tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14553043038509575742024-02-07T21:17:28.129-05:00Editing LifeI Mean... Really?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07438324113438301208noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1455304303850957574.post-59017141985544022612016-05-30T13:44:00.001-04:002016-05-30T13:48:23.832-04:00Protagonists<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivk7jQyHsvD0MTSPeVvpRKphEkw3mCQfaB_TY13dIePEOGGFMRz9wfzkjZBuC1o8nuBZGk29XtzROGt820j2JsUSTiyauIMMvCVPUS-BFahqW4PuFDPeMF-J45b_xk9ZG6nJ9t_qnMPVF1/s1600/MCs+Cheat+Sheet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivk7jQyHsvD0MTSPeVvpRKphEkw3mCQfaB_TY13dIePEOGGFMRz9wfzkjZBuC1o8nuBZGk29XtzROGt820j2JsUSTiyauIMMvCVPUS-BFahqW4PuFDPeMF-J45b_xk9ZG6nJ9t_qnMPVF1/s320/MCs+Cheat+Sheet.jpg" width="192" /></a></div>
The next article in my writing series is up on Radish. This one covers protagonists. Check it out <a href="http://blog.radishfiction.com/post/145144351104/basic-writing-tips-characterization-part-2-main" target="_blank">here</a> and get the cheat sheet above. And don't forget to like and share!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07438324113438301208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1455304303850957574.post-72309187385861654482016-05-19T10:03:00.001-04:002016-05-19T10:03:02.686-04:00Character in Modern Storytelling<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLd7Tjxin-4Tz31aVnmw3XudYW61pKa5a3BuMH8ys6DNfv54qwM8llq0bXdCFXuxA7s3zCV4QEicgWW3YIRK28OdKLuV5WI-d7flK3ZOKiGf2k5VUGEw09fGaptlSn3xt72huDQGb3xHHw/s1600/Characterization+Cheat+Sheet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLd7Tjxin-4Tz31aVnmw3XudYW61pKa5a3BuMH8ys6DNfv54qwM8llq0bXdCFXuxA7s3zCV4QEicgWW3YIRK28OdKLuV5WI-d7flK3ZOKiGf2k5VUGEw09fGaptlSn3xt72huDQGb3xHHw/s320/Characterization+Cheat+Sheet.jpg" width="192" /></a></div>
In which our hero defines characterization and lays out the rules...<br />
<br />
Also another cheat sheet. As usual, the article is over on the Radish blog, <a href="http://blog.radishfiction.com/post/144595641214/basic-writing-tips-characterization-part-1" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Thanks for reading! I'll be back next week with a write-up on main characters.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07438324113438301208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1455304303850957574.post-36973301615889840762016-05-11T11:53:00.000-04:002016-05-11T11:53:03.120-04:00Interior Monologue, Soliloquy, and Stream of Consciousness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiduwwpwomp0irXV9mpaXHe6iLwhqfO5Wt97LW6DzugjsLjZaa4c2CkvpcuU8zKTOAxZC0YUDGMpoe1gOdbjqlt7vqszxvC0ef90tJ1Nw9Zytp3Sl3GxIKwCyfcsT4FJMxff4SbBNZJn9dA/s1600/Interior+Monologue+Cheat+Sheet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiduwwpwomp0irXV9mpaXHe6iLwhqfO5Wt97LW6DzugjsLjZaa4c2CkvpcuU8zKTOAxZC0YUDGMpoe1gOdbjqlt7vqszxvC0ef90tJ1Nw9Zytp3Sl3GxIKwCyfcsT4FJMxff4SbBNZJn9dA/s320/Interior+Monologue+Cheat+Sheet.jpg" width="192" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Hey all! Here's another cheat sheet. You can read the full article about interior monologue <a href="http://blog.radishfiction.com/post/144174616089/basic-writing-tips-interior-monologue-or" target="_blank">here</a>. However, I did not cover the two less common ways to show characters' thoughts in that article: soliloquy and stream of consciousness. I'll dive into them in an episode of my upcoming podcast The Writer's Guide to the Galaxy, which will be launching in the next few weeks, but for now, here's a quick and dirty explanation:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Soliloquy is generally only used in plays. It is where a character speaks his thoughts aloud so the audience may hear them. E.g., Hamlet's famous "To be or not to be..." speech.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Stream of consciousness is really just a different type of interior monologue. You can think of it like unrefined and unfiltered consciousness as compared to the refinement and filtering that goes into crafting the more normal interior monologue.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
And that's all for now, see you next week for Characterization!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07438324113438301208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1455304303850957574.post-22228789904860906182016-05-04T11:36:00.000-04:002016-05-04T13:09:10.931-04:00Tense?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2UoG2IQ_QJCmdy7YOKpiGzmDbF9j4JBHSuCRWlqU-lh3169_Rw_7SXQmlboGVsbWrEdxeihp9XeEgAi2fkzJdnGcZEKNj78n6-cMNby6edZolmWSGUaclzE1nI4MqFEqnVNF04H_Hv8Cl/s1600/Tenses+Cheat+Sheet.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2UoG2IQ_QJCmdy7YOKpiGzmDbF9j4JBHSuCRWlqU-lh3169_Rw_7SXQmlboGVsbWrEdxeihp9XeEgAi2fkzJdnGcZEKNj78n6-cMNby6edZolmWSGUaclzE1nI4MqFEqnVNF04H_Hv8Cl/s320/Tenses+Cheat+Sheet.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
And now for tenses. Here's a quick cheat sheet for which tenses to use in what situation. You can see my full article on the basics over <a href="http://blog.radishfiction.com/post/143815817454/basic-writing-tips-understanding-the-most-common" target="_blank">here</a>, and I'll dive even more into tenses in an episode of my upcoming podcast Writer's Guide to the Galaxy. Stay tuned!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07438324113438301208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1455304303850957574.post-29318575096958312752016-04-29T08:42:00.002-04:002016-04-29T08:42:40.254-04:00A Radish Point of View...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh58SznVD3cdRIjQ8PtSb0fCUo-ViS5nSBFpQfchQZgX0OkyesUnBdjS0SiUSYj1Z50v79jbNzD5FvugnaqrfJtgxtlMkJ8WvncMwP2FbW7tS6qLfFSB7n0T7LpI4VJhJIX3l6CjoWz2qP4/s1600/PoV+Cheat+Sheet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh58SznVD3cdRIjQ8PtSb0fCUo-ViS5nSBFpQfchQZgX0OkyesUnBdjS0SiUSYj1Z50v79jbNzD5FvugnaqrfJtgxtlMkJ8WvncMwP2FbW7tS6qLfFSB7n0T7LpI4VJhJIX3l6CjoWz2qP4/s320/PoV+Cheat+Sheet.jpg" width="192" /></a></div>
