Date: Thu, 16 Jun 2005 13:14:06 -0400
From: "Michael Walsh" <MJW at press.jhu.edu>
To: <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Take that Darth Vader, thwack! , was  Sith and before

> MarkLFischer at aol.com 6/16/2005 6:27:24 AM >>>
>In a message dated 6/16/2005 1:48:35 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
>omni at omniphile.com writes:
>
>>Since we are making up the entire universe along with the drive,
>we  might
>>as well make up a bit more so it all fits together well,  right?
>
>Or, not.  Star Wars is space opera, and was never intended for  a
>scientifically educated audience.  It's fun, noisy brain  candy.
>
>To a lay audience, big moving machines make noise.  Flying things
>bank  when
>they turn.  It's not accurate, but it LOOKS right, and to that degree

>Lucas
>succeeded, by refusing to pull the audience out of the  story and
>make them
>think about what they were seeing.  Watch Joe Average  watching
>the space scenes
>in "2001" sometime, the eyes just glaze over, or they  start playing
>with the
>volume control when everything goes  silent.

The scene in 2001 where Bowman blows open the hatch to reenter
Discovery, with only his breathing being heard is a stunning piece of
filmcraft.  And if Joe Average doesn't "get it"... their loss.

Kubrick made very effective use of silence.

YMMV.

mjw
Who needs to get back to booking sales calls...