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.........Wyn's World

...........................of .Myth

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SPECIAL STAR WARS EDITION

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A long time ago,

.................in the late seventies...

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Watching television one day I saw the most thrilling movie trailer that has ever been broadcast. A mystical spacecraft, shaped like no space ship I had ever seen, whizzed across the screen, pursued by several other ships, equally stunning in their design.

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......A cockpit scene flashed by and I noticed a woman, clad in flowing white, and a being who looked like he was from The Planet of the Apes beside her.

......The ships were flying again, weaving through space with artful speed and grace, like supernatural creatures caught in some mystic dance, shooting away into realms of unknown wonder.

......I was daunted. I had only glimpsed a brief trailer and knew I must see this film.

......Then some time in May my father and I were standing in line on eighty-sixth street in Manhattan, waiting to enter the Loews Orpheum to see Star Wars for the first time. It was the longest line of people we had ever seen, stretching down the street, disappearing round a corner, wrapping its way around an entire New York City block. While this may not sound quite as extraordinary today, in the late seventies it simply didn't happen. There were long lines for popular movies, but they didn't encircle an entire city block for several weeks! It was clear that a grand and unexpected sociological phenomenon was upon us.

......Inside the theater I remember flipping through my program, glimpsing all the exciting images of stormtroopers and Darth Vader, X-wings and the Millennium Falcon. I sat scanning these pictures, reading notes about the production, filled with excited anticipation.

......And then the lights dimmed, John Williams' masterful tones swept over us, and my life was forever changed.

......It was more than a film, it was a singular cinematic experience that, to date, has not been surpassed. In twenty years I have not seen anything that even begins to approach the merest fraction of the mythic power I witnessed that day in 1977. There is simply nothing out there.

......But why does Star Wars stand alone? When so many others, with more money, more effects, and even more power than George Lucas had in the seventies, cannot come up with even a vague semblance of a film that was made in the seventies with a laughable special effects budget of 2.5 million dollars, something is surely amiss. Can you name one fantasy film that was released by a major studio in the last ten years that had a special effects budget of 2.5 million dollars? I didn't think so.

......This should silence all those who insist Star Wars is merely a special effects film with lots of lasers and space ships. I have seen lots of lasers and space ships, I have seen computer generated effects, and all the other alleged and much praised wonders of our advancing technologies, yet none of these wonders have given us another Star Wars. And there is an excellent and very logical reason for this: Star Wars is not about special effects. Did I shock you? Are you stunned? I'll say it again: Star Wars is not about special effects.

......But what about the Millennium Falcon and the X-wings and all that talk about "whizzing across the screen?" Let's talk about that.

......I cannot say seriously that Star Wars is not a dazzling spectacle and that special effects are not a major part of its success and longevity. I will say, however, that there is something beyond these special effects, something I will call design. Star Wars is essentially a masterfully designed work of fantasy set in a high-tech milieu. It is the only truly successful marriage of fantasy and science-fiction, two very different genres that are often and regrettably confused.

......Science fiction deals primarily with mankind's developing technologies and their consequences, while fantasy focuses on the struggle between good and evil. In fantasy we usually have protagonists who are good opposing antagonists who are evil, often fighting to save a low-tech world of swords and magic whose fate depends on their heroic deeds. In science fiction we frequently have antagonists who are not evil. Farenheit 451, a science fiction story about a government that has outlawed the reading and possession of books, is a perfect example of this. The government depicted in this tale is not necessarily evil, since it seems to believe it is acting in the best interests of the human race by burning books which it has determined will ultimately corrupt those who read them. The misguided government believes it is acting for the "greatest good," protecting foolish humans from books that might poison their minds with dangerous ideas and philosophies.

......Of course, there are plenty of evil characters in science fiction, and they are often found in stories that have elements of fantasy. Some of these stories may be science-fantasy, crossing into both genres, but often these stories will lean more heavily on science fiction. Star Trek, for example, is a science fiction series that has used a lot of fantasy in its stories, but still remains a science fiction series, and many of its stories, particularly those of the original series, are essentially classic morality plays set in a high-tech world.

