Thinking about media literacy.
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Thinking about media literacy.
In 1977, the Daily Telegraph reviewed the new film "Star Wars"
It said:
> The story is unpretentious and pleasantly devoid of any “message.”
How can you come away from STAR WARS thinking it has no message?!?!
Of course, later in the review, it talks about "a rebellion to restore democracy" and "a resistance against the evil junta" - so it's not like they missed the central thesis.
Star Wars Episode IV – A New Hope review: 'a most spectacular trip'
The Star Wars film series has become one of the most successful franchises in the history of cinema.
The Telegraph (www.telegraph.co.uk)
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@Edent back then the Telegraph might have believed that “fascist dictatorship is bad” was so obvious that it didn’t count as a message.
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Monster from the Id.replied to Terence Eden last edited by
@Edent 1977 Star Wars doesn't have particularly clear politics, it's a fairy tale in space. Yes there's an allusion to the old republic but the entire story revolves around rescuing a princess which implies some kind of monarchy. Neither of these aspects is developed in the film. The politics of the rebel alliance are not expounded upon (we don't even learn who is allied to whom). It's just not that deep on its own and the assessment is correct.
They literally genocide an entire planet onscreen and nobody even bats an eye. The death of Obiwan has more emotional impact in the narrative !!!
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Terence Edenreplied to Monster from the Id. last edited by
@typhon Have you *watched* Star Wars?
The crawl literally opens with "It is a period of civil war" and finishes with "save her people and restore freedom to the galaxy...."
It isn't even *sub*text! It literally tells you that they're freedom fighters.
Anyway, I wrote this - which you may find interesting.
https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/05/forget-subtext-people-dont-even-get-surtext/ -
Monster from the Id.replied to Terence Eden last edited by
@Edent what I'm saying is that SW doesn't use these political concepts in a way that gives them *weight*.
Sure it can bandy about concepts like "civil war" or "freedom" or "princess", but the implications of these words are an afterthought and there's no room for them in the story because if you delve into these you're beginning to tell a very different kind of story (which plenty of people have been doing for the past forty years)The film is telling us, as opposed to showing us, that the heroes are fighting for freedom because it's what heroes do.
Because it's a more noble motivation than, say, revenge (Luke mourns Obi-Wan more than his aunt and uncle). -
Terence Edenreplied to Monster from the Id. last edited by
@typhon Did you read the review in the link I posted?
Did you watch the part of the film where Han Solo abandons his friends once he gets the reward? (And then has a change of heart!)
I don't think I have political pareidolia - but even as a kid I understood the message of Chewie's admonishing growl.