Did the History Channel Reveal the Legacy for You?

Thanks for that correction, MisterVader. I stole that observation from you, so I'm glad you set us right.

But people are focusing on very minute details. My post contains examples in support of a broader point. I think the_immolated_one got it. It sounds like the people behind and within this programme have approached Star Wars very two-dimensionally. Dogmatically, if you will. Rather than explore the Taoist, flowing, formless construction of the philosophy of SW, and the multi-layered cinematic language used to express it, they have just drawn a bunch of links between SW and other stories, be they "real" historic events or "fictional" myths and fables.

 

There's nothing to explain. People lose limbs because limbs are what we hold/attack things with. If someone points a gun at you and you use your saber to cut his hair RATHER than his arm, you're an idiot.
What the freak are the jedi SUPPOSED to cut off?

 

THEIR OWN EMOTIONS.

 

Then you havent been around here long I take it. The more attention-deprived people who frequent here have already said even worse things (and totally bogus and false at that) that would curl your hair.

Looks like you forgot to read my signature. I have ALREADY been asked by LFL. Not sorry you couldnt be there.

But its exactly your ridiculous "propaganda" cliche that shows why so many posters here, especially yourself, honestly dont deserve to have a nationwide forum. You cant be trusted to seperate your personal bile from the context and you scream "CONSPIRACY" at every dark shadow just because you personally disagreed with the subject.

Now if you had been here as long as me, you would have read some of the more completely preposterous statements made here by Lucas's more big-headed critics:
"I sent Lucas ten emails on how to write the prequels and he NEVER used any of my ideas or even wrote me back! Who does he THINK HE IS???


You honestly dont know whether to laugh or cry.

Its a simple matter that all posters are not created equal. Some of us have experience in this form of advanced analysis, while others just love hearing the sound of their own voice and have never read any book without "TV GUIDE" in the title. A good way to tell who is who is simply take note of what posters really dont do anything else other than post, for the fans with any real talent dont tend to waste much time here. They are usually off actually creating something (film, costume, book) of consequence. Its to the benefit of every poster here to take a cold look in the mirror to ask which group they themselves are in.

 

At the end of the day, his detractors go on and on and on about what the Star Wars saga is not.

This special, and all specials about the saga should be about what they actually are.

 

Oh that's insightful Actually, I only ask b/c Lucas has been asked before and that is not the answer he gave. He just smiled and didn't say anything.

Does anyone else here (that doesn't have a bloated sense of self importance due to being a costumed X-wing fighter in the Rose Bowl) have anything less condescending to say.

 

Well the special seemed to explain those kinds of wounds as a symbol of growth and accumulation of wisdom.

It represents a hardship that had to be overcome, that couldn't be avoided.

 

The limbs themselves could be said to represent grasp. Both Anakin and Luke are shown reaching towards Obi-Wan as he disappears -- physically from Anakin and metaphysically from Luke. And the futility of grasping beyond one's limits goes further. As Leia says to Tarkin: "The more the Empire tightens its grip, the more star systems will slip through its fingers." Anakin and Luke try to hold onto things with their limbs, including their own life, as represented by the lightsaber ("This weapon is your life"). The loss of limbs for the Skywalker men is a humbling experience. But Anakin falls unconscious / asleep after Dooku removes his forearm, while Luke is wide awake when Vader chops off his hand, signifying that one lacks the awareness to heed the lesson and will fall while the other has the capacity to pay attention and overcome the pull of the Dark Side.

 

I think it also represents at it's most basic, the loss of humanity, which is inevitable over time.

While Anakin's loss of humanity snowballs, Luke manages to catch himself.

 

Speaking of grasping, that lacked profundity. How does a cut off limb represent..........??.....oh who cares? I've lost interest in the question. Also, weren't you just yelling at everyone for going off topic in "your" Jar-Jar thread?

Anyway, based on the discussion you've all developed, how many feel that, because of the sentiments depicted in this special (and the others, as many have mentioned) that some/most/all people (other than us) just don't "get" Star Wars?? Does it take a fluff piece like this to "reveal the legacy" to the casual movie-goer? Is that a valid question? Is it a significant percentage? BTW, it seems to me that very few people seem to get it, but is that accurate??

 

I don't think that a casual movie goer would get Star Wars after a "fluff" piece like this. If you're not actually into Star Wars you'd lose interest in the first five minutes. Heck, people who are into Star Wars lost interest in the first couple of minutes (no I don't mean everyone). This show didn't really help clarify anything. If anything it just made things more confusing.

 

Yeah, I heard so much more intellectual and deep stuff here than I'd ever find in that special...I mean what did they do?

Oh, SW is like so and so! Any idiot can make connections between two stories....

Cryogenic, you should have been on the show, my good sir! You and 'Tryanious the Hutt'! Oh, I miss that gentlemen...

 

I just finished watching the entire thing on Youtube. It was awesome. I especially love that the OT didn't drown out the PT, like it did in the Magic/Power of Myth (of course, AOTC and ROTS weren't out yet).

 

That's what I found refreshing as well.

Not that myth as it is applied to the classic trilogy isn't compelling, but seeing how it repeats and variates through the entire saga is much more compelling overall.

It really helps show people who were closed to the idea that the prequels were as meaningful as the classic trilogy how they stand shoulder to shoulder with the classic trilogy.

 

Could you please link me to the youtube version?