Here's the next article in my writing series. This time I'm talking about Point of View (PoV). Grab the cheat sheet above and check out the article <a href="http://blog.radishfiction.com/post/143554153304/basic-writing-tips-point-of-view-or-narrative" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07438324113438301208noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1455304303850957574.post-25967247078330146592016-04-22T11:26:00.000-04:002016-04-29T08:43:07.765-04:00Dialog with (a) Radish<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjdI-D9i-kBVDuimWlN_by9bqbJ90um-PKKdSPZXewT995-ASSnM6jl32gC_s1Ri2-DvjrSbDqADUsY4XXMEcY0doWDdpHixCqM9BoGknLGgZnTKACR_FSULq9Dq7rrDmUFFP52sPQLPOW/s1600/Dialog+Tags+Cheat+Sheet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjdI-D9i-kBVDuimWlN_by9bqbJ90um-PKKdSPZXewT995-ASSnM6jl32gC_s1Ri2-DvjrSbDqADUsY4XXMEcY0doWDdpHixCqM9BoGknLGgZnTKACR_FSULq9Dq7rrDmUFFP52sPQLPOW/s320/Dialog+Tags+Cheat+Sheet.jpg" width="192" /></a></div>
EDIT: Added the dialog tag cheat sheet.<br />
<br />
Sorry, folks, I've been AWOL for a couple months working on lots of cool things. And I'm not returning empty handed. Here's the first in an ongoing series of writing articles I've been preparing for our friends over at Radish. This one covers my basic rules on writing dialog tags. Check it out <a href="http://blog.radishfiction.com/post/143209481734/basic-writing-tips-dialog-tags" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Here's a cheat sheet for dialog tags. Enjoy!<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07438324113438301208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1455304303850957574.post-83174928304493906342016-02-12T13:10:00.002-05:002016-02-12T13:15:08.371-05:00Why "The Force Awakens" Was a Terrible Star Wars Movie (Continued) -The State of the Galaxy Part 2 *SPOILERS*<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsxDMgzBZmf6QPI_rn3m90uLfNHVA0mW8IoUInIqL_XxSnVsST4ImX9PNoSZuahVzS0DgA1JDFH52eevcU-z50WMh6Vs9S2VyYDrgIzE0xhpHymHZqFi-gJeWZW4cY2y4Itdas-iBRzB1j/s1600/open-uri20150608-27674-sgprqd_5d6c9f39.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsxDMgzBZmf6QPI_rn3m90uLfNHVA0mW8IoUInIqL_XxSnVsST4ImX9PNoSZuahVzS0DgA1JDFH52eevcU-z50WMh6Vs9S2VyYDrgIzE0xhpHymHZqFi-gJeWZW4cY2y4Itdas-iBRzB1j/s400/open-uri20150608-27674-sgprqd_5d6c9f39.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Ok, here's the bar fight I promised. If you missed the first part, you may want to <a href="http://www.sjforester.com/2016/02/why-force-awakens-was-terrible-star_10.html" target="_blank">read it first.</a><br />
<br />
Anyway, to further illustrate the problem of confusion, I'm going extrapolate two scenarios. As bar fights. Because I love analogies.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<h2>
Scenario 1: The New Republic and First Order are at war.</h2>
<div>
<br />
This extrapolation is supported by a few facts.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC7aEzd1-8VgxhN4hbTQflO_nm9kWc_-K1GDmYo6WsZiXsxJfH3ig_vmuwZ-zXS2lt1JMj9BnwKHxA6vDXe3ZWMNNBTaarVPbGNiQQ4h2WcxvdXgozXCj6LpUz5jNIr0hk-VNOXDyzbTGT/s1600/general-leia-feature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC7aEzd1-8VgxhN4hbTQflO_nm9kWc_-K1GDmYo6WsZiXsxJfH3ig_vmuwZ-zXS2lt1JMj9BnwKHxA6vDXe3ZWMNNBTaarVPbGNiQQ4h2WcxvdXgozXCj6LpUz5jNIr0hk-VNOXDyzbTGT/s200/general-leia-feature.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Well, I guess we might<br />
as well go start another war...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ul>
<li>A group of Republic military officers are waging a guerrilla war within First Order territory.</li>
<li>Last we knew, the galaxy was in a state of war and we haven't been told that state of affairs has changed.</li>
<li>General Organa, a key figure in reforming the Republic, is involved in the conflict.</li>
<li>The name "The Resistance" implies that it's in occupied territory.</li>
<li>If the two powers are NOT at war, then the Resistance is a terrorist group and has given up any moral high-ground, which would be crazy in a movie franchise that has always had GOOD vs. EVIL as a major theme.</li>
<li>All of the previous movies up till this point have dealt with two different galactic civil wars, so it's a fair assumption that we're again dealing with the same.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUzJzDe8DLg0pUrsg9mkpe0PodsyULm2uXg0pa9-_3UQiq9NEvjXtKgE3atKCgq3fdDSgHPbSEPVrMl6qBz5WI2Cjc-7F4V96WyJV4fgFe8KZkLsNTI3ktlr2Dv90g8JHJa2Riv3Q5UBj_/s1600/Resistance_starcroix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUzJzDe8DLg0pUrsg9mkpe0PodsyULm2uXg0pa9-_3UQiq9NEvjXtKgE3atKCgq3fdDSgHPbSEPVrMl6qBz5WI2Cjc-7F4V96WyJV4fgFe8KZkLsNTI3ktlr2Dv90g8JHJa2Riv3Q5UBj_/s200/Resistance_starcroix.jpg" width="165" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More MSPaint!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Now that last one isn't a very good reason, but it is a fair assumption, and when telling a story, you have to take your audience's assumptions into account.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So if there's a war going on, then the Resistance is a guerrilla military unit operating behind enemy lines on behalf of the Republic and in coordination with the Republic military (a la the French Resistance of WWII), and the First Order is an imperial war machine still bent on subjugating the galaxy.<br />
<br />
The Resistance is defending its home and people from a military junta that is actively attempting to subjugate them.<br />
<br />
<h3>
In barfightese:</h3>
<br />
Thirty years later, Empire (now calling itself First Order) is still in the bar, still fighting with Rebel (now calling itself New Republic). Meanwhile, Rebel's nephew Resistance starts kicking Empire in the shins, drinking Empire's beer, and breaking Empire's possessions.<br />