......There are also some storylines that would appear to be science fiction, but feel more like fantasy. Superman is probably the best example of this, being a solar-powered alien from another planet who gains great powers after being exposed to our sun. Technically speaking, we could say Superman is a character of science fiction, but he feels more like fantasy, flying around Metropolis like some kind of guardian angel, fighting for "truth, justice, and the American way," as they say.

......But getting back to Star Wars, while the film is set in a high tech universe, it is nonetheless a clear work of fantasy, being primarily focused on the struggle between good and evil. A science fiction story might have placed its emphasis on the Death Star, exploring the terrible powers mankind has harnessed, but Lucas was more concerned with the people harnessing these powers and their philosophies than the powers themselves.

......And his use of space ships is something quite extraordinary and unprecedented in the annals of science fiction or fantasy. The X-wings and Tie-fighters are not just space ships. They don't just fly, they dance through space like supernatural creatures. They feel like supernatural creatures, as imbued with mythic power as any unicorn or Pegasus. They are not scientifically thought provoking, they are beautiful mystic wonders to behold. Additionally, the stunning sounds attached to these ships make them come alive, ringing like musical notes in a supernal symphony.

......And speaking of symphonies, Star Wars would not be half the masterpiece that it is without the luminous talents and genius of John Williams, one of the greatest composers and conductors who has ever lived in world history. If you don't have it already, do yourself a favor and get The Empire Strikes Back soundtrack and see if it's not the greatest music you've ever heard.

......Also, Lucas takes great care to craft a film that will not make us overly aware of the filmmaking process. He never uses a flashback or a split screen or any screen effects that would remind us we are watching a film and take us out of the fantastic world he has created. He does make use of fades, dissolves (one scene fades out as another scene fades in), and wipes (one scene is wiped away by the next scene which appears horizontally, vertically, diagonally, clockwise, or counter-clockwise across the screen). These effects are executed swiftly, attracting little if any attention to themselves so as not to intrude upon our mystical journey. You might have also noticed there are no opening credits to distract us either. Any filmmaker serious about making a fantasy film would be well-advised to take note of this subtlety.

......The light saber is another example of Lucas' genius. Somehow, he and his team of geniuses took the ultimate and very low-tech symbol of fantasy, the sword, and transformed it into the light saber, its high-tech incarnation. I don't know if many people realize what a remarkable accomplishment this was. The idea of a laser sword was nothing new to science fiction, but making this idea a plausible reality on the screen was another matter. By presenting the light saber as a weapon of defense that, in proper hands, deflects offensive weapons with artful grace, he established this device as something more than another laser novelty. It was a magnificent sword,

wielded by the order of Jedi Knights "in a more civilized time," as Sir Alec Guinness eloquently describes. This achieved, Lucas and his crew created the greatest laser sword that has ever been seen or heard in this world, achieving a harmony of sight and sound that brought the light saber to mythic and awesome life. And thus fantasy and science fiction were at last wed in a work of unparalleled cinematic genius that has taken its rightful place as a constant standard of excellence.

......Now then, let's turn to those others who think Star Wars is something less than excellent. I am speaking specifically and contemptuously of those pseudo-intellectuals among us who think Star Wars is beneath their intellectual sensibilities. These are the self-proclaimed academics, scholars, and "artistically-minded" folk who go to cocktail parties to hear their own melodious voices croon out their worthy opinions and grand ideas. They are ever ready to give their erudite and learned thoughts on every imaginable topic, with particular emphasis on things they know nothing about, convinced of their own eloquence and keen intellects.

......I remember sitting in a film class one day as a teacher asked each student to list his favorite films and directors. I have to laugh when I think of how many people claimed Citizen Kane was one of their favorite films. For those who are unaware, Citizen Kane is a hallowed masterpiece in American film schools, hailed as the greatest American film ever made. Film students learn quickly that anything positive they have to say about Citizen Kane or Orson Wells will generally be received warmly by the academics who instruct, and coincidentally, grade them. In film school, saying your favorite film is Citizen Kane is pretty much code for, "I'll take an A, please."

