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The Hidden Art of Star Wars

posted by martyb on Saturday August 15 2015, @09:58PM   
from the does-it-go-'round-in-circles?-♩♫♫♪ dept.

bugamn writes:

This article provides an interesting take on Star Wars as a ring composition. It claims that all the movies, including the prequels, interact in a way to weave a complex pattern. This pattern is marked by repetition across a border, like an image against a mirror. It compares the composition of the movies to that of of a song, with lyrics which repeat themselves, similar but different. The article is long and full of references and well worth a read, even if you didn't like the prequel trilogy.

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Original Submission

• Re:Holy crap (Score: 2) by RedBear on Sunday August 16 2015, @10:39AM

  by RedBear (1734) on Sunday August 16 2015, @10:39AM (#223492)

  Perhaps it is you who needs to do some reading and not assume that the article is correct simply by virtue of existing.
  Might I suggest starting with the Secret History of Star Wars, which will lead you away from the oft-spoken of idea that Star Wars was born complete?
  It's a story. It's not a work of art or genius - in fact, George Lucas' one true skill is managing extremely talented artists and film-makers. In short, he's simply a gifted manager and nothing more; even a stopped clock is right twice a day, and he happened to be in the right place at the right time with a simple story.
  Think of it this way: if you want to know what his true contribution would have been without all those gifted people around him, look at the godawful prequel trilogy.

  Don't worry. When I heard Mark Hamill in the "Making of Star Wars" production documentary _many_ years ago say that Lucas originally wanted to give C-3PO a "fast talking Brooklyn accent", I immediately knew that Lucas working alone would have produced an absolute crap movie. That was long before the prequels even existed. I'm under no illusions that he's the smartest man who ever lived or anything.

  However, even the article doesn't say that Star Wars is a work of genius or sprang forth unbroken as a six or nine part series, just that it appears to have many complementary layers and scenes that link themes together both within each film and between each trilogy and the whole set overall. I have no trouble believing that GL has been making things up as he goes along from the very beginning and there never was a trilogy or even a six-part series originally intended, but the resulting ring composition is still rather clever and contributes to the films having a lasting effect on the industry and an ever-growing fan base. Regardless of whether or not the prequels are any good (they aren't). And even bad art is till art. You can't claim that it's not art just because you don't like it.

  I still see nothing to show that the simple premise of the article is incorrect. The premise of the article is only that Star Wars is an ongoing ring composition with many obviously connecting layers and mirrored scenes based on various forms of symbolism about good vs. evil and such. By virtue of many different supporting examples, the premise seems pretty solid. The symbolism and repetition of themes is clearly there, and it has obviously been done very deliberately as time went on, even if it wasn't completely intended from the very beginning.

  Unfortunately, just like with "Prometheus", making a movie chock full of multiple layers of symbolism doesn't necessarily mean that you made a great movie. It just means to managed to cram a lot of symbolism into a film.

  --
  ¯\_ʕ◔.◔ʔ_/¯ LOL. I dunno. I'm just a bear.
  ... Peace out. Got bear stuff to do. 彡ʕ⌐■.■ʔ

  Parent

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