<br />
Empire tries to defend its shins, beer, and possessions while fighting Rebel, but Resistance is too small and fast, so Empire pulls out its new, even bigger stick (which it somehow managed to afford after losing two sticks already as well as losing its job), and uses it to club Rebel (who somehow still doesn't have a stick of its own).<br />
<br />
Resistance breaks Empire's newer bigger stick, flips Empire off, and runs away.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h2>
Scenario 2: The two powers are NOT at war.</h2>
<div>
<br />
This extrapolation is also supported by a few facts.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuTrf8iDBVlJYA_9b8Ht2vaxo2Xso8mtMq1ZWSwP6oQ3yGQeIMyeCQacdlWZp0axW2xgM3fSlL74w8VYgdKabg1N2el7Yv_iWyPEnXtdjtVvxLnv0Z0VtcLI5CRmqE17Z0UM6nSEA7_JvD/s1600/starkillercrop.0.0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuTrf8iDBVlJYA_9b8Ht2vaxo2Xso8mtMq1ZWSwP6oQ3yGQeIMyeCQacdlWZp0axW2xgM3fSlL74w8VYgdKabg1N2el7Yv_iWyPEnXtdjtVvxLnv0Z0VtcLI5CRmqE17Z0UM6nSEA7_JvD/s200/starkillercrop.0.0.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">Blow up a planet and people start<br />
freaking out, but eat an entire star<br />
and no one seems to care...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<ul>
<li>The Republic military doesn't seem to be officially involved at all.</li>
<li>It's been thirty years.</li>
<li>If the war was still going on, surely we would have been told. Seems like it would be a big deal.</li>
<li>The Resistance attacked Starkiller Base with nothing more than a handful of suped-up x-wings. Surely the Republic would have contributed something if they were at war... Actually, come to think of it, surely they would have contributed something even if they weren't at war... It blew up planets and ate a star for breakfast.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1QMKKXCpd3STOzKHMCtl1bDX2RxpAOiXNkfKM9kLVRKfEkW1f33HDpKDYUjs1rftkrB22KJvfVqoC_yJrqY1sFcIl6MRe122qgxft3yK_2_w4_ID9OgwvL3d4qqdCmnu1_fjizx_jbZyS/s1600/Osama_bin_Laden_portrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1QMKKXCpd3STOzKHMCtl1bDX2RxpAOiXNkfKM9kLVRKfEkW1f33HDpKDYUjs1rftkrB22KJvfVqoC_yJrqY1sFcIl6MRe122qgxft3yK_2_w4_ID9OgwvL3d4qqdCmnu1_fjizx_jbZyS/s200/Osama_bin_Laden_portrait.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anyone remember when the US <br />
supported the Afghani resistance<br />
organization that eventually became<br />
Al-Qaeda?<br />
What a great idea that was...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
If there's NOT a war, then the Resistance is a guerrilla military unit operating in foreign territory, collecting information and destroying things... Wait, don't we call people who do those things spies and terrorists? But the Resistance are the good guys... And the Republic, who is also supposed to be "good", is supporting them... Huh? Ok. Fine fine. What about the other guys?<br />
<br />
Well, the First Order is a military junta who is... well, actually, as far as we can tell, they seem to be minding their own business... Sure they built a ginormous star-eating, planet-destroying base, but for all we know they built that in response to the Resistance's attacks. But more on that after another bar fight.</div>
<div>
<br />
<h3>
In barfightese:</h3>
<br />
Thirty years later, Empire (now calling itself First Order) is sulking in a corner of the bar, sipping its beer and brooding. Rebel (now calling itself New Republic) sends its nephew, Resistance, over to Empire's table to steal Empire's beer and break Empire's most valuable possessions.<br />
<br />
Empire tries to defend its beer and possessions, but Resistance is too small and fast, so Empire gets up, pulls out its new, even bigger stick (which it somehow managed to afford after losing two sticks already as well as losing its job), goes over to Rebel and clubs Rebel (who somehow still doesn't have a stick of its own) over the head since Empire can't seem to hit Resistance.<br />
<br />
Resistance breaks Empire's newer bigger stick, flips Empire off, and runs away.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h2>
The Confusion</h2>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Those two stories are way different. One is about a guerrilla army fighting behind enemy lines in one of the most important battles of a war that has lasted 30 years. The other story is about an illegal terrorist group that has been terrorizing a defeated, demoralized, legitimate foreign power for as much as 30 years.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And we're not told which of those stories is the one we're watching, or if we're watching a totally different story. (Those are just the two stories I find most likely.) And it gets really confusing because we have good reasons to believe either case is true.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHuyRqCK8TRnE0DLNGfYZ8V7WfnR-YcaLHivRWvqrvlClDgDROAYh51Xzkf7swZU7HNIUkbGNH1a_Unn-8ZNtBvEsVOvq4oED_FBKbltf32iPlcpcVK2tmxBezMp7W-X1a0PL9GsZgF6xw/s1600/2EDBD8D400000578-3335301-General_Hux_Domhnall_Gleeson_addresses_the_massed_ranks_of_the_F-a-114_1448639078119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHuyRqCK8TRnE0DLNGfYZ8V7WfnR-YcaLHivRWvqrvlClDgDROAYh51Xzkf7swZU7HNIUkbGNH1a_Unn-8ZNtBvEsVOvq4oED_FBKbltf32iPlcpcVK2tmxBezMp7W-X1a0PL9GsZgF6xw/s400/2EDBD8D400000578-3335301-General_Hux_Domhnall_Gleeson_addresses_the_massed_ranks_of_the_F-a-114_1448639078119.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Behold! All the people who couldn't stop two smugglers,<br />
a badass but untrained girl, and a janitor from destroying their base...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In fact, throughout the movie, we aren't given a single reason as to why the "Resistance" is in First Order territory spying and committing sabotage. But we are told by General Hux that the First Order is attacking the Republic because the Republic has been supporting the terrorism of the Resistance, which is a sentiment that a lot of people (especially here in the US) can sympathize with. No, we wouldn't launch a nuke, but we also wouldn't just sit and take it forever.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h2>
