tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035434747786768960.post1498790426961116851..comments2024-03-22T14:44:41.519+00:00Comments on Checking On My Sausages: Examining Star Wars via Revenge of the SithUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035434747786768960.post-52651021297712476072024-02-01T09:47:51.060+00:002024-02-01T09:47:51.060+00:00Steering Legal Frontiers: The Power of Legal Trans...<a href="https://hijamacups.co.uk/2024/01/04/steering-legal-frontiers-the-power-of-legal-translation-services-in-dubai/" rel="nofollow">Steering Legal Frontiers: The Power of Legal Translation Services in Dubai"</a>Selinawillson718https://legal-translation-dubai.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035434747786768960.post-3246135918977591702012-07-24T10:59:54.391+01:002012-07-24T10:59:54.391+01:00Wow, thanks very much Trent!Wow, thanks very much Trent!Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07036103762441216161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035434747786768960.post-11981934125505965642012-07-24T10:58:51.377+01:002012-07-24T10:58:51.377+01:00I probably didn't mention it because I thought...I probably didn't mention it because I thought I couldn't make a wider point from it. There is an awful lot that can be said, it's true.<br /><br />I think it (I had no idea it was called that) reminds Padme of Anakin's innocence. He gave it to her when he as a young boy, a long way away from Darth Vader. That funeral scene comes soon after she tells Obi-Wan that there is "still good" in Anakin.Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07036103762441216161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035434747786768960.post-52463591363147557562012-07-24T10:54:56.797+01:002012-07-24T10:54:56.797+01:00"To me, both the old Jedi Order and the Sith ..."To me, both the old Jedi Order and the Sith in the form of Palpatine represented extremism in the Force . . . something that I view as very unhealthy."<br /><br />That's a good point about the old entrenched order. I hadn't thought about that. Unhealthy, yes, but all's well that ends well.<br /><br />Thanks for the comment.Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07036103762441216161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035434747786768960.post-7560048009483703192012-07-24T00:13:14.080+01:002012-07-24T00:13:14.080+01:00Unlike so many films depicting the idea of the one...<b>Unlike so many films depicting the idea of the one this prophecy comes to pass in a most convoluted way. Anakin<br />does eventually bring balance to the force in Return of the Jedi but only after he has further destabilised it.</b><br /><br /><br />I believe that Anakin brought balance to the Force in two-fold . . . first, by being a catalyst for the destruction of the old Jedi Order; and twenty-four years later, when he killed the Emperor.<br /><br />To me, both the old Jedi Order and the Sith in the form of Palpatine represented extremism in the Force . . . something that I view as very unhealthy.The Rush Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13667282586023023623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035434747786768960.post-7323344892393262352012-07-23T19:59:22.892+01:002012-07-23T19:59:22.892+01:00That said, AMAZINGLY interesting post. Definitely ...That said, AMAZINGLY interesting post. Definitely sharing this around.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18334632233283738010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035434747786768960.post-51993475791940650772012-07-23T19:58:21.586+01:002012-07-23T19:58:21.586+01:00Don't see why you didn't mention one of my...Don't see why you didn't mention one of my favorite symbols, the Japer snippet Anakin gave her in Phantom Menace. Which I can only assume symbolizes a ring or a rose.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18334632233283738010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035434747786768960.post-34209261517810998582010-07-13T14:54:24.763+01:002010-07-13T14:54:24.763+01:00"The overall design of Coruscant definitely r..."The overall design of Coruscant definitely reflects the Moebius connection most of all"<br /><br />I wasn't aware of any echoes there. I'll have to take a closer look at Giraud's work.<br /><br />I don't remember too much of the specific design features of Blade Runner given I've only seen it once and I don't particularly like it.<br /><br />Sorry to respond so late.Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07036103762441216161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035434747786768960.post-8850245941428924512010-07-11T19:06:25.395+01:002010-07-11T19:06:25.395+01:00Regarding "Blade Runner"-- it's true...Regarding "Blade Runner"-- it's true, both Lucas and Scott share an influence in their use of the work of French comics-illustrator Jean "Moebius" Giraud (a guy who's probably more famous today, sadly, for his design work in "Tron" and "The Fifth Element" than for his eye-popping work in Heavy Metal magazine). The overall design of Coruscant definitely reflects the Moebius connection most of all, along with a strong current of Lang's "Metropolis" (another shared connection with Scott). <br /><br />However, there's a rather clear, almost unmistakable moment in AOTC's, where the Jedi's chase of the bounty hunter takes them straight into the industrial sector of the planet, full of oil-refinery chimneys belching great fireballs, almost perfectly recreating the opening shot of "Blade Runner". Like the later cribs from "The Searchers" on Tatooine or Lucas' own "THX 1138" on Kamino, it's hard to miss, ignore or dismiss, and adds volumes to the layers of meaning in the work.Bob Clarkhttp://www.designersdilemma.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035434747786768960.post-45110141495511926382010-04-13T06:43:29.698+01:002010-04-13T06:43:29.698+01:00I see your point Bob.
