Tuesday, April 10, 2007
FInal thoughts on film
After watching "The Empire Strikes Back" for about the zillionth time, i actually saw it in a new light. I was so used to viewing it as a bridge between "star Wars" and "Return of the Jedi" that I never really saw it as an entity. I usually despise movies with sad endings, but I think I was able to watch this film with less bias since I already know everything turns out alright in the end. I'd never watched this particular film without the other two preceding and following, but I got a lot more out of it viewing it seperately.
Friday, April 6, 2007
The Empire Strikes Back as a text
The film, The Empire Strikes Back, has many parallels to a text. Most prominent is probably the massive amount of themes found in the film. The first being "Love is blind". Han Solo is the typical swashbuckler and Leia is the pristine princess. However they are undeniably drawn to each other. Although Leia doesn't want to love Han she has no choice. Han mocks her powerful position by calling her names like "princess", "your royal highness" and "your worship". Leia refers to Han as a "scoundrel".
Another important theme found in the film is loyalty and the different types. Han has a very rough exterior, however he risks his life to save his friend Luke. Princess Leia seems to hold her highest loyalty towards the Alliance, not leaving their base until she had to. Either way many of the characters in The Empire Strikes Back hold other's lives and causes above their own.
The film also has the redundant theme of good versus evil. Darth Vator dresses all in black his voice is low. Luke represents the good. He is honest and seems pure.
Another theme found in the film is the judgement of character by physical appearance . This process deemed the "Halo Effect", causes people to associate good looks with positive traits. The reverse effect is also true. Before finding out who Yoda the powerful Jedi master is, Luke calls him such derogatory nicknames such as "little fella".
Another theme in the film is the general impatience of youth. Yoda tells Ben that he has been watching Luke, and that his eyes were always to the future never where he was. Another important lesson Yoda teaches Luke is that in order to succeed you have to believe in yourself. Luke says, "I don't believe it" Yoda replies " That is why you fail".
Another interesting concept found in the film is the portrayal of machines having human qualities. C3PO has feelings of fear. And Luke has very fond feelings towards his droid R2D2.
The film was also influenced by mythology as well as biblical stories. When the millenium Falkin is inside the mouth of the creature it shares similarities with Jonas and the whale. Also, although the movie has not quite formed the relationship yet, Skywalker and Darth Vator directly parallel of Zeus and Cronus.
Finally like many texts the characters were given names that give insight to their character. Luke's last name Skywalker is pretty self explanatory. The Darth in Vator's name sounds suspiciously similar to "dark" And finally Han's last name, Solo means alone.
Another important theme found in the film is loyalty and the different types. Han has a very rough exterior, however he risks his life to save his friend Luke. Princess Leia seems to hold her highest loyalty towards the Alliance, not leaving their base until she had to. Either way many of the characters in The Empire Strikes Back hold other's lives and causes above their own.
The film also has the redundant theme of good versus evil. Darth Vator dresses all in black his voice is low. Luke represents the good. He is honest and seems pure.
Another theme found in the film is the judgement of character by physical appearance . This process deemed the "Halo Effect", causes people to associate good looks with positive traits. The reverse effect is also true. Before finding out who Yoda the powerful Jedi master is, Luke calls him such derogatory nicknames such as "little fella".
Another theme in the film is the general impatience of youth. Yoda tells Ben that he has been watching Luke, and that his eyes were always to the future never where he was. Another important lesson Yoda teaches Luke is that in order to succeed you have to believe in yourself. Luke says, "I don't believe it" Yoda replies " That is why you fail".
Another interesting concept found in the film is the portrayal of machines having human qualities. C3PO has feelings of fear. And Luke has very fond feelings towards his droid R2D2.
The film was also influenced by mythology as well as biblical stories. When the millenium Falkin is inside the mouth of the creature it shares similarities with Jonas and the whale. Also, although the movie has not quite formed the relationship yet, Skywalker and Darth Vator directly parallel of Zeus and Cronus.
Finally like many texts the characters were given names that give insight to their character. Luke's last name Skywalker is pretty self explanatory. The Darth in Vator's name sounds suspiciously similar to "dark" And finally Han's last name, Solo means alone.
Monday, April 2, 2007
I watched the Star Wars documentary. i didn't realize how much George Lucas had revolutionized film making. the film came out just as the war in Vietnam was ending. The film was based in the future and full of hope and high morals. the foundation of Star Wars was based around myths and world religions and the connections between them. Lucas found universal motifs. And encorporated the damsel, the "coming of age" youth, the wise old man, and the swashbuckler in his movie. When Lucas made the film he made sure to get control of all the merchandizing rights.
Star Wars greatly changed the way cinema was made. it raised the standard immensely. the visual effects were revolutionary, a new company ILN was made. The dynamic motion of the film kept people interested. Lucas introduced the "used future" making it believable. Now a days we take a lot of the visual effects for granted because the can be done on computers. For example i never knew that the droids actually had people inside of them.