But wait! There's more!</h2>
<br />
Now this is where it starts to get really confusing, because all of this information does exist. There are official canon answers to every question I've raised... So why didn't they take two minutes to give us those answers in the movie?<br />
<br />
Well, besides the general trend of cutting exposition from movies, I think the answers may actually be worse than the confusion and lack of answers... I'm pretty sure that whatever explanations you all have come up with in your heads are far better than the official canon. Except maybe for Starkiller Base. Starkiller Base makes way more sense in the book than the movie. But I've run out of time again, so I'm just going to have to cover "The Real Story" next time.</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07438324113438301208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1455304303850957574.post-36975611505374709402016-02-10T10:37:00.000-05:002016-02-10T10:49:14.330-05:00Why "The Force Awakens" Was a Terrible Star Wars Movie (Continued) -The State of the Galaxy Part 1 *SPOILERS*<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsxDMgzBZmf6QPI_rn3m90uLfNHVA0mW8IoUInIqL_XxSnVsST4ImX9PNoSZuahVzS0DgA1JDFH52eevcU-z50WMh6Vs9S2VyYDrgIzE0xhpHymHZqFi-gJeWZW4cY2y4Itdas-iBRzB1j/s1600/open-uri20150608-27674-sgprqd_5d6c9f39.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsxDMgzBZmf6QPI_rn3m90uLfNHVA0mW8IoUInIqL_XxSnVsST4ImX9PNoSZuahVzS0DgA1JDFH52eevcU-z50WMh6Vs9S2VyYDrgIzE0xhpHymHZqFi-gJeWZW4cY2y4Itdas-iBRzB1j/s400/open-uri20150608-27674-sgprqd_5d6c9f39.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Before I dive into the deep end of setting here, I want to reiterate that I really enjoyed the movie just like the vast majority of fans out there. However, almost everyone that I've talked to about the movie felt that something was off. I've written these posts to illustrate why the new movie didn't "recapture the magic" of the original, why it didn't feel like Star Wars, and to help my fellow storytellers make informed decisions when crafting their own stories.<br />
<br />
If you missed my first post about "The Force Awakens" and would like a quick overview, you can find it <a href="http://www.sjforester.com/2016/02/why-force-awakens-was-terrible-star.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
I swear that I fully intended for this to only be one post. But setting is just so important, and I really really wanted to give you guys a bar fight. So you get this one today and the bar fight on Friday.<br />
<br />
Now that that's all out of the way, time to jump into <b>The Setting</b>.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<h2>
<b>The Setting. AKA The State of the Galaxy.</b></h2>
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio-6M9nFgKOpGrlJx0CKiUmzOxFvr1m0zkipahowRUWIVXUlKSBMB2qaaiZaSeBKizeHbsM9_xSlYcL7nW44057buQgdjcAeWmhPi8abtEGkvcbNQqP2MnkAAjODpswJ4lWEGlTDel7JvA/s1600/Star_Wars_A_New_Hope_Opening_Crawl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="85" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio-6M9nFgKOpGrlJx0CKiUmzOxFvr1m0zkipahowRUWIVXUlKSBMB2qaaiZaSeBKizeHbsM9_xSlYcL7nW44057buQgdjcAeWmhPi8abtEGkvcbNQqP2MnkAAjODpswJ4lWEGlTDel7JvA/s200/Star_Wars_A_New_Hope_Opening_Crawl.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can't find a picture of the<br />
original crawl anywhere...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In the original Star Wars movie, now known as Episode IV: A New Hope, the galaxy is in a civil war and the underdog "rebels" have just won their first battle against the Galactic Empire, during which they managed to steal the plans for a WMD, the Death Star.<br />
<br />
And that's just what we learn in the opening crawl.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Half an hour into the movie, we learn that a huge war had been fought two decades previous, just before the advent of the Galactic Empire. We learn about the force and about the Jedi and their destruction. We learn that the Emperor has only just dissolved the Galactic Senate, the last vestige of the Galactic Republic, and that the Galactic Empire is an oppressive totalitarian regime willing to destroy planets to cement its control.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFOFN3NNzoYRP-wEUSV0KvculV3vRm1y7cNM2g7K11Ojd4X7BqbqleEOQyVgoO3X09yqQrDnTW6DTA27l4QlmHt5Tro13cLmk9yhSS3x_dZ9JgX2qtSL2YNf0KOiWhdx6YucWC_lpifIjE/s1600/Darth-Vader-chokes-Admiral-Motti.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFOFN3NNzoYRP-wEUSV0KvculV3vRm1y7cNM2g7K11Ojd4X7BqbqleEOQyVgoO3X09yqQrDnTW6DTA27l4QlmHt5Tro13cLmk9yhSS3x_dZ9JgX2qtSL2YNf0KOiWhdx6YucWC_lpifIjE/s320/Darth-Vader-chokes-Admiral-Motti.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I find your lack of exposition disturbing...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In the two-minute scene where we first see Darth Vader force-choke someone, we learn everything we need to know about the Emperor, the Empire, Darth Vader, the Death Star, and the Rebel Alliance. And just prior to that scene, we learn everything we need to know about Luke, his father, the Jedi, and the Force.<br />
<br />
That doesn't leave much to question, it just leaves us wanting to know more because it's a compelling setting. But most importantly, <b>we understand everyone's motivations. </b>And we don't have to wonder why any of the characters are doing what they are doing.<br />
<br />
