Arts and Entertainment
The Nostalgia of Star Wars by Ben Krueger
733/400 words
“A galaxy far, far away” feels familiar to the millions of Star Wars fans on planet Earth. The expansive universe of the Star Wars saga, home to weird creatures and strange worlds, has ingrained itself in the minds of children, teenagers, and adults since 1977 when George Lucas, the series’ creator, premiered it to the masses. Making almost $800 million in the box office, two sequels followed in the years to come. Spawning merchandise, fan fiction, and childhood memories, Star Wars was more than a movie — it was a sensation.
Over a decade after Episode VI: Return of the Jedi released, Lucas came back for three more movies, popularly known as ‘The Prequels’. Coming from the success of the first three movies, expectations were high for the movies that would serve as the backstory of Darth Vader, the original films’ villain. For his second go-around, Lucas emphasized unnecessary characters and story elements, breeding a strong, mostly displeased reaction from the fans. Forbes puts it best: “I realized why the prequel trilogy is so hated, by so many. It’s simply because it’s terrible. The combination of stilted acting and weird dialogue brought it down to the level of the worst kind of sci-fi, high concept with zero substance.”
So in 2006, after the last prequel movie came out, Star Wars was a massive brand with six films under its belt, three highly regarded. “Once you add up all those movie tickets, action figures, and limited-edition Coffee-mate creamers, billions [of dollars] will come back to replace the billions spent,” said WIRED of Star Wars’ size. To that point, in 2012, Disney came around and bought Lucasfilm from George Lucas for $4 billion, and with it Star Wars. At the time, Disney’s Marvel Studios had completed “Phase One” of their Cinematic Universe, with The Avengers. A web of interconnected films, the Marvel Cinematic Universe served as proof that Disney could handle huge franchises — acquiring Lucasfilm made perfect sense.
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| (from left) Carrie Fisher, Rian Johnson, Mark Hamill, and Kathleen Kennedy on the set of The Last Jedi (photo courtesy Vanity Fair) |
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| Daisy Ridley as Rey in The Last Jedi (photo courtesy Vanity Fair) |
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| Daisy Ridley as Rey and Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi (photo courtesy Vanity Fair) |
Sources:
- http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=starwars4.htm
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2016/12/15/looking-back-at-the-star-wars-prequel-trilogy/#466699db2a9c
- https://www.wired.com/2015/12/disney-star-wars-return-on-investment/
- https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/star_wars_episode_vii_the_force_awakens/
- https://www.theverge.com/2017/3/23/15041520/disney-star-wars-bob-iger-future
- http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/05/star-wars-the-last-jedi-cover-portfolio
"Twin Peaks" Returns to Television by Grace Hut
Word Count: 456/400
When nearly 35 million viewers tuned in for the “Twin Peaks” pilot episode on April 8, 1990, they were rewarded with two hours of unprecedented network television. David Lynch and Mark Frost, the creators of the mystery drama, have often been credited with opening the doors for other writers and directors to start experimenting with different ways of telling stories. After all, the show is not similar to anything that came before it, and it allowed shows that came after it to be more cinematic, less procedural, and a whole lot weirder. It is possible that without the innovation and ambition of “Twin Peaks”, well known shows like “The X-Files” and “The Sopranos” would have never been thought up.
“Twin Peaks” takes place in a seemingly idyllic logging town that secretly harbors dangerous lies and a web of deceitful characters. The story starts when Laura Palmer, high school homecoming queen, is found dead and wrapped in plastic on the shore of her small Washington town, Twin Peaks, and Agent Dale Cooper is called upon to solve the mystery. The first episode is followed by two seasons of surreal visuals, dream sequences, and eerie moments. And starting on Sunday, May 21, 2017, these beloved features of the show will come back to television. An 18-hour revival of “Twin Peaks” directed by Lynch and featuring much of the original cast will begin on Showtime on that date.
Promotion for the "Twin Peaks" revival
Courtesy of IMDb.com
Fans of the show are hoping that the revival will quench their thirst for answers. The last episode of the second season left a number of narratives unfinished, and one character left the audience with the intriguing promise of a reunion in 25 years. When this promise was made, however, it remained unclear what the future of “Twin Peaks” would be. The second season disengaged fans with its increasingly ridiculous and random story lines; one character has a nervous breakdown, another gets trapped in a drawer knob, and yet another turns into a high school men’s wrestling champion. After ABC producers pushed the show’s creators to solve the mystery of Laura Palmer’s murder in the seventh episode of the second season, Frost had to fill 15 episodes without the show’s signature lure. Lynch had distanced himself from the series, and told New York Times that, “It got very stupid and goofy in the second season; it got ridiculous… I stopped watching that show because it got so bad.”
Despite the failure of the second season, “Twin Peaks” has remained a series that receives constant praise. And now that it is returning during an era where figuring out ambiguous plots is considered by many to be the most exciting part of television, it is sure to allure fans both new and old.
The cast of "Twin Peaks" attends a funeral during Season 1
Courtesy of CNET.com
