profound realization # 17
this has probably been covered before, but i never even took the time to think about it: the star wars movies are not science fiction

don't get me wrong; there are some definite sci-fi trappings in there, spaceships, blasters, aliens, laser swords, but thematically, it's all fantasy, not sci-fi. it's all about (and this is going by purpose, not necessarily execution, as some of the writing and directing falls a bit short in the recent episodes) the battle between good and evil and wizards (jedi, duh) and warriors and fantastic creatures (which might as well be dwarfs (ewoks), elfs (i don't know, those folks on kamino, just for one possibility?) and dragons and what have you. none of them need to be aliens, none of the jedi need to be anything other than elements of a tale of mysticism and politics (the latter especially prevalent in the recent trilogy), and the spaceships might as well be wagons or horses... or chariots, i suppose since they get involved in the fighting so directly. but, then, they fought on trucks and buggies in the road warrior, so it certainly isn't the method of conveyance that makes a thing into science fiction or fantasy or something else altogether (the road warrior being, arguably, the definitive action film). there's nothing of the jedi, midichlorians aside, that speaks at all of science. as han solo might point out, it's all a bunch of superstitious mumbo jumbo. the whole story's about as much a ripoff of fantasy epics like the lord of the rings as willow (another george lucas production, mind you) is. sure enough, the heart of each specific story lies in something other than the ripoff plot (and lucas acknowledged when he originally conceived of star wars that it was nothing but a ripoff (or at least homage) to old serials and stuff from joseph campbell's examination of myths and the hero's journey (certainly the fuel for many an epic fantasy)) somewhere in the actors and the specific story elements that take the plot beyond its generic roots. hell, thats why the orginal trilogy gets such recognition over the recent one: the actors and the specifics were better, less clinical, less sterile. in return of the jedi, we got to know something of the battle through admiral ackbar and lando calrissian and nien nunb and wedge antilles, and we were invested in these minor characters enough to care about not just the big jedi duel (vader vs luke) or the fight at the bunker on the forest moon (simple folk ewoks vs technologically superior imperials) but also in the space battle. in revenge of the sith, we get a spectacular battle, but it's just that: a spectacle, background imagery for a plot that doesn't demand we bother getting involved in a galactic conflict that clearly is shaping a hell of a lot of what we're seeing (looking at it from a realistic view of how the world (or universe) works, that is). in a new hope, a passing comment about the senate being dissolved actually means something, carries some weight, but in attack of the clones, that senate loses its power (long before the dissolution, by internal chronology) and we barely care, bring on the monsters and the droid battle and mace windu saying the "party's over" (just one phrase that didn't belong in the world of star wars, be it science fiction or fantasy (another being "girlfriend")), bring on the armies of the dead and the nazgul... oh wait, wrong fantasy film

the point of all this being, star wars, often held up as definitive science fiction, the epitome of special effects laden space opera fare, just isn't science fiction any more than highlander was a straight drama. thing is, i'd never really bothered to think about it until yesterday (while watching the two ewok films (which take the star wars universe and drop pretty much all the science fiction stuff altogether for giants, witches, magic objects and wilford brimley)) and it makes a strange sort of sense now how so many people can be big fans of star wars or star trek but not both (though there are certainly fans of both as well (me being one of those, sometimes); one of those series is science fiction, one of those is fantasy. they aren't necessarily supposed to share an audience

in other news, alone in the dark isn't a horror film either, despite it's packaging. it's an action film, an alien film, with a few spy film elements (and maybe even a few buddy cop picture details as well) thrown in for good measure... then some monsters interrupt every once in a while. yesterday was all about genre mix ups

then there was the shield and the daily show and a lego scuplture (which will be online soon here) just to round out the day