The Force Awakens on the other hand... In the opening crawl we learn...<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjepPdALdnT68YP-CiGvyTjGSa9MwBCRqNWwZCf1VmdtmCHhvQxi0zvZj6cM4r_F3_qTwaqBIv_swOUeNPm8O-fyZhXu2-BC4n86KbVZsr2bQ3MsxTECR9x3txHLDNZz0cWrENydyeWCKgq/s1600/crawl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjepPdALdnT68YP-CiGvyTjGSa9MwBCRqNWwZCf1VmdtmCHhvQxi0zvZj6cM4r_F3_qTwaqBIv_swOUeNPm8O-fyZhXu2-BC4n86KbVZsr2bQ3MsxTECR9x3txHLDNZz0cWrENydyeWCKgq/s200/crawl.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oooooo... High definition...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Well, actually the opening crawl is super confusing. Apparently there is a remnant of the Galactic Empire, the First Order, which is trying to kill Luke Skywalker for some unknown reason. And the Republic is back, and they're supporting Leia and some sort of resistance for some unknown reason, who are also apparently hunting Luke in the hopes that he alone in the entire galaxy can restore peace and justice... because apparently the republic isn't cutting it? And so they're funding this to find him... for what? To have him tell them what they're doing wrong? We don't know...<br />
<br />
Don't get me wrong, having some mystery here is totally fine, but we end up with way more questions than answers... All we've really learned is that the bad guys are called the First Order instead of the Empire, the good guys are called the Resistance instead of Rebels, and everyone is hunting for Luke Skywalker. There's no other real information in there. It tells us the basic situation but nothing of the setting. Which is fine. It's not good Star Wars (every other Star Wars crawl has given us way more info), but it's fine. As long as we learn what we need to know as the movie progresses.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivW83IeYM2sBBu0G7MD5eOv_JCyyUK2nv52ecgJdMVdf076yagCSTFQta8Y8BOIXgynyTjALWvsSrrdYmazIQzQdErY14gJNotuAlAcCZu-CU67yZdiglCpc2LQiMnkMd282wewJCq-qjO/s1600/KnightsOfRen_TFA.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivW83IeYM2sBBu0G7MD5eOv_JCyyUK2nv52ecgJdMVdf076yagCSTFQta8Y8BOIXgynyTjALWvsSrrdYmazIQzQdErY14gJNotuAlAcCZu-CU67yZdiglCpc2LQiMnkMd282wewJCq-qjO/s200/KnightsOfRen_TFA.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At least there's more than two this time...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So what do we learn about the state of the galaxy in the movie then? Well, not much... We learn that Luke started to rebuild the Jedi, but his nephew killed all the students, and we learn that someone named Snoke is leading a military organization as well as yet another secret society of force users who are bent on the destruction of the Jedi. Because we needed to repeat that plot element too...<br />
<br />
We learn nothing about the Republic. Are they still at war with the remnants of the Empire? Why are they supporting the Resistance? Who's in charge? Where is the Republic military during the entire movie while the First Order is blowing up planets?<br />
<br />
We learn nothing about the Resistance. Who are they? What are they resisting and why? Why are they looking for Luke? And why didn't they ask the republic for help when they found out about Starkiller base?<br />
<br />
At least we do learn a couple tidbits about the First Order. They're led by a force-user (the aforementioned Snoke), and they have some kind of connection to an organization known as the Knights of Ren (the aforementioned secret society). Oh, and we learn that they are really pissed off that the Republic is supporting a group of foreign military insurgents in their territory.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitr2V2snmMInHwcvTO0-p-bTBRK1J7FpT9DRw35oo3SKxy0sRrml9iYJ4d3aDjZuDe-1njVji_T9sUSTpp6C4RMNzZOG0lMj7DzY4rrED0hqZHZF7eUF7RBDallkUK_dpPSBSIay9uXbNa/s1600/Yoda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitr2V2snmMInHwcvTO0-p-bTBRK1J7FpT9DRw35oo3SKxy0sRrml9iYJ4d3aDjZuDe-1njVji_T9sUSTpp6C4RMNzZOG0lMj7DzY4rrED0hqZHZF7eUF7RBDallkUK_dpPSBSIay9uXbNa/s1600/Yoda.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Lack of information leads to Confusion.<br />
Confusion leads to dissatisfaction.<br />
Dissatisfaction leads to lower critical ratings and <br />
(excepting ginormous franchises) lower sales figures."<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">-Yoda </span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Now, I'm not saying that the audience needs every bit of info handed to them, but there's a few critical pieces of information missing. Critical because without these bits of info, the audience is confused. People don't like to be confused. Mystery is OK, suspense is OK, confusion is not...<br />
<br />
For example, it's critical to our understanding of both major groups (First Order and Resistance) to know whether or not they're at war with each other. Without that information, we don't know why either group is doing what they are doing. It's like watching a bar fight without knowing who either of the participants are, who started the fight, and what the fight is about. It may be fun to watch, but it's difficult to care about the parties involved or who wins. It's a spectacle instead of a story. And I'm not saying that's necessarily a bad thing, I'm just saying that it's not Star Wars. Star Wars was a story <b>with </b>spectacle. "The Force Awakens" is just a spectacle.<br />
<br />