An aside: How can one tell ...I see your point Bob.<br /><br />An aside: How can one tell if something is an allusion to Blade Runner or an allusion to Blade Runner's influences? I know, ultimately, it may be of no consequence, but something to ponder nevertheless.Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07036103762441216161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035434747786768960.post-44011660899018491622010-04-12T17:17:38.363+01:002010-04-12T17:17:38.363+01:00The Terminator vision thing was fine to me. On one...The Terminator vision thing was fine to me. On one level a tip of the hat to Cameron, perhaps out of mutual respect, but also a reference to his films in the same way Lucas recalled Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner" in AOTC. "The Terminator" ref. works especially considering the rampant messiah undercurrents in Cameron's work, anyway.Bob Clarkhttp://www.designersdilemma.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035434747786768960.post-4224393795001961422010-04-12T08:00:28.829+01:002010-04-12T08:00:28.829+01:00HEROES not "hero's". I need to get o...HEROES not "hero's". I need to get off the internet before my writing is irrevocably corrupted.Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07036103762441216161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035434747786768960.post-42127837130323830352010-04-12T06:58:30.208+01:002010-04-12T06:58:30.208+01:00Bob,
Thanks for the comments.
"What I find ...Bob,<br /><br />Thanks for the comments.<br /><br />"What I find so interesting about your obervations here is that for the most part they don't match up with any of mine at all."<br /><br />Well that's good, if you can take something new from it.<br /><br />"It begins to resemble a sci-fi alternate-history riff imagining what happens when a prophecised savior rejects his destiny (refuses his Campbellian call to adventure) and makes a deal with the devil."<br /><br />Yes. I hadn't really crystallised my observations into this overall viewpoint.<br /><br />"There's a respect for one's enemy in those moments that's nowhere in the multitudes of Orcs and other monsters, a place for genuine humanity on both sides."<br /><br />You're right. I'd been thinking recently of how much grander battles are and how much greater hero's are when the adversary is treated with respect - not only his abilities but his 'humanity', as you say.<br /><br />The red Terminator vision actually bothered me a little, being such a sci-fi cliche. What's good about Star Wars (despite its influences) is that IT sets the templates. I don't want it to be 'just another...'.Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07036103762441216161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035434747786768960.post-87178816543764561912010-04-12T05:37:39.343+01:002010-04-12T05:37:39.343+01:00Okay, let's try this again.
