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Force Awakens

On Rey, Mystery and Spoiler-Driven Culture

April 18, 2016 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

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Poor Rey.

Whereas the entire world fell in love with her character in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the film seems to have left her adrift amidst the (far from subtle) questions about the identity of her parents. Still, by leaving her on the Irish Isle of La Luke, the film’s finale leaves us with what seemed to be much more important questions. Will Luke train her in the ways of the Force? Is she more powerful than the young and reckless Kylo Ren?

Then, with the release of the trailer of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story last week, all of a sudden the issue of her mysterious origins was back in the spotlight once again. Taking place during the events of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Rogue One tells the story of a group of expendable crooks and smugglers who are enlisted to steal the Death Star plans. (Think of it as the Star Wars equivalent to David Ayer’s upcoming film, Suicide Squad.) Led by Jyn Erso, a young woman with a troubled past, they band together to do the impossible.

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But meanwhile…

While Rogue One doesn’t appear to address Rey’s journey at all, an interesting fan theory has taken the Internet by storm. Despite the unconnected storyline to Force Awakens, the web is abuzz with the rumour that Erso is, in fact, Rey’s mother. Recently, actress Daisy Ridley spoke out against this theory, claiming that “just because she’s white and has brown hair, it doesn’t mean she’s [Rey’s] mom.”

To be honest, I find it amazing that this mystery has lasted as long as it has. With the reveal of [Spoiler Alert… from 30 years ago!] Darth Vader as Luke’s father catching audiences completely by surprise (and believed by many as one of the greatest ‘twists’ of all time), the Star Wars universe carved out its place in storytelling history. Still, that era of filmmaking existed apart from the spoiler-driven internet culture in which we currently live. In this day and age, even if you have a great plot twist, it’s likely that someone somewhere has not only thought of it already, they’ve blogged about it online and sent the legions of inter-webbers into a frenzy. Gone are the days when a film’s surprises were special until it’s release.

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We want to know everything… now.

Living in the information age, we seem to have lost the joy and the impact of experiencing the elements of a story together for the first time. We want to burst the balloon of mystery before it ever gets a chance to lift off.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing either. In all seriousness, we are constantly being teased with tidbits to generate excitement and promotion for upcoming films and shows. Remember when the pic of the partial Millennium Falcon and X-Wing went viral during the filming of Force Awakens? There’s no doubt that that pic was released in order to send a message to the fans that their expectations were going to be met with the new film. New characters? Sure… but you’ll fall in love with them. What matters most is that we’re also going to resurrect the things you miss and love the most.

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For the fans, it was intoxicating.

Still, while part of this is just plain fun to discuss, I also think that our spoiler-focused culture makes it far more difficult for a filmmaker to tell the story their way. Our desire to know the answer immediately—sometimes before the question is even asked—creates an environment that puts an emphasis on ourselves, rather than on the story itself.

We want to know everything because we feel like we own the story. It’s our story.

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But what if it isn’t?

What if the true power of story is admitting to ourselves that it’s bigger than we are? While we may like/dislike a film, there’s something to be said for admitting that we don’t need to know or understand every detail in advance. In doing so, we are most suited to become participants in a story, making it more powerful. As a Christian, I recognize that God is a better storyteller than I could ever be… and, if I trust that, I don’t need to know what’s coming.

So, Internet fans, by all means, feel free to have your fun. But remember that, whether or not Rey’s last name is Skywalker, Solo or even Snopes, it doesn’t matter in the end. Let’s let them tell us the story they want to, demanding it a certain way.

The story may even be more powerful that way.

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Filed Under: Editorial, Star Wars Tagged With: Force Awakens, Han Solo, jyn erso, Luke Skywalker, Rey, Rogue One, spoiler, Star Wars

Star Wars The Force Awakens – Free Blu-ray Copy!

April 5, 2016 by ScreenFish Staff 6 Comments

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As a new threat to the galaxy rises, Rey, a desert scavenger, and Finn, an ex-stormtrooper, must join Han Solo and Chewbacca to search for the one hope of restoring peace. One of the greatest stories to ever engage us spiritually, Star Wars’ continued brilliance moved forward with The Force Awakens.