......I think Citizen Kane is a fine film and Orson Wells is a fine director whose genius should be studied and appreciated by filmmakers everywhere. But George Lucas is also a genius and he is not widely studied or even greatly respected in film schools. I was the only one in that class who said Star Wars is my favorite film, and I actually felt a bit embarrassed doing so, aware that Star Wars is not taken seriously in academic circles. I am absolutely, unequivocally, categorically incensed by the foul and petty mentality that has determined a commercially successful film that does not explore the "human condition" in some boring, self-important way, nor confuse its audience with meaningless symbolism and disconnected, undecipherable images, must necessarily fall below universally accepted standards of excellence. Outrageous!

......I remember a conversation with a friend some years ago. We were talking about classical music and I said that I liked the Star Wars soundtrack. I was absolutely dumbfounded when he told me that Star Wars was not classical music. I explained to him that it was composed and conducted by a classical composer and conductor in the tradition of classical music and is thus a perfect example of classical music. He said that classical music refers to the classics like Mozart and Beethoven, and I explained to him that the term classical music refers specifically to a category of music that is composed and conducted in the classical tradition and not just a handful of "classics," a fact that I must believe he already knew, but for some reason was denying at that moment. I think this points to a kind of attitude about Star Wars that is quite disturbing. I'm sure if John Williams had written the same music for a Merchant/Ivory film no one would question that it was indeed classical music. But somehow, when the same music is attached to a commercially successful film that does not explore the "human condition" in some boring, self-important way, it is perceived as something akin to Muzac (elevator music). In their day, Wagner and Mozart wrote music for popular operas, and would have doubtless graced many commercially successful films with their talents if the cinema had existed at that time.

......I am also at a loss to apprehend the mentality of those who claim Star Wars is just an unoriginal rehashing of old ideas, borrowing its themes from ancient mythology. Excuse me? All stories borrow their themes from ancient myths. There are no new themes, only new presentations of old themes. This is true not only of the fantasy genre, but of all stories that are ever told. To criticize Lucas for giving us a new synthesis of old themes is so uniquely absurd it is downright insulting. I know one critic who charged Lucas with presenting old themes "as if" they were new. I am baffled by this statement and the attitude that spawned it. Should George Lucas put a disclaimer on his film that reads, "This story borrows its themes from ancient mythology, as do all stories that are ever written."

......I think Star Wars is simply the greatest film that has ever been made on planet Earth. But more curiously it is the only excellent fantasy film of its kind in existence. Sadly, there is no equivalent in the low-tech world of mythic fantasy. I can hear many of you now saying, "What about The Lord of The Rings?" Tolkien's masterful trilogy is indeed a magnificent example of heroic fantasy, but I don't think its animated form achieves greatness, despite Ralph Bakshi's supernal artistic efforts which are a wonder to behold.

......I think no one has ever made a truly extraordinary fantasy, not science-fantasy, film in the history of our cinema. This is quite strange when you consider how much great fantasy material is out there in countless books and comics. And both mythic and science-fantasy films in general consistently fail to achieve any measurable standard of excellence. When I think of all the great comics I read in childhood I wonder why no one has come along and exploited these vast riches to their full and glorious potential. Is there no Walt Disney among us? No great fantasist to gather these tales and inject them into the collective consciousness for all time. Is there no one to produce a worthy mythic film of swords and magic that will match, dare we dream surpass, the Star Wars Titan? I know of at least one writer who is going to try.

.............................................................Robert
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E-mail

Ben Kenobi

James Earl Jones

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click here for video clip.

Links

Star Wars.com.............The name says it all.

Shaven Wookie............Unique Wookie site with lots of links.

Wonder Woman...........Simply the greatest television experience.

The Sylvan Horn..........My award-winning fantasy novel.

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If you have Internet Explorer you can actually drag some of the images on this page. Move the stars around, throw the light saber anywhere, just click and drag. And if you place the cursor on R2D2, the Millennium Falcon, or the first light saber you will hear some interesting sound effects.
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