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Re: Is Star Wars Science Fiction? [message #76565] Thu, 30 May 2013 00:02
vkanrek is currently offline  vkanrek
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Registered: May 2013
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Message-ID: <211@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 20-Jul-84 09:09:30 EDT
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.211
Posted: Fri Jul 20 09:09:30 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 22-Jul-84 06:11:45 EDT
Lines: 50

From:  Vicki Kanrek 

Well..,no.  Lucas, if I remember the quote correctly, is closest
to  the  'true  definition' of SW (ALL THREE!) when he calls (or
whoever calls)  it  a 'space opera'.  As a Wagnerite  from  way,
way  back,  the  story,  as it were, of SW IV-VI, is too closely
akin to Wagner's Der Ring Des Nibelungen (written  in  the  19th
century,  and  taken  from  Norse  mythology from TRULY WAY, WAY
back!).  To top off the similarity, which  almost  made  me  pee
despite  getting  wrapped  up in the emotion of the moment, when
Luke  lights  Darth  Vader's  (excuse  me,  Anakin  Skywalker's)
funeral  pyre,  John  Williams,  in  his inimitable plagiaristic
style, actually cites part of the so-called  "immolation  motif"
from Gotterdammerung, the last opera of Wagner's tetralogy.

Wagner's  "Ring"  has been set in many different time periods of
late, especially in Europe; to the dismay of some  die-hard  and
purist  Wagnerites.   The  latest  in  terms  of most-advertised
version is the Chereau directed and Boulez conducted  Ring  that
was  broadcast on PBS last year.  About 3-5 years prior to that,
the Ring was actually set (sets and costumes!) in  the  'science
fiction/fantasy  future',  space  helmets, suits, and Vader-like
respirators and all.  So, you see, Lucas is  certainly  not  the
first to pick up on the Wotan/Odin myth.  (For those of you into
the Greek version, we're talking Thor, Zeus, etc. - I'm  not  up
on  my  Greek  mythology at ALL -- too much keeping track of the
Norse, Wagner-German and  modern  day  (i.e.,  Lucas)  details.)
Considering the ONLY thing that originally got me in to see Star
Wars was the fact that Alec Guinness  was  in  the  movie,  it's
amazing  that  (a)  when the movie was over I was SO taken by it
that I couldn't figure out which role was  Giunness'  since  the
movie  was  so  great  and  (b) I  have now become an absolutely
die-hard Star Wars person, vacillating in 'hero'-worship between
Ben and Darth. (Ben turned out to be such a jerk - please pardon
me.  Vader alsmot turned out to be a  simp  -  I'm  getting  too
cynical  in  my old age) But, really and truly, I love ALL these
films.  BUT I don't want to see another one come out - it simply
couldn't  live  up to the first two and the majority of the last
one (I HATED the inclusion of the Muppet Show!)

Well, this was supposed to be a generally positive statement and
I  unfortunately  got too caught up in some details that used to
bother me alot, and now, although I wanted to state them, I have
to  temper  it  with  the  fact  that  I  don't  care  about the
inconsistencies or grade-school mentalities that sometimes  crop
up  in  these  movies  - I just plain love 'em just the way they
are!!

Vicki Kanrek
("I've kissed Leonard Nimoy! At 14, my life was complete!!")
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