There are a few defining movies of my teen years and one of the foremost is
Star Wars (among Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Alien). I was a 17 year
old struggling with many teen issues and this movie hit home with me on many
levels.
For pure entertainment value, it was unsurpassed for 1977. Action,
adventure, kidnapped princesses and what were at the time "state of the art"
effects. The movie had strong heroes and heroines we could believe in,
treacherous villains for us to hate, and those two funny robots.
Yet there was more to this movie than the superficial for this 17 year old.
There was the mysterious "force" and spiritual connotations. This movie had
a soul. This was a movie I wanted to see over and over. When was the last
time in recent memory you wanted to watch a movie over? For me it was "Dark
City".
This was also one of my first movie crushes, ole bun head herself, Carrie
Fisher.
George Lucas was, to borrow a phrase from David Lynch, "true to the idea" in
the original "Star Wars". Unfortunately twenty years later, "Episode one",
would be released. The "idea" and "soul" would be taken over by standard
Hollywood filmmaking, poor characterization, and a merchandising campaign
that is now legendary as George Lucas' calling card. Oh, did I mention Jar
Jar Binks, one of the embarrassments of the sci-fi universe.
After the release and merchandising of another crappy "Episode" we now find
ourselves with Lucas' "Revenge of the Shit Sith", a release that has been
heavily hyped on every media available, heavily merchandised with a fast
food chain, and is on the box of literally every product on the supermarket
shelves.
I believe when Lucas made "Star Wars" he had an "idea", stuck to it, and it
worked. Now the words "Stars Wars" just mean another product for us to
consume, matter no how vapid or bad it is. So what is next, since this the
supposedly the final episode? Well since George Lucas has never had another
worthwhile idea since Star Wars, I have this feeling that this is not the
last we will see of the franchise. "Star Wars, the Next Generation"?
He's Dead Jim
While the Star Wars franchise is running on all eight cylinders, another
long time sci-fi franchise, "Star Trek", ended this past week "not with a
bang but a whimper"(T.S. Eliot).
With no plans for any upcoming movies or tv series, it looks like Gene
Roddenberry's legacy will be shelved and put into moth balls for now. Which
is just as well as little of Roddenberry's ideas have been represented in
"Star Trek" ever since Rick Berman became king of the franchise.
"Star Trek" RIP 1966-2005
"Couch Potato Confessions" is ©2005 by Vinnie B. Couch Potato main graphic by Vin Blesi and Nolan Canova. Webpage design and all graphics herein (except where otherwise noted) are creations of Nolan B. Canova. All contents of Nolan's Pop Culture Review are ©2005 by Nolan B. Canova.