But I've gone on long enough today. In the next post, I'll illustrate my points about confusion using a bar fight as an analogy. In the meantime, enjoy this meme I prepared that covers the previous six movies.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGs6O4ROeGNUIdRhWO2Dt97JGHlIxB46Jf2WHBh6id1X-SwjJcuaYOH9vAe19CH7dtowTR80ZMRmLghEX1gor1dADgNzdgmUhNNKBmm535G-VqFSPA8XJIHhHJme314B8_HDFsKESm8Zfn/s1600/Star+Wars+Bar+Fight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGs6O4ROeGNUIdRhWO2Dt97JGHlIxB46Jf2WHBh6id1X-SwjJcuaYOH9vAe19CH7dtowTR80ZMRmLghEX1gor1dADgNzdgmUhNNKBmm535G-VqFSPA8XJIHhHJme314B8_HDFsKESm8Zfn/s1600/Star+Wars+Bar+Fight.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can't believe I created a meme for this...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07438324113438301208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1455304303850957574.post-44266999929824295522016-02-03T14:02:00.002-05:002016-02-10T10:38:27.018-05:00Why "The Force Awakens" Was a Terrible Star Wars Movie *SPOILERS*<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixnoh1rxXB6VleKyWQdZwpdCQu_WN7w3Vzq2ld1O6GYdJMiGN0vbMm77-gAv2MD5RSTzpqFs7bKOug7GvvckI61gNFNvdL23t_31F9jABSqKYMpyzMKZbS6Q6c59ZeJOf5MK-aAbDp3m_0/s1600/open-uri20150608-27674-sgprqd_5d6c9f39.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixnoh1rxXB6VleKyWQdZwpdCQu_WN7w3Vzq2ld1O6GYdJMiGN0vbMm77-gAv2MD5RSTzpqFs7bKOug7GvvckI61gNFNvdL23t_31F9jABSqKYMpyzMKZbS6Q6c59ZeJOf5MK-aAbDp3m_0/s400/open-uri20150608-27674-sgprqd_5d6c9f39.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Ever since the new Star Wars movie came out, I've been having the same discussion over and over again. Everyone loves the new Star Wars movie, but something is off/missing/wrong/not quite right. As an editor, I spend most of my time figuring out all the things that are off/missing/wrong/not quite right with stories. So if you feel the same way about the new movie, read on to see why. There's a lot here, so I'll give you an overview, and if you want the analysis, just look for my subsequent posts over the next couple weeks.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
First, I have to say that I loved the movie. It was fun and exciting. The cinematography and pacing were amazing. The new cast was awesome. It was everything I've come to expect from a Disney summer blockbuster.<br />
<br />
Which is the problem. It was nothing more than another Disney summer blockbuster. It may as well have just been another Marvel movie. Fun and explosive, but shallow. Lacking depth.<br />
<br />
Star Wars wasn't just a spectacle. It was also a deep, logically consistent universe behind an accessible and familiar fantasy story. When you scratch the surface of this new movie, you find an inaccessible jumbled mess.<br />
<br />
For example:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<h2>
<b><br /></b></h2>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0fZV5ozmVT-nKjvEqqb7oBcdk7x99GRdpSfGgaWqTjvG4u_KzbghL8UvRy8O1zaJq_gY4eUyH_-9cCilzu7Q8sRjzI97SjLo2ajNPf34gZze8M15gwlcX9M0vhW1RX4ll6AIOSOzj_hG7/s1600/th+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0fZV5ozmVT-nKjvEqqb7oBcdk7x99GRdpSfGgaWqTjvG4u_KzbghL8UvRy8O1zaJq_gY4eUyH_-9cCilzu7Q8sRjzI97SjLo2ajNPf34gZze8M15gwlcX9M0vhW1RX4ll6AIOSOzj_hG7/s200/th+%25282%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yay! I can still use MSPaint!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
<b><a href="http://www.sjforester.com/2016/02/why-force-awakens-was-terrible-star_10.html" target="_blank">The Setting</a></b></h2>
AKA the State of the Galaxy. In the original movie, there's a galactic civil war going on, and we understand the motivations for why everyone is doing what they are doing. In the new movie, we just have two opposing military organizations trying to find Luke, and we don't even know why except that Leia misses him...<br />
<br />
I'll go into a lot more detail about the setting in the next post.<br />
<br />
<h2>
<b><br /></b></h2>
<h2>
<b>The Conflict(s)</b></h2>
This one starts to get a bit complicated because there are multiple conflicts going on in each movie (as there should be), so I'm just going to discuss the main driving conflicts in this summary. In-depth analysis coming soon.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhqvxHa4tB76-sUWj8ZqnHXyp_hrKsW8mPZE_K9gsujGn7SIqzcR_Pq_uCxijPF5TpfrhdkHXNavkdmvqrUYF1nNa0gQJdUPsiShZOCM-M2hLQASjo8Tkkuiswv7cQlOPiCyTZINkbNH5-/s1600/th+%25284%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhqvxHa4tB76-sUWj8ZqnHXyp_hrKsW8mPZE_K9gsujGn7SIqzcR_Pq_uCxijPF5TpfrhdkHXNavkdmvqrUYF1nNa0gQJdUPsiShZOCM-M2hLQASjo8Tkkuiswv7cQlOPiCyTZINkbNH5-/s200/th+%25284%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Runs on companionship, apparently...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In the original movie, the rebels have stolen the plans to the Empire's big WMD, the Death Star. Leia is trying to get them back to the rebel command structure, and Darth Vader is trying to get them back. This carries us all the way through the story and right to the climax.<br />
<br />
In the new movie, we're told that the conflict is "find Luke before the other team," but we never find out why that's important, it has nothing to do with the climax, and it's resolved by a huge bit of Deus ex Machina, through no effort or triumph of the main characters, when R2 suddenly gives them the answer. Because apparently no one could find the "ON" button...<br />
<br />
<h2>
<b><br /></b></h2>
<h2>
<b>The Heroes</b></h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8MQJkA4a0msQOneFwwtuJQuXn1l9gmii258gzNGvnAtAq0CVD1FqSVtpvIsZadmMtoiv7JqpcAkK_OWRm4-mFVjrqs_Ut8wSMPWx5H8TLWt88VhFqHVTckeHN4GdWZLFFnBR8T2lddJxw/s1600/th+%25285%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8MQJkA4a0msQOneFwwtuJQuXn1l9gmii258gzNGvnAtAq0CVD1FqSVtpvIsZadmMtoiv7JqpcAkK_OWRm4-mFVjrqs_Ut8wSMPWx5H8TLWt88VhFqHVTckeHN4GdWZLFFnBR8T2lddJxw/s200/th+%25285%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!</td></tr>
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Again, I'm just going to cover the primary heroes here, and I'll go more in-depth in a future post.<br />
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Luke. Straight from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomyth" target="_blank">monomyth</a>. Luke is an orphan farmboy who meets a wise old wizard who gives him a special sword and teaches him magic. He goes off on a quest to rescue the princess from the evil sorcerer. Then he destroys the sorcerer's fortress and ends his reign of terror. Classic. This character never gets old. Of course there's a lot more to it, which I'll go into in aforesaid future post.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I know, right?</td></tr>
