Random Link Thread

[Jarka]

Naked News.

I would not complain if either of those men were naked with The Roots playing in the background.

[Undrask]

I need Barak Obama to slowjam my LIFE.

[Jonathan Meer]

Remember that time everyone was like "Jimmy Fallon Show sucks" because the Jimmy Fallon Show sucked?

Looks like he's made it.

[Jarka]

http://youtu.be/cuzquQIqsz4

[Undrask]

I like the little shorts they're doing now on CN. They've got the cast of Teen Titans back doing shorts aswell.

[John Doe]

http://www.nomachetejuggling.com/2011/11...ing-order/

Tryg linked this and I thought it was really cool.

[Super Buu]

^I feel incredibly nerdy for spending 10 minutes reading that, and moreso for feeling furiously in agreement with it. Totally gonna watch them in that order next time.

[Pinky]

http://www.nomachetejuggling.com/2011/11...ing-order/

Tryg linked this and I thought it was really cool.

I like how he linked to a youtube clip of kids' reaction to the Vader revelation. The implications of that video belies an uncomfortable truth that a lot of fanboys refuse to acknowledge: the Star Wars series is made for kids. Spending obsessive amounts of time on the franchise is not significantly different than doing the same for Harry Potter or Twilight. You can appreciate the impact that the films have had on the entertainment industry without ever wondering if the original trilogy is qualitatively better than the prequels.

[Anzekay]

I'd argue that the prequels were made for kids, but the original trilogy was very wide in its target audience. Most of the people who saw it back when it first came out were young adults like my father

[Super Buu]

I believe it was made for kids and adults. The thing is, when you make something like that, it has to hit the lowest common denominator, so to speak, so that kids can understand it. I don't mind that. I furiously love Avatar: the Last Airbender, His Dark Materials, and plenty of anime and those all fall into that category. Those all prove that you can make something that people of all ages can thoroughly enjoy. It actually makes me MORE sad when they try to forcibly make something that young kids can't really watch, like the new Transformers movies. I feel foreboding at what 'Ninja Turtles' is going to be like.

[Jarka]

I believe it was made for kids and adults. The thing is, when you make something like that, it has to hit the lowest common denominator, so to speak, so that kids can understand it. I don't mind that. I furiously love Avatar: the Last Airbender, His Dark Materials, and plenty of anime and those all fall into that category. Those all prove that you can make something that people of all ages can thoroughly enjoy. It actually makes me MORE sad when they try to forcibly make something that young kids can't really watch, like the new Transformers movies. I feel foreboding at what 'Ninja Turtles' is going to be like.

QFT

For some reason, a lot of people seem to take offense at something they love having children be a primary demographic. If you like something that targets children, that doesn't necessarily mean you have immature tastes, it probably means that whatever you love was crafted well enough to receive broad appeal.

Case(s) in point: Pixar films, LEGOS, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, yadda yadda, ya.

[John Doe]

My Little Pony sucks.

[Tyr]

My Little Pony sucks.

[John Doe]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SLHU9CCe_Y

[Undrask]

DBZ

[Pinky]

Pretty sure I went over this in another discussion, but Star Wars was made for young teens. I count them as "kids" since they are below the adult age. Back then, PG-13 was a relatively new rating that Speilberg and others from American Zoatrope helped create. Before then, ratings went from G and PG straight to R; PG-13 was created to exploit the young teen demographic which was being ignored at the time.

All of Lucas' movies are geared toward this demographic. Smart on his part, that demo is full of easily impressed minds who are impulsive consumers.

And while I'm still talking about Star Wars and the Machete Order, I take issue with the factual accuracy of whoever it was that wrote that blog. That guy said Lucas started at Episode IV because the earlier parts of the story were just background. Not true, the technology of the 1970's made it impossible for Lucas to realize a full galaxy where the Prequels take place. Also, he didn't expect to get funding for more than a single film. Episode IV was merely the best option.

It was cheap. A few weeks of location shooting in Tunisia with the rest in a studio, mostly low tech gadgets like pistols that squirted smoke, laughable wardrobe, major roles casted with nobodies.

It was also the most self-contained part of the series. Still, important parts of V and VI were spliced in to give the film some finality: the original story had only one Death Star, Obiwan was supposed to oversee all of Luke's training, with Episode IV ending on a cliffhanger like Episode I, II, III and V. So, it's not really "IV" so much as "IV with parts of V and VI."

Then there's the idea that Star Wars is about Luke. Luke is merely a device for the final plot twist: he gives Anikin a reason to overcome a great obstacle (once down the Dark path...) and then he inherets the aftermath. It was ironic that the Jedi pin their hope on Luke only for him to fail and Anikin to win it.

On top of that, I disagree that the Vader relevation is best kept a secret. If you watch the series episodically it adds more emotional depth. You know that Obiwan is lying to Luke about Vader, and that Obiwan feels terrible about what happened. You see how far Obiwan and Vader have declined since their first duel. You know Yoda is fucking with him when they first meet. You see Luke walking the familiar Dark path on the way to confront his father who walked it before him. You know Leia is an alternate version of Luke (maybe better), so him surviving the Bespin duel is not necessary.

The one thing that guy got right is that Episode I is a non-starter. None of the information in that film makes it important to the rest of the series. This is why I would have had a robo-Maul instead of Greivous for an epic rematch in the middle of Episode III.

And note that none of this has anything to do with a subjective quality appraisal of either trilogy.

[Anzekay]

The only thing I feel like commenting on is about obiwan and vader declining since their first duel. I'm pretty sure that if they remade the original movies now their fight would have been just as over-the-top as any other jedi duel in the prequels. The only reason the fight was so pathetic in IV is because of the tech they used to do the lightsabers limiting it.

[John Doe]

Vader's reveal as Luke's father blew my god damn mind as a kid. I'm going to try watching the episodes in machete order and then give my thoughts on them, but in theory the order seems the best way to go.

[Pinky]

The only thing I feel like commenting on is about obiwan and vader declining since their first duel. I'm pretty sure that if they remade the original movies now their fight would have been just as over-the-top as any other jedi duel in the prequels. The only reason the fight was so pathetic in IV is because of the tech they used to do the lightsabers limiting it.

During various interviews Lucas said that the Prequels were the height of the Jedi Order, and the lightsaber duels reflected that. The Original Trilogy was the decline: Obiwan is an old man at the end of his rope (Yoda being an extension of the prinicple character, invented to fill the void left by Obiwan's premature demise in the story), Vader is a quadrapalegic cripple, and Luke is a kid with more talent than training.

Maybe if the films were remade by someone other than Lucas then the Originals would be more flashy, but they were filmed the way he wanted them to be. Remember that the Prequels began before Hong Kong action flooded cinema entertainment, and along with The Matrix it likely triggered the dramatic shift of movie kung fu.

[John Doe]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pla...fOw#t=282s

Clearly the way he wanted them. :3