Subject:
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Re: Clearer catalog images of new 1999 sets
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.starwars
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Date:
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Mon, 7 Dec 1998 15:55:18 GMT
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Viewed:
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1178 times
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Unfortunately,
cheesy != simple
... at least, as they apply to movie dialog. Overuse of "You're our
only hope!" and "I've got a bad feeling about this!" are *not* elements
of simple dialog. Neither is bad acting. But they are elements of
sheer cheesiness.
Steve
Once upon a time, Beaker <beaker@havoc.gtf.org> wrote:
> Also sprach Jesse Long:
> : Maybe by this time they've realized that it might as well be cheesy and not
> : done anything to correct it. Maybe they even want it that way. I wouldn't
> : put it past them. This film has a serious following of people who wouldn't
> : change a thing.
>
> What follows is *long*, and may qualify as More-Than-You-Wanted-
> To-Know(tm)
>
> The cheesiness is a deliberate artistic conceit on Lucas' part.
>
> Lucas (and his friend, Stephen Speilberg) have an artisic philosophy
> that holds that mythology is both important to culture and largely
> impoverished in modern times. Lucas has written several articles about
> this.
>
> The theory holds that mythology, like the Roman and Greek tales we learn
> in lit classes, or for that matter, Biblical parables, have an important
> function in binding a culture together, serving as a mass expression of
> certain commonly held beliefs. The explicit religious significance of
> mythology is far less important than the implicit cultural significance.
> Witness the fact that in this country, even professed atheists generally
> hold typically Western Christian values.
>
> The problem with this is that in modern times, mythology is weakened by
> the corruption of oral culture. This can get rather deep into
> communication theory; there's a good book on orality and literacy by
> Thomas Ong if you are really interested. But the point is that in our
> modern, literary culture, the strength of oral tradition and the
> cultural glue it forms is weakened. If one values that cultural glue, a
> new vehicle for it must be discovered.
>
> Lucas determined early in his career that film was such a vehicle. Star
> Wars and the ensuing sequels were his greatest experiment. Speilberg's
> 'E.T.' and Indiana Jone's films are similar experiments. The tales are
> large, sweeping morality plays, with simple themes and unsophisticated
> dialog, much like older, more traditional mythology. The films affirm
> basic, uncontroversial, 'universal truths' ... Star Wars films tell us
> that we make our own destiny, that power may be used for good or evil,
> that that choice is ours to make. It teaches us that pride and anger
> are destructive vices, and that loyalty and human compassion are the
> strongest human drives. Indiana Jones films are alike in the theme that
> the quest for knowledge is both more rewarding and nobler than the quest
> for power or wealth. 'E.T.' has been described in doctoral theses as a
> virtually verbatim retelling of the story of Christ, with the advent of
> a powerful being coming to earth, spreading a message of peace and love,
> being killed by evil men interested in their own power, subsequently
> rising again and appearing to his 'believers, and leaving earth
> permenantly changed for the better.
>
> Has the experiment worked? In terms of these films becoming part of the
> cultural common knowledge, thy have succeeded well. All of these films
> are hugely popular. All of them are hugely popular on an international
> basis. Significant portions of the world population have seen and liked
> these films. Lucas would argue that the secret of their success is
> precisely that they focus on themes we can all agree on. The films all
> age well, as mythology should, precisely because they are timeless
> stories. Perhaps the greatest evidence that the experiment succeeded is
> that the terms and situations of the film have entered popular culture,
> from satires and political cartoons to the ultimate conference granted
> by Ronald Reagan, who understood the parables perfectly, when he
> characterized the Soviet Union as the 'Evil Empire' ...
>
> So the answer to the question, 'why is the acting cheesy?' is that
> sophisticated acting and dialog would cloud and complicate the simple
> goals of the films. Simple dialog is memorable, and powerful in its own
> way. The films are written to serve the ultimate purpose of the
> director.
>
> <pant><pant><pant> Whew!
>
> / _ _ / _ _ "There's so much comedy on TV these days. Does that
> ()(-(//((-/ cause comedy in the streets?
> - Dick Cavett, mocking the TV-violence debate
> ============= Jim Baker -- Weather Weasel Extraordinaire ==============
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Clearer catalog images of new 1999 sets
|
| Steve Bliss wrote in message <366bf9f4.11316023@l...et.com>... (...) "We've got more of a chance against those Star Destroyers than we do against that Death Star!" Cheesy-est line in the movie (probably not quoted correctly). Jesse ___...___ Jesse (...) (26 years ago, 7-Dec-98, to lugnet.starwars)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Clearer catalog images of new 1999 sets
|
| Also sprach Jesse Long: : Maybe by this time they've realized that it might as well be cheesy and not : done anything to correct it. Maybe they even want it that way. I wouldn't : put it past them. This film has a serious following of people who (...) (26 years ago, 6-Dec-98, to lugnet.starwars)
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