Well this is a first......TPM in college

ShaneP, I wouldn't even go that far. The close-ups in TPM were fine.

Captain_Typho, send it to him after the class has been concluded

 

Regarding the use of close-ups in TPM, Lucas used them selectively. Much of the film was shot with medium and wide shots making the film look grand in scope, fitting for the first chapter of an epic saga. However, Lucas did use close-ups when the action or story called for it. To say that TPM is devoid of close-ups is to say you weren't paying attention when you watched the movie.

 

If your professor, your film teach no less wants to teach people to watch the film in Pan and Scan as opposed to its Original Aspect Ratio. Well...he should be sacked to be honest.
Pan and Scan is blatantly wrong.

 

No kidding. I've owned the pan and scan versions of the OT for years on VHS because my parents were too dumb to buy the widescreen versions at the time. Now that I'm on my own, I'll be able to buy the OT DVD's in widescreen format! I've only seen ANH and ESB once in widescreen format (During the SE) and I've never seen ROTJ in widescreen format! Heck, if it wasn't for widescreen, we wouldn't be able to see the Tie Fighter Pilot eject from his exploding fighter during TESB asteroid chase! I'm looking forward to that one!

 

Heck, if it wasn't for widescreen, we wouldn't be able to see the Tie Fighter Pilot eject from his exploding fighter during TESB asteroid chase! I'm looking forward to that one!

Or the trooper hitting his head. For years I thought these things were myths.

 

Or the trooper hitting his head.

I still haven't seen that.

September 21 can not get here soon enough...

 

Pan and scan? And this guy is a professor? Stand before the class and educate HIM, he's obviously the one who needs it.

And when you get to the section on TPM, be sure to detail the nuances of the amazing Captain Tarpals (the TRUE hero of the Star Wars saga!).

 

I'm baffled by this anti-widescreen argument.

If you're watching a film on a cinema screen or widescreen television, then you will get exactly the same view of the facial expressions whether you're watching it in a 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio (assuming it's the same film), because the picture will be the same height.

If you're watching on a non-widescreen television, where the image has to be shrunk vertically in order to fit the whole width of the picture on screen, then yes, pan and scan will give you a better view of facial expressions. But that's obviously a problem with the size of the TV- not the film being shown on it.

Pan and scan is a slightly different issue to that of the aspect ratio- simply that changing the composition of every single shot of a film to make it fit onto a television screen generally speaking turns the film into something other than what it was intended to be when it was made. (For example, where characters are entirely removed from the frame.)


As for the "stereotypes in Star Wars" issue- as has already been said, if you think that an orange frog with floppy ears represents any class or group of human beings because of his physical appearance, then you are superimposing the stereotype onto the character- not the other way around.

And if you think it's Jar Jar's character that reflects a social stereotype, then you are racist. It's that simple. (Does Norman Wisdom represent a sterotype?)

>>>That he would choose that particular text book and endorse an article regaling the virtues of pan and scan is enough to show me that he probably shouldn't be teaching a class on cinema.

I don't know- that depends on how he's presenting it to the class; it could be that he's just trying to use it to provoke discourse and discussion; after all, giving a class something to read is not necesarily endorsing the article.

At least, I would hope that's what he's doing...

 

I agree with the Nerd on this issue.


And when you get to the section on TPM, be sure to detail the nuances of the amazing Captain Tarpals (the TRUE hero of the Star Wars saga!).

Oakessteve?

 

No, but great minds do think alike.

 

I got something for you folks! Although this snippet of info isn't related to TPM, it is related to the class and my professor and I didn't feel like starting a whole new thread in the classic trilogy forum. Ok, here's what my professor said (and i'm not lying):

"The original Star Wars is similar to an American WW2 propaganda film. Look at the helmets the stormtroopers are wearing, and the little hooded aliens that are speaking what sounds like Japanese. And the uniforms and officers that resemble Nazi soldiers."

That is all I can remember. I just remember internally laughing at what he was saying because it was so ridiculous sounding, but now that I think about it, the Imperials are like the Nazi party in a few ways. For instance, they do not tolerate non humanoids very well much like the Nazi's didn't tolerate Jews or anyone outside of their perceived social perfectionist ariyan race. Still, I think some of my professor's opinions like the Jawa/Japanese one are not very intelligent......

 

The gray uniforms and black boots (although everyone wears these in SW) do bear a pretty good resemblance to German WWII uniforms, and that's probably no coincidence.

 

I personally think some of these people extrapolate the info they're presented with just a bit too much.

Although the resemblences of the uniforms is probably intentional.

 

I thought it was a widely spread fact that the Empire based on the Roman Empire and the Nazis.

Vader's iconic helmet is a mix of a skull and a SS helmet.

