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Forcecast Editorial and My Rebuttal
Nov. 4th, 2010 08:30 pmEric Harris wrote this piece called "George Lucas Deserves More Credit And Less Blame" for The Forcecast's site:
http://www.forcecast.net/story/home/Editorial_George_Lucas_Deserves_More_Credit_And_Less_Blame_134762.asp
If you've been reading my LiveJournal for any amount of time, you probably figure that I'm totally on board with that concept. And you would be right. I concur with the essay's concept and some of Harris's points, such as, "Remember, Lucas was using the most advanced special effects available when he made the original trilogy (OT). It stands to reason that he would use the best special effects available for the new films." But like a lot of these purported defenses that crop up from time-to-time, it is full of backhanded compliments, qualifications ("I'll start by acknowledging Lucas' faults"), and concessions. So overall, Harris weakens his essay by spending most of it criticizing Lucas and his films and by agreeing with a lot the people he is trying to convince otherwise.
Look, not really finding fault with the movies doesn't mean you're some kind of unthinking Lucasbot. You don't have to take your own shots at them in order to make your points legitimate to anyone. You defend your position by using good arguments and backing them up with facts. Obviously liking or disliking something is purely subjective but there's so much more that Harris could have brought up in his piece that he didn't mention at all. For one thing, even the most craven Lucas hater can't deny he and his company have done a great job perpetuating the Star Wars phenomenon for another generation of youngsters. It's also undeniable that the prequels have greatly influenced the look and feel of many of the blockbusters to have come out over the past 10 years. Why not talk about that stuff?
With defenses like these, who needs bashers?
http://www.forcecast.net/story/home/Editorial_George_Lucas_Deserves_More_Credit_And_Less_Blame_134762.asp
If you've been reading my LiveJournal for any amount of time, you probably figure that I'm totally on board with that concept. And you would be right. I concur with the essay's concept and some of Harris's points, such as, "Remember, Lucas was using the most advanced special effects available when he made the original trilogy (OT). It stands to reason that he would use the best special effects available for the new films." But like a lot of these purported defenses that crop up from time-to-time, it is full of backhanded compliments, qualifications ("I'll start by acknowledging Lucas' faults"), and concessions. So overall, Harris weakens his essay by spending most of it criticizing Lucas and his films and by agreeing with a lot the people he is trying to convince otherwise.
Look, not really finding fault with the movies doesn't mean you're some kind of unthinking Lucasbot. You don't have to take your own shots at them in order to make your points legitimate to anyone. You defend your position by using good arguments and backing them up with facts. Obviously liking or disliking something is purely subjective but there's so much more that Harris could have brought up in his piece that he didn't mention at all. For one thing, even the most craven Lucas hater can't deny he and his company have done a great job perpetuating the Star Wars phenomenon for another generation of youngsters. It's also undeniable that the prequels have greatly influenced the look and feel of many of the blockbusters to have come out over the past 10 years. Why not talk about that stuff?
With defenses like these, who needs bashers?
