Jedieb
Nov 25th, 2002, 08:12:09 AM
A Galaxy Not So Far Away: Writers and Artists on Twenty-five Years of Star Wars
This book edited by Premiere film magazine editor Glenn Kenny features writers and artists such as Kevin Smith and a bunch of writers I honestly haven't herad of reflecting on how Star Wars has impacted them. If I had to recommend one essay above all the others it would have to be Neal Pollack's Celebrating the Fiftienth Anniversary of Catcher in the Red-Eye: Episode IV: A New G.o.d.d.a.m.n. Hope. Pollack basically tells the story of ANH with Haulden Coffield as Luke Skywalker. The result is one of the funniest essays I've ever read in my life. I read this at a chess tournament and I could barely stop myself from laughing out loud. At times I had tears in my eyes. Anyone who's read Catcher in the Rye will laugh themselves silly. If you haven't, you should read Salinger's classic novel before you even attempt to read Pollack's satire. It's just hysterical.
The essays are not by any means mindless fanboy tributes. Your not going to find McCallum Lucas worship here. It's a sometimes unflattering, but honest look at how Star Wars has impacted these artists. Some are rather absurd and self serving. Such as JOe Queenan's right wing diatribe in which he mangaes to miss the entire point of the SW saga and labels those who don't warp the series as he does misguided and dishonest. The sad part is that he even misquotes important lines of dialogue while making his argument. The misquotes are important because there's a major difference between heat and HATE. Queenan's ROTJ dialogue gaff is a major one ("Let the HEAT flow through you.") because he then goes on to say why "heat" and aggression are valuable tools. The lack of those being obvious weaknesses of men like Gandhi. (I'm not making that up!) Call it a Freudian slip that Keenan inadvertantly changes a line of dialogue that sums up what the Empire is really all about; HATE. He goes on to praise Vader's managerial skills while glossing over the fact that Vader literally murders those he deems incompetant. The man is quite siimply, a putz.
But even that essay is an example of what a thought provoking collection this book is. If you haven't picked it up I encourage you to do so. It's good fun. (I'm still not done with the last 1/3 of it.)
This book edited by Premiere film magazine editor Glenn Kenny features writers and artists such as Kevin Smith and a bunch of writers I honestly haven't herad of reflecting on how Star Wars has impacted them. If I had to recommend one essay above all the others it would have to be Neal Pollack's Celebrating the Fiftienth Anniversary of Catcher in the Red-Eye: Episode IV: A New G.o.d.d.a.m.n. Hope. Pollack basically tells the story of ANH with Haulden Coffield as Luke Skywalker. The result is one of the funniest essays I've ever read in my life. I read this at a chess tournament and I could barely stop myself from laughing out loud. At times I had tears in my eyes. Anyone who's read Catcher in the Rye will laugh themselves silly. If you haven't, you should read Salinger's classic novel before you even attempt to read Pollack's satire. It's just hysterical.
The essays are not by any means mindless fanboy tributes. Your not going to find McCallum Lucas worship here. It's a sometimes unflattering, but honest look at how Star Wars has impacted these artists. Some are rather absurd and self serving. Such as JOe Queenan's right wing diatribe in which he mangaes to miss the entire point of the SW saga and labels those who don't warp the series as he does misguided and dishonest. The sad part is that he even misquotes important lines of dialogue while making his argument. The misquotes are important because there's a major difference between heat and HATE. Queenan's ROTJ dialogue gaff is a major one ("Let the HEAT flow through you.") because he then goes on to say why "heat" and aggression are valuable tools. The lack of those being obvious weaknesses of men like Gandhi. (I'm not making that up!) Call it a Freudian slip that Keenan inadvertantly changes a line of dialogue that sums up what the Empire is really all about; HATE. He goes on to praise Vader's managerial skills while glossing over the fact that Vader literally murders those he deems incompetant. The man is quite siimply, a putz.
But even that essay is an example of what a thought provoking collection this book is. If you haven't picked it up I encourage you to do so. It's good fun. (I'm still not done with the last 1/3 of it.)