 

movies today are retreating to the apparent splendours of the wide shot, the panorama, the spectacular vista intended to make us say "wow." This was the Lord of the Rings trilogy's technique, and is that of the Brad Pitt-starring Troy, and the eco-disaster picture The Day After Tomorrow.

This guy should shut the @#$& up and do his home work, all of those films were shot in Super 35. So when you watch them on video or tv, the whole "WOW, I'm watching an 2:35.1 aspect ratio film" is gone because it's a fullscreen movie(unless ofcourse you buy it Wide, but even then It's on a tv and not a theater screen). I don't get why he doesn't like WIDE, Widescreen to me makes movies all the more epic. I like watching an "EPIC" film, especailly Star Wars and Indiana Jones.

It's sad that everybody here is smarter than this @$$wipe but yet he gets paid to be stupid moron and I don't. He is going to pay.

 

Atticus, Atticus!!

I'm in filmschool as well, and we discussed the subject of digital cinema. Eventually the teacher concluded that the 'real' artists of cinema would choose the good old celluloid without a second thought!!

 

And I agree. Digital has a long way to go before it can match the accuracy of celluloid. Digital is popular because it's easier and cheaper to use, not better.

 

This professor does realize the Imperials resembling Nazis are the bad guys right?

Just wait until he compares Jabba to a commie sympathizer.

 

The problem with his statement is, it's dogmatic. Ofcourse celluloid is still the better medium. But the thing is, it's not really about the medium.

There always will be 'true' artists, like Lucas, who use a medium as a tool, to tell a story, which is to them, the central aspect of their art, and not, while at the same time being important as well, the look of it.

And to me, if the story is good, i'm sucked into the movie, and forget about it's appearance.

 

<Quote>This professor does realize the Imperials resembling Nazis are the bad guys right?</Quote>

I know seriously. The Imperials are the bad guys. It's not like the Star Wars movies are a validation for authoritarian oppressive regimes.

 

Guess what folks........time to start bringing this thread back up to the top of the page. A date has been set to watch the film. On Nov 16th and 18th we will be watching TPM in the class. Can't wait! I really do hope my teacher looks at this from both perspectives and doesn't just focus on the negative aspects.

 

Well, at least you'll have a good movie to watch even if your professor is a stuffed shirt.

Digital is popular because it's easier and cheaper to use, not better.

"Better" is such an imprecise and subjective evaluation.

 

Y'know, I have to say I find it absolutely amazing that they love to read into things and claim there's a racial bias against minorities, yet some of the most heinous and cruel acts are done by white characters. Are these people even paying attention?!

Additionally, how is Jar Jar Binks perpetuating the stereotype? If nothing else, TPM was Lucas' attempt to make a statement about the dangers of stereotyping and underestimating the value of other individuals. For so long, the Naboo (and the cast in general) saw the Gungan race as jokes, hardly intellectual and of no worth to their mission. But when it was needed, the Gungans were there. They gave their lives for the sake of Naboo, they exhibited explementary battle prowess for their technological limitations (versus the Naboo's complete lack of an army in general), not to mention their extreme bravery for going up against a droid army to begin with. Loss for Federation meant one more factory order. Loss for the Gungans meant the loss of a sentient person. Of all the characters we saw in the movie, it wasn't the (older, white) Senate members who came to the Naboo's need, but a race of beings completely overlooked who gave devout loyalty to the Queen even with the attitudes we saw in place.

If nothing else, Lucas was making a strong statement about the value of equality and recognizing what races have to offer each other. In this way, and only in this way, can I possibly see how Lucas may have been applying racial patterns, but if he did, that was more a mark against the white/human characters than the black/alien ones. It was the Naboo's (and Jedi's, perhaps unintentional) refusal to recognize the value of Jar Jar's character that overlooked the allies they had in the Gungans for so long.

Besides...Jar Jar wasn't reflective of his race. Sheesh, even the Gungans themselves thought he was an idiot.

 

LOL. My professor made a statement today in class. "I'll admit, science fiction is not one of my favorite genres. There are some films that I really enjoy but for the most part it's a genre I tend to avoid. For whatever reason a lot of the science fiction films just don't work for me"

Hmmmmm. I wonder if this will be an indicator as to his feelings toward TPM?

 

Only if it's a simply a personal bias toward other genres. I like science fiction because it allows me to suspend belief for a little while. It's very surreal in most instances, but with enough of a reality to it to make you think. On the flip side, I'm not a big fan of most of the classic literature heralded today as history's greatest works. I find alot of it dry and suffering from antiquity.

If it's reasoning to explain why (if he does involve this in his lesson) one should apply rumors of perpetuated racial stereotypes to animated characters, than he's just being an ass.