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Re: New Star Wars trilogy

Posted: 15 Nov 2017, 10:47
by KeithPratt
There is no doubt that Star Wars is everywhere nowadays - you only have to go in a kids clothes shop or even a supermarket, and it's there in some form. That part of it I find distasteful.

I also think grown men and women dressing up as Star Wars characters is pretty fucking sad too. But perhaps that tells us that for whatever reason modern western society has less and less meaning for a lot of people, and so they want to bury themselves in a form of escapism that has an element of meaning, even if it's a simple good vs evil polarity.

Re: New Star Wars trilogy

Posted: 15 Nov 2017, 10:55
by Goat Boy
Toby wrote:There is no doubt that Star Wars is everywhere nowadays - you only have to go in a kids clothes shop or even a supermarket, and it's there in some form. That part of it I find distasteful.

I also think grown men and women dressing up as Star Wars characters is pretty fucking sad too. But perhaps that tells us that for whatever reason modern western society has less and less meaning for a lot of people, and so they want to bury themselves in a form of escapism that has an element of meaning, even if it's a simple good vs evil polarity.


I think I saw an advert for Star Wars yogurt the other day. It annoyed me. I'm sure a lot of fans feel the same about that shit.

I have never dressed up as a Star Wars character either. I'd rather eat dog shit.

Re: New Star Wars trilogy

Posted: 15 Nov 2017, 14:03
by Belle Lettre
Goat Boy wrote:
There are but that wasn’t quite my point. Few movies use the score in such an elemental way to the point where it feels more important than what’s actually happening on screen. It’s like a running commentary throughout the movies


I think it's the same with Jaws, which is why I mentioned it.

Re: New Star Wars trilogy

Posted: 15 Nov 2017, 14:22
by Moleskin
Toby wrote:There is no doubt that Star Wars is everywhere nowadays - you only have to go in a kids clothes shop or even a supermarket, and it's there in some form.


This touches on something else. Star Wars was one of the first massively merchandised films. Even in the 80s there were tons of toys. The children who had those toys could invest a lot more into the world of the movies, replaying scenes from the film on the bedroom floor, or creating their own adventures. I think that plays a part in the modern ubiquity of Star Wars.

It's also a lesson every film-maker seems to have taken to heart. When was the last time you saw a blockbuster type film without toys and other ephemera on the supermarket shelves?

Re: New Star Wars trilogy

Posted: 04 Dec 2017, 20:05
by Thang-y
never/ever wrote:It really has become a nice milking cow for Disney who are well on their way to become the Evil Empire of this little galaxy.
So far the recent trip has been enjoyable but I won't hang on forever.


You lost me at Disney.

Re: New Star Wars trilogy

Posted: 04 Dec 2017, 20:58
by Matt Wilson
Goat Boy wrote:
Toby wrote:I have never dressed up as a Star Wars character either. I'd rather eat dog shit.


Yeah, but you'd rather eat dog shit than do most things.

Re: New Star Wars trilogy

Posted: 05 Dec 2017, 11:23
by KeithPratt
Just over a week to go. I wasn't hugely fussed by the trailers for this instalment, but I reckon Johnson might just come up with the goods on this one.

To be honest, JJ Abrams pulled the wool over our eyes a little with The Force Awakens. It's not a bad film per se in that I went the cinema (twice) and enjoyed it, but as a piece of the Star Wars story itself, it's a bit lame and I don't think it'll age particularly well.

Johnson has the ability to make this one much more a part of something much better for later films, and cast the moorings off from the older ones. It looks a lot darker for one thing. Here's hoping.

Re: New Star Wars trilogy

Posted: 08 Dec 2017, 02:42
by Quaco
I need to go back and read Dougie's post (and a couple others), but I want to quickly add that I am the target age for the original Star Wars. I saw the first movie twice -- unusual to do that at that age -- and even stole the novel from the local book store! I went as Darth Vader that Halloween. I liked it a lot. But once the second one came out, I realized there was something very wrong with it.

It was an unconscious thing I was feeling. As a single movie, it was great and reached a new level of excitement, but as an ongoing thing, suddenly it seemed too random and magic-y. Science fiction like Star Trek or 2001 actually thinks about what could happen and the consequences, at least to some extent. It expands your view of the plausible. Star Wars was just anything they wanted to happen could magically happen. I think the magic/Force aspect bugged me. It's kind of like RELIGION and all that vague shit, rather than science or anything semi-logical. It seemed like a step backward into superstitious dark ages, and there's nothing sexy or cool about that. I realized I didn't like the Biblical desert vibe either. (Later I realized large portions of it were cribbed from Jack Kirby's Fourth World, which makes me even more suspicious of it, even though I have to admit Lucas did a great job of it.)

Of course, I did not think any of this consciously. Maybe it was just a case of losing interest when the second film came out. But it did sort of ruin the first one too. I have a close friend who is a huge Star Wars geek. We watched Empire the other day, and I did enjoy it, largely because it was a dub of the 16mm version, which had a different real-film look. But it still reminded me I see the whole franchise as symbolic of something wrong. Kind of like how I feel about the resurgence of Americana at this late point in rock and roll's history. It just seems like we're going the wrong direction...

Re: New Star Wars trilogy

Posted: 08 Dec 2017, 02:58
by Quaco
Goat Boy wrote:To use a musical analogy, Star Wars was the closest cinema has come to the Beatles.

...

Young man living in some crappy dustbowl planet where nothing happens, occasionally staring off into the distance at night longingly dreaming of adventure. Think of the scene with Luke and two suns. Listen to John Williams music and understand what is very obviously being communicated here. It’s universal and its simplicity does not limit its power. On the contrary it’s the simplicity that gives it its power. Who can’t relate to Luke here? Who hasn’t dreamed what he is dreaming here? It’s a great cinematic moment.

Reading Doug's post, I want to posit that Star Wars is more like Bruce Springsteen. I think it's a pretty apt analogy.