What I find so in...Okay, let's try this again.<br /><br />What I find so interesting about your obervations here is that for the most part they don't match up with any of mine at all. "Star Wars" is a big enough set of films to allow not only a diversity of opinion on whether it's good or bad, merely good entertainment or great cinema, but also on the matter of what makes it good in the first place. There's so much in there, no two viewings are ever likely to be exactly the same. <br /><br />I find many of the religious comments especially interesting-- all those Christological references (in a rather famously Zen/New Age film series) all lead to evil, ironically. Anakin's virgin birth, Maul's crown of (t)horns, dialogue from Palpatine and others. It begins to resemble a sci-fi alternate-history riff imagining what happens when a prophecised savior rejects his destiny (refuses his Campbellian call to adventure) and makes a deal with the devil. It reminds me of Scorsese's "Last Temptation of Christ" (whose red-and-black opening titles are recalled in Maul's tattooed face), where we're shown explicitly why "what's good for man isn't good for God". Just as Christ must resist the temptation to live with Magdelene, Anakin is meant to resist the temptation of Padme, and of course fails. As such, he becomes a different kind of prophecised figure, both Christ and Anti-Christ alike, a savior who crucifies instead of going to the cross himself. <br /><br />The series' constant contrast between the personal and the political, the intimate and the epic, is one of its biggest draws to me. While stuff like LOTR drowns the audience in ever escalating series of large impersonal armies fighting one another, Lucas boils things down to two basic kinds of combat, sometimes shown at the same time-- aerial war, and lightsaber duels. We get both a largescale presentation of war as portrayed by the masses, and conflict as interpreted by one-on-one matches by peers, equals and individuals. There's a respect for one's enemy in those moments that's nowhere in the multitudes of Orcs and other monsters, a place for genuine humanity on both sides. <br /><br />That "Economy of Storytelling" you mention is really one of Fritz Lang's classic editing tricks, the old cutting from a question that's answered, either literally or implicitly, in the corresponding shot. It's everywhere in the Dr. Mabuse films (Inspector Von Wenk: "Perhaps it's all the work of one mastermind!" Cut to: Doctor Mabuse himself) and a personal favorite of mine, "Hangmen Also Die", where he intercuts between a series of Gestapo interrogations, the stuff of which has influenced countless "Law & Order" episodes. <br /><br />The idea of hope in watching the lowering mask from Anakin's POV-- very nice. I'll also add that it's cool how we briefly see the interior of Vader's eye-pieces here, and that for the rest of his life he'll be seeing things in techno-red filtered "Terminator" vision, cementing his identity as a man who has lost his humanity to the machine. He who should have been John Connor now becomes the dreaded T-800 in cyborg-flesh.Bob Clarkhttp://www.designersdilemma.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035434747786768960.post-81053931601081755272010-03-15T07:25:49.888+00:002010-03-15T07:25:49.888+00:00Correction: 'IF you have time'Correction: 'IF you have time'Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07036103762441216161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035434747786768960.post-10054096363408882322010-03-15T07:24:12.038+00:002010-03-15T07:24:12.038+00:00Thanks Bob.
I'd really welcome your insight ...Thanks Bob. <br /><br />I'd really welcome your insight of you have time, especially having read and enjoyed your own writing on the Prequel Trilogy.Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07036103762441216161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035434747786768960.post-11175593219051230612010-03-15T06:50:40.792+00:002010-03-15T06:50:40.792+00:00Just finished reading this post again, and surpris...Just finished reading this post again, and surprised not to find any real comments at all here. I'll come back later and try to post some more substantive comments, but let's just say that I really dig the observations, and find a lot of new insights on the films here. I might want to try this exercise myself for the Prequel Trilogy myself.Bob Clarkhttp://www.designersdilemma.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8035434747786768960.post-60433181282936972952009-06-08T04:24:56.786+01:002009-06-08T04:24:56.786+01:00I am making the rounds to remind everyone about th...I am making the rounds to remind everyone about the "Reading the Movies" exercise. I'm going to compile everyone's lists into one master list in a week or two, so jump in! The original post can be found here:<br /><br />http://thedancingimage.blogspot.com/2009/05/reading-movies.html<br /><br />By the way, hope you haven't quit blogging already! I enjoyed your work.Joel Bockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.com