Thursday, January 22, 2015
The Quest For Quotability
We have spent some time talking about how much of a whiny brat Luke Skywalker is. Even though we know that he is the hero, he is really hard to like. Everybody knows that Luke Skywalker is the hero, but I know very few people who pick Luke as their favorite character. Josh touched on this topic in an early post when he pointed out the popularity of Darth Vader, even though he is a villain. Josh could not figure out why Darth Vader was so popular, but I think I have. The difference between Darth Vader and Luke is a matter of quotability. So far in the movie we have been exposed to memorable quotes from both Darth Vader and Obi Wan. Darth has uttered his "I find your lack of faith disturbing" line, and Obi Wan has introduced us to Jedi mind tricks with his quote, "These are not the droids you're looking for". These guys are made memorable because these quotes have been plastered on our Facebook walls and Reddit threads. Through this, these characters have expanded beyond the movie and into our culture itself. I challenge you to find a Luke Skywalker quote that has done this. So what do you guys think? Who is your favorite Star Wars character? and are they your favorite from a quote or a scene you memorized, or because of something else?
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Since the characters are not fully developed yet I don't think I could choose a favorite. I do agree that the use of the media definitely has an impact on how popular characters in movies are. I find the script for the movie pretty entertaining. I say this because you have these big shot heroes/villains saying lines that are somewhat immature. I think that the use of casual conversation throughout the movie portrays the main characters in a unique way that you do not find in many movies. It reminds me of Deadpool a Marvel hero that is notably known for his sarcastic comments. The use of media and humor definitely creates appeal of certain characters to those watching the movies.
ReplyDeleteAnother aspect is how unique Darth Vader is compared to Luke. Luke Skywalker (quite unlike Luke Albers) is pretty average in most ways. He is an average looking, not so quotable, boring farmer who wears white robes and complains most of the time, at least at this point in the Star Wars movies. Darth Vader, on the other hand, is completely awesome. He is this huge, badass black-armored robot-man who has an awesome voice and says cool things, and crushes people who bother him. He also has extreme power, which is a compelling quality in any character. At this point Luke is just a confused, orphaned teenager. It isn't hard for me to see why people prefer Vader at this point.
ReplyDeletePersonally, of the original series of movies, my favorite character would have to be Chewbacca as despite not having any lines, he definitely offers a unique, lighthearted and fun feel to the film. Despite playing a supporting role to a supporting actor, he adds a lot of little things to the film which make it so memorable. His loyalty is also very admirable as he sticks with Han Solo through all of his hardships no matter what.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you're saying completely about quotability. I think that this could be one of the reasons why yoda could be a lot of people's favorite character. There are so many yoda quotes where as Luke has relatively no great quotes. But I think quotes can also hurt a character. I mean look at jar jar binks. Every time he spoke most people lost brain cells and their iq went down. I think quotes can really make or break a character because in a lot of ways quotes can reflect a charters personality and that can help you decide if you really like or don't like a character.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the most underrated quality of films is producing quotes that morph themselves into our culture. Star Wars has a number of memerable quotes. Anchorman's "That escalated quickly" quote is now a rather well known quote in society. The Graduate's soundtrack is still very popular, and its almost 50 years old. Lasting quotes are one of the many ways to determine great movies, and, to a lesser extent, characters themselves.
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