Star Wars... The Dark Side
As we're anxiously awaiting Star Wars Episode III, we cant help but think back on how things have changed since the original Star Wars (Episode IV).
In 1977 part of the appeal of the Star Wars story was the classic struggle of good versus evil. Darth Vader, dressed all in black, was the ultimate bad guy, feared the universe over. All you had to do was hear him breath to get a cold chill. Then you had Luke Skywalker, innocent and pure good guy. Everyone rooted for Luke and knew Darth was pure evil in that first movie.
Times have changed. We live in a society now, influenced by things like "hip hop", where thugs are often glamorized. And it's now cool to be the bad guy. Our favorite characters often live in shades of grey, there are no white hats or black hats.
Even the Star Wars franchise isn't immune to this. Think about Episode I and Episode II. The pure and innoncent Jar Jar Binks? Wouldn't you like to cut him to bits with a light saber and feed him to a bunch of hungry wookies? So far the Jedi Knights have come across as naive pawns of a bloated dysfunctional beauracracy who are letting their kingdom fall into the hands of an enemy they do not even recognize right before their very eyes. Who is the coolest character of Episode I or Episode II? I think most people will say Darth Maul. The only one to rival him so far is Yoda who gets strong points for being the surprising and unlikely bad ass.
Is it even possible for Lucas to make Darth Vader so dark and evil that he is truly viewed as a pure villain by the audience? I doubt it, I think he's going to be viewed by many in 2005 as "cool". I will go so far as to say I wouldn't be surprised if he gets some applause from the more enthusiastic opening day audiences much as Yoda did in Episode II.
Society here on earth has crossed over to the dark side.
In 1977 part of the appeal of the Star Wars story was the classic struggle of good versus evil. Darth Vader, dressed all in black, was the ultimate bad guy, feared the universe over. All you had to do was hear him breath to get a cold chill. Then you had Luke Skywalker, innocent and pure good guy. Everyone rooted for Luke and knew Darth was pure evil in that first movie.
Times have changed. We live in a society now, influenced by things like "hip hop", where thugs are often glamorized. And it's now cool to be the bad guy. Our favorite characters often live in shades of grey, there are no white hats or black hats.
Even the Star Wars franchise isn't immune to this. Think about Episode I and Episode II. The pure and innoncent Jar Jar Binks? Wouldn't you like to cut him to bits with a light saber and feed him to a bunch of hungry wookies? So far the Jedi Knights have come across as naive pawns of a bloated dysfunctional beauracracy who are letting their kingdom fall into the hands of an enemy they do not even recognize right before their very eyes. Who is the coolest character of Episode I or Episode II? I think most people will say Darth Maul. The only one to rival him so far is Yoda who gets strong points for being the surprising and unlikely bad ass.
Is it even possible for Lucas to make Darth Vader so dark and evil that he is truly viewed as a pure villain by the audience? I doubt it, I think he's going to be viewed by many in 2005 as "cool". I will go so far as to say I wouldn't be surprised if he gets some applause from the more enthusiastic opening day audiences much as Yoda did in Episode II.
Society here on earth has crossed over to the dark side.
1 Comments:
I agree completely with Billy Bob on his evaluation of today's society and their obsession with the "bad guy". But, is that always a good thing? I say Nay.
Let me elaborate on this point - Nothing shocks us anymore. NOTHING!!! We have seen it all and even though we hope we can get behind him and root for the hero and, support his cause deep down we know the white hat wearing hero is 'snore'boring and we don't care if he lives or dies.
Villains have contrasts and back stories, heroes get bitten by a radioactive spider or doused in chemicals or 'accidentally' buy the right droid. Heroes are born from chance and Villains are bred through circumstance... Which is more interesting?
I say let the Dark Side come, but as a plea to filmmakers around the globe - Give me something original, because one day I would like to root for the good guy again... Maybe?
In the words of Dark Helmet, "Evil is the new Good, because Good is dumb."
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