Although our class only watched a small portion of Star War IV: A New Hope, one thing does stand out so far. The main protagonist is nowhere to be found! This is unique to Star Wars in that most hero driven stories tend to revolve around the main protagonist to the point that you can barely take your eyes off the hero. The difference between Star Wars and most other hero driven stories is that in Star Wars the universe is not one that the audience is even remotely familiar with. While most stories at least take place on earth, Star Wars takes place in a completely different galaxy! The fact that Star Wars takes place in a galaxy far far away forces the writers to set the stage for the audience. They do so by starting big. They first introduce the universe with a short blurb that scrolls across the screen, quickly followed by an introduction to the two main factions in the movie. The upside to this is that this intro makes it easier for the audience to see where the protagonist fits into the whole universe when he is eventually introduced. The downside being the audience might be temporarily confused as to who the story will eventually follow. Do you think this intro is needed to give the audience some context or do you think it simply exacerbates an already complex situation?
Monday, January 19, 2015
Missing Hero?
Although our class only watched a small portion of Star War IV: A New Hope, one thing does stand out so far. The main protagonist is nowhere to be found! This is unique to Star Wars in that most hero driven stories tend to revolve around the main protagonist to the point that you can barely take your eyes off the hero. The difference between Star Wars and most other hero driven stories is that in Star Wars the universe is not one that the audience is even remotely familiar with. While most stories at least take place on earth, Star Wars takes place in a completely different galaxy! The fact that Star Wars takes place in a galaxy far far away forces the writers to set the stage for the audience. They do so by starting big. They first introduce the universe with a short blurb that scrolls across the screen, quickly followed by an introduction to the two main factions in the movie. The upside to this is that this intro makes it easier for the audience to see where the protagonist fits into the whole universe when he is eventually introduced. The downside being the audience might be temporarily confused as to who the story will eventually follow. Do you think this intro is needed to give the audience some context or do you think it simply exacerbates an already complex situation?
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Personally, I believe that the intro is needed in order to give the audience context. Since there is such a big difference from this film compared to other films, introducing the hero right from the beginning would cause some confusion. The audience first needs to be able to get used to the new universe and characters before the hero can be introduced. I think this is important in order to allow the audience to understand why is hero if needed and what he is needed for.
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ReplyDeleteI've never seen Star Wars and am not completely familiar with the characters and backstory. I think that this actually is a pretty effective intro to the movie. I actually appreciated the introduction of Darth Vader at the beginning of the film. Now there is an actual reason for Luke Skywalker, the supposed hero of the story, to be introduced. This into not only gives necessary back story, but also provides a reason for there to be a hero.
ReplyDeleteBrett, as a newbie your perspectives on how the story is working will be really valuable.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with Miriam. This intro certainly needs to be there to give the audience context for what is going on. But what about the introduction of the villain, Darth Vader. Most movies today exploit the villain before the hero ever comes into context. Directors display the harm the villain can bring just to set the stage for what hero can bring him/her down. Personally I think Star Wars did a good job with the intro, it makes the audience wonder who is going to stop Darth Vader.
ReplyDeleteAs a first-time viewer of Star Wars, I agree that the big intro to the universe of the movie is needed. Introducing so many characters at the same time, right in the beginning of the movie was a little overwhelming at first, but the action in the fight scene in the beginning got me interested right away and, as some other people have mentioned, also helped set the stage for the hero and show the harm the villain can do.
ReplyDeleteI believe the blurb of text at the beginning is crucial to understanding the whole movie without it you would not be able to understand the whole first scene. I think the idea of introducing a powerful, ruthless, and overall intimadating villain before the hero sets the stages of the audience to have their own ideas of what the hero will look like. Then once the hero is introduced you see a whiney, Star Wars equivalent to a farm boy who is supposed to stand up to the Empire and Darth Vader.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this your idea Sam. Star Wars was a revolutionary movie when it was first produced and having this unique style of introducing the main hero falls into line with this revolutionary movie.
DeleteWhile I don't believe that Star Wars' unique intro is absolutely necessary to help the viewer understand the plot, it definitely is a unique and effective way to introduce the viewer into the very complex world that is Star Wars. Instead of the protagonist being introduced first like in many popular movies, the film opens with a group of supporting characters, who eventually come face to face with the main antagonist. I haven't seen this movie in quite a long time and as a viewer I find it quite interesting to be thrust right into a conflict, as opposed to easing into the story.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of the opening crawl - in an era of iMovie, it might be hard to believe how text like that was created in 1977. Look at this:
ReplyDeletehttp://gizmodo.com/5542745/so-thats-how-they-filmed-the-star-wars-opening-crawl
While following the hero on his journey is common in stories as Anthony said, this is not necessarily what makes Star Wars unique. There are so many aspects of the movie that are new and innovative and the lack of a hero in the beginning does add on to this. Also, how are we sure that R2D2 and C3PO are not the heroes, they are on a mission and they seem to be helping the rebellion against "evil."
ReplyDeleteI think all the context and world building in the beginning of the film is need so that the audience can understand what kind of world this film is set in. Not having the protagonist appear right away is definitely interesting. I think, at the same time, it adds mystery as to whose story this film is going to follow and it leaves you clues as to what side the hero might be on with following C3P0 and R2D2 so much during the beginning (I think it's pretty easy to tell that they belong to the good side which Luke will be part of).
ReplyDeleteI think the intro describing the plot at the beginning and the establishment of multiple characters before centering the movie around Luke as the main protagonist was what made star wars different from all the other hero movies. This intro did not exacerbate the situation, as the backstory and early plot development were essential to the story writing process which makes the movie good.
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