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Rey. They tried the same formula but missed some very key parts. For one, she didn't actually learn anything. She somehow already knew how to outfly First Order pilots who had supposedly been training their entire lives, and she apparently already knew how to use the force since she succeeded the very first time she tried. And this is the main issue. She suffers from the Superman problem. There's nothing that she can't do. Her "growth" in the movie was limited to nothing more than leaving home.<br />
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<h2>
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<b></b><br /><b></b></h2>
<h2>
<b><br /></b></h2>
<h2>
<b>The Villains</b></h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7QJj8dEZt5CZTerMMuCCoWO2SCYD76v1Zh0xfOQAV5OoT7-WXMI1S13aJHuLkRS_ucAcCdV7HXz3k-dQe9dmcye7FTOPz7RBogDQUM35ivfoyouiFbyADu8tc8Ri2IbSwu6LFtK63HWDe/s1600/th+%25288%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7QJj8dEZt5CZTerMMuCCoWO2SCYD76v1Zh0xfOQAV5OoT7-WXMI1S13aJHuLkRS_ucAcCdV7HXz3k-dQe9dmcye7FTOPz7RBogDQUM35ivfoyouiFbyADu8tc8Ri2IbSwu6LFtK63HWDe/s200/th+%25288%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AYYY!</td></tr>
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To me, this may be the most important thing about Star Wars. A good villain. Just going to cover the basics here, but keep an eye out for the in-depth analysis soon.</div>
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<div>
There's two big things that the new movie really "missed" in regard to its villains.</div>
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The first is accessible motivations. We can easily understand that Darth Vader is trying to recover something that was stolen and, more existentially, that he is trying to crush the rebellion in order to secure his regime's control of the galaxy. For Kylo Ren, we only have the vague existential motivation of "finishing what Vader started." But we don't actually know what that means to Kylo or why he's trying to find Luke.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnROmPymSFXc-edEGpzVOA66LWjl26p3W6CmJZJCPVqTU2KiyqyuxI6aKRVeYSZVnz9pmXBT2d-5rY6l7FW6-ITGUgFPmZAmpIjAr82J-0v9GtGAq_hzq6ewd4KMxLyGkD7C6yv8bVu3HP/s1600/Kylo-Ren-Profile.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnROmPymSFXc-edEGpzVOA66LWjl26p3W6CmJZJCPVqTU2KiyqyuxI6aKRVeYSZVnz9pmXBT2d-5rY6l7FW6-ITGUgFPmZAmpIjAr82J-0v9GtGAq_hzq6ewd4KMxLyGkD7C6yv8bVu3HP/s200/Kylo-Ren-Profile.png" width="166" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ya know, Kylo, Luke was doing the <br />
emo thing before it was popular.</td></tr>
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Second is competence. The new movie had the most inept group of villains I've seen outside of a comedy. They reminded me more of the villains from Spaceballs than their counterparts from the original Star Wars. Kylo Ren fails at everything he tries to accomplish in the movie except for murdering a town full of nearly-helpless civilians at the beginning. The villains were so incompetent that it doesn't feel like the heroes really overcame anything.</div>
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Again, I loved the movie for the summer blockbuster (in December) that it was, I just expect more from Star Wars. But that's enough for now. Next week, I'll post my in-depth analysis of the setting.</div>
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Thanks for reading!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07438324113438301208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1455304303850957574.post-52667976737559891002012-11-07T13:38:00.001-05:002012-11-14T16:27:29.972-05:00A Tale of Two Numbers......and a definition.<br />
<br />
The first number: $6 Billion, that is $6,000,000,000. The amount of money the <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2012/10/2012-election-spending-will-reach-6.html" target="_blank">CRP estimates</a> was spent on the 2012 election campaigns.<br />
<br />
The second number: 50 Million, that is 50,000,000. The number of <a href="https://secure1.heifer.org/gift-catalog/goat.html" target="_blank">goats</a> that my favorite international charity, <a href="http://www.heifer.org/" target="_blank">Heifer</a>, could have provided to impoverished families with that amount of money.<br />
<br />
<br />
Why <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goat" target="_blank">goats</a>? Well, because goats are useful. They provide milk and manure while alive and meat and hide when dead. And they reproduce more goats which provide more milk, manure, meat, and hide.<br />
<br />
Time for an emotionally charged picture. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeFOzX9esTu3begJi3c-R4lrz-7Hz_-8Er8eSnBJ7R1syN61MYw79gDGWtmt0iSjijSnKzWrx6j2vGlqK0gtzpPrEYlcX4EGbakUhrs7h3UmmafPHlnf67VvEF21DYdzTcW3JuWhoIiAUp/s1600/nc_goats2_big_thumb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeFOzX9esTu3begJi3c-R4lrz-7Hz_-8Er8eSnBJ7R1syN61MYw79gDGWtmt0iSjijSnKzWrx6j2vGlqK0gtzpPrEYlcX4EGbakUhrs7h3UmmafPHlnf67VvEF21DYdzTcW3JuWhoIiAUp/s1600/nc_goats2_big_thumb.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
So for the price of 50 million goats for people who simply need food and milk, we have nearly the same government today as yesterday.<br />
<br />
<br />
Now a definition.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unconscionable" target="_blank">Unconscionable</a>: <br />
<div class="sblk">
<div class="scnt">
1<span class="ssens"><b>:</b> not guided or controlled by conscience <b>:</b> <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unscrupulous">unscrupulous</a> (Lacking moral principles.)<span class="vi"></span> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="snum">
