{"id":3223,"date":"2003-01-10T08:43:13","date_gmt":"2003-01-10T13:43:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/?p=3223"},"modified":"2014-11-06T08:39:23","modified_gmt":"2014-11-06T15:39:23","slug":"chum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2003\/01\/10\/chum.html","title":{"rendered":"Chum"},"content":{"rendered":"

USA Today <\/i>is holding a “Star Wars <\/i>vs Lord of the Rings<\/i>” write-in poll<\/a>. Let the bloodbath begin!<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1. Do the The Lord of the Rings movies show signs of having enough of a cultural impact and popularity to become the Star Wars for this generation?<\/b><\/p>\n

I think Star Wars <\/i>came at a time when (a) SF and fantasy were marginal “kids stuff” genres, and (b) movies were about Bad, Awful Things — the zeitgeist of the period. <\/p>\n

The SW success meant that (a) SF and fantasy could become mainstream (including a lot of really bad stuff, of course), and that (b) we saw more escapist fare films, less sturm und drang<\/i>. It was perfect post-Vietnam, post-Watergate fare.<\/p>\n

I don’t think LotR <\/i>comes at the same sort of time, so its overall effect will be less. It will <\/i>be a film saga that people refer back to in the future, though.<\/p>\n

2. Is Peter Jackson, the director and effects wizard behind the Rings movies, the new George Lucas?<\/b><\/p>\n

I hope not. Lucas has seriously lost his way. Jackson doesn’t show any sign of a Messiah\/Golden Boy complex. Yet. Plus, he can direct.<\/p>\n

3. Are you one of the original Star Wars <\/i>fans who have been disappointed by the recent episodes \u2014The Phantom Menace <\/i>and Attack of the Clones<\/i>\u2014 in the series? Has The Lord of the Rings <\/i>replaced Star Wars as your film series of choice. If so, why.<\/b><\/p>\n

Yes, to both questions. Lucas has over-relied on glitz, on cheap <\/i>humor, and has thrown out much of the whimsy and simple heroism that made the original SW trilogy so popular. Jackson, on the other hand, has shown amazing — yet effective — respect to his source material. <\/p>\n

Plus, he can direct, which Lucas can’t.<\/p>\n

I would much rather be stuck on a desert island with just the two LotR <\/i>films than with all of the SW saga thus far.<\/p>\n

Of course, I’ve been a long-time Tolkien fan, so it’s not that big of a stretch, except that the expectations were so high (as high, in some ways, as the wait for Episode I<\/i>).<\/p>\n

4. If you are age 25 and under, do you find that the Rings movies mean more to you than the Star Wars films. And why?<\/b><\/p>\n

Don’t qualify, I’m afraid.<\/p>\n

5. Which film are you looking forward to the most \u2014Star Wars: Episode III <\/i>(due in 2005) or The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King<\/i>, due this Christmas? <\/b><\/p>\n

I’m looking forward to both of them. Episode III <\/i>will be a fabulous spectacle, at the very least, and there’s that barely-open question of whether Lucas can “fix” things. But it’s Return of the King <\/i>that has me panting … and it’s going to be a very hard Christmas 2004 without a new film.<\/p>\n

(via Andrea<\/a>)<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

USA Today is holding a “Star Wars vs Lord of the Rings” write-in poll. 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