Star Wars greatly changed the way cinema was made. it raised the standard immensely. the visual effects were revolutionary, a new company ILN was made. The dynamic motion of the film kept people interested. Lucas introduced the "used future" making it believable. Now a days we take a lot of the visual effects for granted because the can be done on computers. For example i never knew that the droids actually had people inside of them.
I watched the Star Wars documentary. i didn't realize how much George Lucas had revolutionized film making. the film came out just as the war in Vietnam was ending. The film was based in the future and full of hope and high morals. the foundation of Star Wars was based around myths and world religions and the connections between them. Lucas found universal motifs. And encorporated the damsel, the "coming of age" youth, the wise old man, and the swashbuckler in his movie. When Lucas made the film he made sure to get control of all the merchandizing rights.
Star Wars greatly changed the way cinema was made. it raised the standard immensely. the visual effects were revolutionary, a new company ILN was made. The dynamic motion of the film kept people interested. Lucas introduced the "used future" making it believable. Now a days we take a lot of the visual effects for granted because the can be done on computers. For example i never knew that the droids actually had people inside of them.
Star Wars greatly changed the way cinema was made. it raised the standard immensely. the visual effects were revolutionary, a new company ILN was made. The dynamic motion of the film kept people interested. Lucas introduced the "used future" making it believable. Now a days we take a lot of the visual effects for granted because the can be done on computers. For example i never knew that the droids actually had people inside of them.
The Star
We discussed the short story, the star, in class. The story took place in the future. It was about a Jesuit astronaut and his travels to visit a galaxy that was destroyed by a supernova. He and his crew learn about a civilization that once existed there. The story is the captain addressing Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits. After viewing the beautiful civilization that was destroyed he is questioning his faith.
Before our discussion on Thursday, i 'd missed a major part of the story. The supernova that caused the civilization to be destroyed was the star of Bethleham. Therefore, the star that Jesus followed, and was a symbol for hope killed a different beautiful solar system.
I thought the description of the beach was especially moving, with the children splashing in the water and the sun that would soon destroy them setting in the background. I thought it was interesting that this civilization was almost like an ideal earth. Although, the captain does reflect that they might have only preserved their finer achievements. He then says who could blame them. It made me wonder what we would preserve from our civilization if we knew we were going to die. I wonder if we would acknowledge our failures so others might learn from them. I thought it was very smart of the author to never actually put a name on the civilization. It almost made the story more believable, and left out the stereotypical "sci-fi space details" that can bog down the real meaning of a story.
The story made me wonder what it would be like for a whole civilization to know they were going to die. I wonder what they would have felt, and if they dealt with it collectively. I wonder if they had a religion. I wonder how they explained to their children why they were going to all die. i wonder if they even told them.
The story also made me wonder about faith, the narrator is obviously filled with internal turmoil. But the definition of faith is believing the unexplainable. i wonder what it would take for other people's faith to be questioned. i wonder if there is any Christian that would not doubt their faith by seeing what the narrator saw. I wonder how people who are Christian and religious react to this story. Are they touched by it? Offended?
Before our discussion on Thursday, i 'd missed a major part of the story. The supernova that caused the civilization to be destroyed was the star of Bethleham. Therefore, the star that Jesus followed, and was a symbol for hope killed a different beautiful solar system.
I thought the description of the beach was especially moving, with the children splashing in the water and the sun that would soon destroy them setting in the background. I thought it was interesting that this civilization was almost like an ideal earth. Although, the captain does reflect that they might have only preserved their finer achievements. He then says who could blame them. It made me wonder what we would preserve from our civilization if we knew we were going to die. I wonder if we would acknowledge our failures so others might learn from them. I thought it was very smart of the author to never actually put a name on the civilization. It almost made the story more believable, and left out the stereotypical "sci-fi space details" that can bog down the real meaning of a story.
The story made me wonder what it would be like for a whole civilization to know they were going to die. I wonder what they would have felt, and if they dealt with it collectively. I wonder if they had a religion. I wonder how they explained to their children why they were going to all die. i wonder if they even told them.
The story also made me wonder about faith, the narrator is obviously filled with internal turmoil. But the definition of faith is believing the unexplainable. i wonder what it would take for other people's faith to be questioned. i wonder if there is any Christian that would not doubt their faith by seeing what the narrator saw. I wonder how people who are Christian and religious react to this story. Are they touched by it? Offended?
Monday, March 26, 2007
Brave New World
I am reading the novel Brave New World. From the beginning of the novel it seems like it is going to be a story about a dysutopia. The book starts out with the director giving a group of students a tour of a "human making factory". Henry Foster, a worker comes over to the students and explains the many techniques which allow for them to clone humans and then have them mature so quickly. They have also put the embryos through specefic conditions , so they are specialized for whatever job in society they are required to do.
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