2<i class="sn"> a</i> <b>:</b> <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/excessive">excessive</a>, <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unreasonable">unreasonable</a></div>
<i class="sn"> b</i> <b>:</b> shockingly unfair or unjust<br />
<span class="ssens"> </span><br />
<span class="ssens">This excess of campaign spending is unconscionable in every sense.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="ssens"><br /></span>
<span class="ssens">So,</span><br />
<br />
<span class="ssens">To Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney,</span><br />
<span class="ssens"><br /></span>
<span class="ssens">You should both be ashamed of yourselves for allowing and participating in this excess.</span><br />
<span class="ssens"><br /></span>
<span class="ssens"><br /></span>
<span class="ssens">To My Fellow Citizens,</span><br />
<span class="ssens"><br /></span>
<span class="ssens">Don't allow this to continue. In the future, when you see or hear a political ad, turn off the tv, turn off the radio, put down the newspaper. Just walk away. If the ads don't reach people, they will stop paying for them, and just maybe that money will go to someone deserving. And when you go to open your wallet and donate to a politician's campaign, please take a second to consider the </span><span class="ssens"><a href="https://secure1.heifer.org/gift-catalog/goat.html" target="_blank">goat</a> instead.</span><br />
<span class="ssens"><br /></span>
<span class="ssens">Thanks,</span><br />
<span class="ssens"><br /></span>
<span class="ssens">S.J. Forester</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07438324113438301208noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1455304303850957574.post-88679793750123594192012-11-01T08:00:00.000-04:002012-11-14T16:28:04.951-05:00On the Revivification of Star Wars...To expand on yesterday's post, I want to explore the possibilities of disaster that Disney could visit upon Star Wars.<br />
<br />
So let's figure out what makes Star Wars so iconic and how Disney could screw it up.<br />
<br />
Story: Hmmmm. Not particularly iconic. Really, it's just the standard mono-myth wrapped up in some special effects. Orphan leaves home, encounters wise old man who teaches him magic, rescues the princess, defeats the evil sorcerer, and saves the kingdom. Ya know... I think Disney has that story down.<br />
<br />
Music: Pretty damn iconic. It redefined music in film. As far as I know though, John Williams is still composing, and Disney has a pretty solid track record of music in films.<br />
<br />
Setting: A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. Pretty good opening words. In fact, most of Star Wars' 'science fantasy' setting is iconic. Swords and sorcery, floating cities, forest moons, and strange inhuman creatures. Hmmm... I think Disney has all that pretty well covered too.<br />
<br />
What else...<br />
<br />
Oh! Characters! This is a big one. Star Wars has many of the most iconic characters in all of cinema. Emperor Palpatine, Grand Moff Tarkin, Darth Vader, Obi Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Boba Fett, Jabba the Hutt, R2D2, C3PO, Chewbacca, and Han Solo. That's quite a list. But here's the thing. Most of them are dead! In fact, they are largely iconic characters <i>because </i>they are dead. They lived, they were awesome, they served their purpose, and then they died. They didn't keep playing the game even after they'd become obsolete.<br />
<br />
You may have noted a few omissions in the list. Well, let's face it, Luke and Leia are not iconic. The characters are straight from the Greek mono-myth and the acting and dialogue were average at best. Sorry, Mark and Carrie, but it's true.<br />
<br />
In any case, Disney can't ruin the dead characters, because they're dead. As for the living ones... R2D2 and C3PO were jokes to begin with, stolen directly from Akira Kurosawa's <i>Hidden Fortress</i>, so it would be pretty hard to damage those characters any more than the prequels did. And Chewbacca is a costume that growls unintelligibly, so that's hard to screw up. <br />
<br />
Which leaves Han Solo. Hmmm. Ok, that could be tough. Harrison Ford isn't exactly spry anymore... So it looks like we found the small thermal exhaust port after all.<br />
<br />
To summarize:<br />
<br />
Dear Disney,<br />
Don't fuck with Han.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07438324113438301208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1455304303850957574.post-12273254641698037182012-10-31T13:39:00.000-04:002012-11-14T16:29:28.006-05:00It's all over...The Dark Mouse of the Sith has arrived. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you just aren't nerd enough.) And now someone is going to take our beloved icon, perhaps the single most influential movie of the past half-century, and add annoyingly stupid animated characters, child protagonists, terrible directing, and worse writing.<br />
<br />
Oh, wait... I guess that's already happened...<br />
<br />
Hmmm... In that case...<br />
<br />
Could this turn of events be even worse? Well, that just seems unlikely if not impossible.<br />
<br />
Could this possibly be a good thing? Well, let's see how it turned out for Pixar and Marvel since their respective acquisitions.<br />
<br />
Since they were acquired in 2006, Pixar has produced: Ratatouille, Wall-E, Up, Toy Story 3, Cars 2, and Brave. There's some really good movies in that list.<br />
<br />
As for Marvel, they have so far only distributed Marvel's The Avengers under the new umbrella. But it seems that one did ok...<br />
<br />
<br />
So... While some of you might ought to go hide under your beds until the fallout is over, methinks there could be a promising future waiting when you peek out again...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07438324113438301208noreply@blogger.com0