LRC.HJJH@UTEXAS-20.ARPA (01/15/84)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ From a STAR WARS Defector ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
W-h-y was such a SW devotee (who stopped counting after seeing "A New
Hope" 41 times, and who laboriously transcribed illicit recordings of
the sound tracks of ANH and TESB so as not to have to wait for
publication of the scripts) so utterly turned off by JEDI?
Because it was so much just a re-hash of stuff out of the first two
that I've \still/ not been able to stomach seeing it again in order
to add --ad nauseum-- to the following message to SF-LOVERS which the
computer record says I started on May 28th.
Isn't This Where We Came In?
or
When Does VI = IV + V?
The reprise-with-a-twist of "I love you" "I know" I could take,
but not the constant deja-vu of--
Rebel fighters attacking Death Star II, including
Recycled dialog
Fighter ships' intricate maneuvering down narrow passage
Explosion of Death Star
Secret tech. info on Death Star gained at cost of spies' lives
Imperial Walker downed by roping legs
Infiltration of enemy area thru using Chewie as "prisoner"
Luke and Vader's dueling with circular window in background and
stairway at the fore
R2-D2 getting blitzed while using manipulator on door
Alien uglies' R&R
Princess Leia, perpetual prisoner/victim
R2-D2 getting zapped, crying "Maaamaaa", and tumbling over
A fall down a vast mechanical circular cavern
Luke & Leia rope-swinging escape
It was as if Lucas had died right after TESB, without leaving usable
material for the concluding episode, which was then put together by a
committee, drawing on ANYthing they could from the first two!
-------hutch@shark.UUCP (Stephen Hutchison) (01/19/84)
Perhaps the similarities that are described are DELIBERATE. This might sound strange to some, but there is a device used in writing and in film whereby foreshadowing is used to unify different parts of a story. This might just be what Lucas was doing, or maybe the ROTJ director was just playing around with the concept. Whether or not this comes off well, or is done "right" in any given instance, is an aesthetic question. I am not expert enough in the theory of aesthetics to say whether the ROTJ repetition of themes and visual images is a "good" idea, but it didn't really detract that much from my own enjoyment. Possibly because I hadn't burned out on the original movies first? Hutch
rjs@drufl.UUCP (Schiffbauer) (02/01/84)
I asked Hutch to elaborate on the idea of foreshadowing and its
use. He responded with the following communique:
From uucp Mon Jan 30 03:30 MST 1984
>From tektronix!shark!hutch Fri Jan 27 16:25:16 1984 remote from ihnp4
Message-Id: <8401272225.AA27508@ihnp4.ATT.UUCP>
Received: by ihnp4.ATT.UUCP (sendmail 4.12/9-Jan-84)
id AA27508; 27 Jan 84 16:25:16 CST (Fri)
From: ihnp4!shark!hutch
To: tektronix!ihnp4!drux3!drutx!drufl!rjs
Fcc: inbox
Received: from shark.uucp by tektronix ; 27 Jan 84 11:27:22 PST
Date: Friday, 27 Jan 84 09:12:19 PST
Subject: Re: SW apostasy
In-Reply-To: Your message of 27 Jan 84 09:44:39 CST (Fri).
Sure. What I was saying, (altho on re-reading, not saying well) was that
the similarities between the four plot-sublines of ROTJ and the other two
Starwars movies MIGHT be uses of the literary "devices" of foreshadowing
and underscoring (maybe the wrong term).
If you are unfamiliar with foreshadowing, or prefiguring (a similar technique)
it basically consists of using a theme or motif early in a story in order to
prepare or lead the audience to a later repetition of the motif, which is
hopefully a surprising or especially satisfying thing given the later situation.
The scene where Vader was "tempting" Luke in TESB was a foreshadow of the
(expected) later battle, as was the Saber duel in New Hope. The effect was
then especially nice as Luke, previously tempted by the vestigial Dark Side,
is able to similarly tempt Vader's vestigial Light Side. Of course, in order
to make it all obvious to the critics, we have the Emperor also trying the
same tricks to seduce Luke, who is saved largely because he doesn't care about
the Emperor and therefore doesn't really pay him a lot of attention.
Similar things happen all through.
Underscoring is the trick of repeating elements through a story in order to
make a point about the character or theme. An excellent example is the very
oft-repeated shaving episodes in the Thomas Covenant stories by Stephen R.
Donaldson. Covenant's insistence on remaining a leper would have been nicely
(and subtly) brought out (IF it hadn't been presented in such a heavy-handed
fashion).
I recall also mentioning another storytelling device, but I forget now what it
was. I did notice something some of my friends missed, in ROTJ. There was
a strong element of paralellism in the three ongoing stories of the latter half
of the film. Specifically, the ground and space battles reflected the battle
between Luke and the Emperor. This was both a nice dramatic touch, making the
turn of events seem blacker and blacker, and a rather nice illustration of
Lucas' religious assertions about the Force. The actual battle was really
between Luke and the Emperor, and the other two battles were reflections and
tools of the real combat between Dark and Light. Nice touch.
Feel free to forward this to the net if you want to.
Hutch
Thank you, Hutch, for the good words!