Now, one lucky Screen Fish fan can win a free copy! Between now and April 12, post your favorite scene or line from any of the Star Wars films to be entered.  Limit to one entry per person. Must be 18 or over.

Filed Under: DVD, Film, Giveaways Tagged With: blu-ray, Force Awakens, giveaway, Star Wars

Why I Don’t Want To See The Force Awakens

December 17, 2015 by Jacob Sahms 1 Comment

forceawakens3I remember seeing The Return of the Jedi as a seven year old. Sure, I’d seen A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. I couldn’t wait for the good guys to bust in and reclaim Han (remember, we didn’t know for sure he could be rescued but we hoped), and for the evil Empire to be destroyed. In those days (the early 1980s), Darth Vader was definitively evil, Ewoks were cute and not too annoying, and Luke was on the rise. The film itself was remarkable, spellbinding, mind-blowing, and without comparison – those boring Star Trek movies with all of their witty banter weren’t even on my radar.

My friends and I ran around the playground battling unseen evil. I was Luke because I was blonde, and he was good; my darker haired friend Jeff was Han; our tall friend was Chewbacca. We had a friend named Leia on whom I had a crush (ironically destroyed by the acknowledgment that Luke and Leia were, gasp, related) but she would only periodically move into the sphere of our imagined Tattoine and Dagobah. We could swing from the monkey bars, careen down the slides, slashing our sticks like sabers and riding our imaginary speeders.

Life was good, and Star Wars was even grander in our collective imaginations, before the war of G.I. Joe and the hassles of the real world (in middle school) crashed in. We didn’t care if Han shot first (of course, he had then) or if Jabba walked (he was a slug, not a lizard); the complexities of life and the disappointments of Jar-Jar Binks had not yet invaded the sphere of our imaginations.

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In many ways, that’s the way I want to remember Star Wars. Before the awareness of how Anakin turned bad, and then was redeemed again. Before the world taught us that the rebellion in one galaxy is the ‘right’ in another. Before Jar-Jar and Disney crashed into the simpler model of what it meant to be part of the Force. [I’ll bet you that I hate BB-8.]

That’s why part of me doesn’t want to go to see The Force Awakens.

It’s the part of me that doesn’t want to see my heroes older and fatter. It’s the part of me that thinks Indiana Jones should forever end with Harrison Ford and Sean Connery riding off into the sunset (in Last Crusade, for the uninitiated, before Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) and Mark Hamill should stick to voiceovers.

It’s the part of me that doubts that CGI and grander special effects can top the moments on the playground. It’s the part of me that has only rewatched the original trilogy a half-dozen times, and why I’ve avoided rewatching the terrible first three episodes. [Haters, bring it.] It’s the part of me that doesn’t want complicated politics or a sliding scale of morality to invade the grand, Lewisian-like (or is it Tolkien) epic that says that the good guys are on a redemptive arc and that ultimately, with great sacrifice, they will overcome.

It’s the part of me that has said, quite loudly, if Luke is Kylo Ren, that I’ll start a bonfire of Star Wars memorabilia that will be seen for miles. [No, I won’t raid Target; that’ll just be my own collection.] It’s the part of me that thinks, quite grumpily, that the genius of J.J. Abrams and his Alias, Lost, etc. back catalogue still can’t quite be ready to be canonical.

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But then I remember the spring of 1984, walking into that theater knowing that Luke will destroy, annihilate, kill his father who is pure evil. And how the grace-filled redemption of Vader unlocked something in my heart that reminded me that love and forgiveness could be for everyone.

And that spark, some might call it the Force, burns brighter again in my heart.

There’s nothing that could keep me from seeing The Force Awakens, is there?

Do or do not, there is no try.

Filed Under: #tbt, Current Events, DVD, Editorial, Featured, Film, Reviews, Star Wars Tagged With: Alias, C.S. Lewis, Darth Vader, Empire, Force Awakens, Harrison Ford, Indiana Jones, J.R.R. Tolkien, Kylo Ren, Lost, Luke Skywalker, Rebellion, Star Wars

38 Years Of Star Wars: A Personal Journey

May 25, 2015 by Mark Sommer 1 Comment

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Thirty-eight years ago, on Memorial Day, George Lucas changed the course of history with the release of a little film called Star Wars. 

