Star Wars tend to be male, 35-44 years, have kids, earn over $100k a year and have a significant college education.
The advice here would be to not alienate or patronise the potentially hardcore male fans of older years. Fans are not chiefly women although they will likely make up a large proportion of the audience. So they shouldn't pander to the minority even if the PC guidebook mandates it. I'm guessing though that the very high Hispanic consumer segment found by Infoscout might encourage attempts at pushing diversity in actor ethnicities.
Right, it would seem more likely they would preserve any ships they had in their possession or acquired every so often.