 

I just watched it, and I have to say that I was very disappointed. They followed the traditional media rule: "simplify, then exaggerate."

Either the people interviewed restrained themselves from the truly deep stuff to conform to the typical standards of a casual fan, or they just had no idea what they could have accomplished with this opportunity (they didn't know what they were talking about).

Most of the people on this site can be more insightful than that special...

The one thing I learned was that some ancient god was called "Naboo."

But really, it sucked. Oh, well.

Maybe I could fill a couple hours next time...

 

I thought the program was a HUGE step in the right direction: a serious, fresh discussion of the films as serious works of cinematic art. Sure, you could fill three full hours with material, but for a lot of people watching, this was probably the first time they thought of SW in this light, so the basics had to be covered. I love that they didn't cover the same old ground (making of first movie, worn out actor's anectdotes etc). It was especially refreshing to see the PT considered intelligently & favorably.

I don't get it: WHY is everyone so down on this program???

 

Alot of people are down on the program because the program was nothing more than a 'fan project'.

I.E. Fans of the movies giving their own personal opinions on what the movies meant. And as always making huge exagerations to make the movies look mythical in the process.

Saying Star Wars is great cinema is one thing. Saying it is mythical like religious figures and other such things is quite another.

 

That's right, Go-Mer. It's an inherent part of the man-machine motif.

I'm not sure how this is pertinent to anything. You do know that baiting and flaming are against the rules, don't you?

Me, too.

There are people here that wipe the floor with the best analysts and media pundits, IMO.

Thank you, Dark_Faith. I'd honestly have elected a plethora of TFN people. This site is a million times more substantive than any documentary I've ever seen or can conceive of -- it's all a question of knowing where to look.

I guess I'll check out the full thing since it now appears to finally be on YouTube...

 

good....good....give into your anger and strike me down =p

nothing in your rant makes my post any less valid.

And your referencing of Cameron/Smith/Whedon seems to be limited in vision. The world might be less entertained w/o Aliens, but would we really be lacking in a cultural sense? Why not reference a world class astronomer or a mathematician who has been put on there course by the saga, why 3 entertainers? The ability for a movie to influence future moviemakers should be commonplace. There are lots of moviemakers who influence other moviemakers, are we to make them all philosopher/poets like we do with GL?

If this saga is to carry any real weight, and is to be compared to works such as the Illiad, you have to set a different bar completely. The number of Camerons spawned by this Saga has little to do with its merrit.

 

I enjoyed the program very much. In some ways, it reminded me of that book on Star Wars and myth. Even though some people seemed put off by this, I wasn't. Considering that Lucas had studied mythology in college, I am not surprised that he used mythical archtypes in his characters and stories.

But whether he used mythical archtypes or not, whether some believe the program was overblown in comparing the saga to mythology and history . . . I liked it. Even more important to me is that I found it very entertaining. And I'm glad that both trilogies were equally focused upon.

 

I just have yet to hear it explained by anyone why the cutting-off-limbs deal is anything other than cutting-off-limbs. Lucas didnt say anything becuase there's nothing to say. A limb attacks a jedi, so a jedi cuts it off. Hardly a subject for a Master's Thesis.

And who says my self-importance is "bloated?" I just happen to have heard most of these arguments before and was looking for something new.

 

If you mean most people see only lasers and spaceships and dont bother to "think" about anything more substantial, I wouldnt necessarily say "most people," rather "TOO MANY people." I dont agree with calling this "fluff," as it was very informative along the lines of more serious essays I have read over the years, but I have also been very disappointed in the general intelligence and literacy level of the average fan for a while now. Too many fans consider "a good read" to be jsut another EU novel, ignoring the legacy of 100 years of sci fi literature. I have a webpage of recommended sci fi reading around here somewhere which I made a while back (John Carter of Mars, Lensmen, etc), and I increasingly discover that I am the only person within 500 miles who has read any of those books. Too many people really only see just flashy explosions when they watch SW, and thats too bad.

 

Anakin's limbless trunk is the embodiment of the artist's monetary situation after his wife left him.

 

Because I wasnt aware that I was being paid by the word, or that you really DIDNT know about SW influence on the space program and needed someone to tell you what I thought was obvious to everyone else.
Read any NASA biography or watch a NOVA special about professional astronomers and you'll hear again and again these people were inspired to get where they are by watching SW. Engineers say that they wanted to build spaceships becuase of what they saw, astronauts say they were inspired to go into space, etc. There are a hundred objects on Mars named after SW characters, and I believe a road in Houston Mission control is/was named "Skywalker" back in the 70's. I thought all of that was well-known common knowledge, but with you, I guess not.

Now if all you see in James Cameron is a few alien movies and think you have it all figured out, you totally slept through the 90s movies revolution. For the first time, the average joe had access to professional movie making technology. Lucas inspired Cameron and Smith, and Cameron and Smith inspired a legion of movie-makers who have now given us Serenity, Farscape, Stargate, Lost, Alias, HEROES, and etc etc etc. We do NOT need to be spectactors any more. We DONT have to jsut sit on a couch getting fat watching everyone else have all the fun becuase of the technology these people have pioneered which is now available on any Circuit City laptop. I know dozens of people who started out a 1000 miles away from Hollywood but are now full members of the artistic community, following their dreams, making movies watched by people all over the world. People can now be movie artists i