Everything old is new again.

Once you’ve created the wheel, why invent a new one? That’s what big and small screen producers seem to be thinking. Those of us who remember the ’70s and ’80s have been feeling a sense of déjà vu. Planet of the Apes, Star Trek, and even The Muppets are back on the scene.

Often remakes of popular films and television shows pale in comparison to the originals. This is often true of sequels (and prequels), too. Some filmmakers know they can make money by merely appealing to nostalgia. But even the more scrupulous often find it impossible to recapture the nuances which made the original movie great.

When George Lucas released Star Wars, thirty-eight years ago this Memorial Day, I am sure he believed it was a good film. I doubt he thought it would become the icon it would soon become and the influence it still is today. You never quite know what will strike a chord with an audience. By mid-August of 1977, it was clear just how strongly the chord was resonating.

Star Wars was a breath of fresh air in that cynical era. Religion of any kind seemed to be giving way to dry secularism in the culture at large. Many movies of the day were nihilistic, and Obi Wan talking about becoming part of “a larger world” was different.

Luke Skywalker was part of that larger world, and had a close connection to it. However, he had been raised by a cynical uncle who was afraid of the past, fearful Luke would become like his father. It would take mentors outside his family to teach him “the force is strong” in his family. As Yoda would tell him in The Empire Strikes Back, “You must unlearn what you have learned.”

Life is (or should be) about relearning. We are all in a very real sense a product of our history. But we don’t have to be trapped inside the falsehoods we have been told. The problem is we often continue to believe the lies even when the truth is right in front of us. And, as the scripture teaches early in Genesis, knowledge does not necessarily keep us from the dark side.

star wars 2Luke needed intervention in his life, and the implication is something bigger than him was moving him toward those who could help him. But he had to trust his mentors and cooperate with what he was being taught.

When Star Wars was hitting its biggest box office numbers in August of 1977, I was beginning a significant relearning phase of my life. I had enrolled at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. I would only be there one year, but the classes, the classmates, and the whole atmosphere in general made a big imprint on my life. I was unlearning and relearning things about myself and my God, while picking up some ideas that I would later, for better or worse, abandon. And the mandatory English class was honing my writing skills enough that I would later be able to write posts on the internet which are somewhat intelligible.

I am from a very conservative background. I was raised in churches which were part of an Association with the word “Fundamental” in its name. Attending a movie in a theater was generally frowned upon, although many of the older generation had no problem attending G-rated films, and most of my peers were getting more adventurous. Moody had a policy that students were not allowed to attend theaters, although we were allowed to watch television in the student lounge. (It was there I viewed the 1977 animated version of The Hobbit for the first time.) But I was getting some reports from back home about how great this new science fiction film was.

I was able to see Star Wars for the first time in the summer of 1978. I remember rather vividly coming in late to the discount theater where it was playing. The droids were already making their way through the Tatooine desert. It was obvious the copy being shown had seen better days, with the familiar white dots on the screen from the projector shining through holes in the cellulose. But the quality of the film did not deter me. I was hooked.

Unfortunately, by the end of the decade, many evangelical “fundamentalists” were speaking out against the Star Wars movies. They were too blind to see how God was using the films to cause people to think about spiritual things. There was even a backlash against Tolkien, who was seen by some as occultic.

star wars1Obviously I disagree with the extremists who see Star Wars as a back door to Satan. I have abandoned some of the more extreme views of those I grew up under. But I have not abandoned my belief that there is Something bigger than myself, and that belief should make a difference in how I live my life. The films by George Lucas are definitely not a religious rock I stand upon, but I am thankful for those who have considered the “larger world” because the movies exist.

In the coming months I hope to post reviews of the six Star Wars movies in anticipation of the upcoming Episode VII: The Force Awakens. There are most definitely themes which run through the movies which relate to my faith. And, I dare say, there are still some redeemable elements in the “prequels” despite the often poor dialogue and storylines.

Filed Under: Editorial, Featured, Film, Reviews Tagged With: A New Hope, Evangelicals, Force Awakens, George Lucas, Star Wars

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