Konnichiwa Minnasan! Hello All! Thanks for visiting to read about my adventures in rural Japan. I lived in Shimane prefecture from July of 2004 to July of 2009 as a member of the Jet Programme. Then I went back to Shimane from October 2010 to February 2016 to teach at a Japanese university. Now I teach history at a private high school where the Japanese students learn in English. Thanks for stopping by!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
The People vs George Lucas - Official Teaser Trailer 1 (HD)
Here is a documentary you know I'll be seeing if it's playing when I go home to America from August.
I've contemplated this whole Lucas issue for a while. The new Star Wars films weren't what I wanted them to be, but...there it is: the whole issue is that people want what THEY want. They want the world to revolve around them.
The reality is that Lucas didn't ruin any childhoods. Those childhoods are still intact, along with the original films. With the new films, he gave us something we didn't want and now we're mad about it. But unlike stories like Superman or Batman, who actually have no owners at this point ("owned" by companies, not people), Star Wars is Lucas' art. He can keep making that art however he wants. It's HIS expression.
When you think about it, Return of the Jedi was already showing signs of what was to come in the new films (the silly band at Jaba's acting as a precursor to Jar-Jar, not to mention the Ewoks). The audience that grew up with the old films matured and started to create expectations for what they wanted to see. But the artist, Lucas, also changed; he's not that same young guy coming out of the Vietnam War era filmmaking rebel group. So the question is, as an artist, is he responsible to the fans or himself when making art? That's a tricky question for people to answer, because we all know that an artist's first responsibility is to their own expression, but we don't like what such freedom might produce. It may give us a Superman wearing a black suit with a chrome "S" (see the "Superman Lives" fiasco).
It's hard to reconcile what we want with what is. If what is doesn't match up to what we want, then we become disappointed. I know just as many people who like the new Transformers film as don't. Who's right? The ones that liked it are the ones that have the lesser associations with the old show. Myself, I thought the movie was weak in story, yet visually impressive. I also thought the robot design was overdone. But let's face it, if that exact film came out of Japan with Japanese actors (who always over act), we'd all be thinking it was cool.
Back to Lucas, if you were able to watch the new Star Wars films with just the dialogue turned off, they are pretty amazing. That tells me that Lucas is still talented as a visual storyteller. There are some amazing images and sequences in those films.
I think the only way the new Star Wars movies could have lived up to fan hopes is if they had been made by a fan under Lucas' supervision. For example if Peter Jackson, who grew up on the old films, was allowed to co-write and direct the new series. But, again, it was Lucas' art to express. And whether we like it or not, those are the films he felt. He had to follow his own heart, not the fans'. But the risk of following your own ideas is always that you may turn off those fans. Such is the life of an artist.
I don't feel that Lucas owed me a second series. I still feel the same about the originals as I did growing up on them. Sure, I wish the new ones were what I want them to be, but they're not. So I watch them for what they do offer. And while they may not be the old films, if you were to look at them objectively, they are actually still wonderful additions to the sci-fi genre.
One last note: I have to say the Now THIS is podracing line by Anakin at the end of Phantom Menace is far worse than Jar-Jar Binks. haha.
1 comment:
I've contemplated this whole Lucas issue for a while. The new Star Wars films weren't what I wanted them to be, but...there it is: the whole issue is that people want what THEY want. They want the world to revolve around them.
The reality is that Lucas didn't ruin any childhoods. Those childhoods are still intact, along with the original films. With the new films, he gave us something we didn't want and now we're mad about it. But unlike stories like Superman or Batman, who actually have no owners at this point ("owned" by companies, not people), Star Wars is Lucas' art. He can keep making that art however he wants. It's HIS expression.
When you think about it, Return of the Jedi was already showing signs of what was to come in the new films (the silly band at Jaba's acting as a precursor to Jar-Jar, not to mention the Ewoks). The audience that grew up with the old films matured and started to create expectations for what they wanted to see. But the artist, Lucas, also changed; he's not that same young guy coming out of the Vietnam War era filmmaking rebel group. So the question is, as an artist, is he responsible to the fans or himself when making art? That's a tricky question for people to answer, because we all know that an artist's first responsibility is to their own expression, but we don't like what such freedom might produce. It may give us a Superman wearing a black suit with a chrome "S" (see the "Superman Lives" fiasco).
It's hard to reconcile what we want with what is. If what is doesn't match up to what we want, then we become disappointed. I know just as many people who like the new Transformers film as don't. Who's right? The ones that liked it are the ones that have the lesser associations with the old show. Myself, I thought the movie was weak in story, yet visually impressive. I also thought the robot design was overdone. But let's face it, if that exact film came out of Japan with Japanese actors (who always over act), we'd all be thinking it was cool.
Back to Lucas, if you were able to watch the new Star Wars films with just the dialogue turned off, they are pretty amazing. That tells me that Lucas is still talented as a visual storyteller. There are some amazing images and sequences in those films.
I think the only way the new Star Wars movies could have lived up to fan hopes is if they had been made by a fan under Lucas' supervision. For example if Peter Jackson, who grew up on the old films, was allowed to co-write and direct the new series. But, again, it was Lucas' art to express. And whether we like it or not, those are the films he felt. He had to follow his own heart, not the fans'. But the risk of following your own ideas is always that you may turn off those fans. Such is the life of an artist.
I don't feel that Lucas owed me a second series. I still feel the same about the originals as I did growing up on them. Sure, I wish the new ones were what I want them to be, but they're not. So I watch them for what they do offer. And while they may not be the old films, if you were to look at them objectively, they are actually still wonderful additions to the sci-fi genre.
One last note: I have to say the Now THIS is podracing line by Anakin at the end of Phantom Menace is far worse than Jar-Jar Binks. haha.
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