logo Sign In

I found a book called "Star Wars on Trial" in a Barnes and Noble bookstore.

Author
Date
Author
Time
 (Edited)
Post link

Like the tittle says, I found this book in B&N and it is unauthorized. It is set up just like a court case and it has a prosecuter by the name of David Brin who adresses all the problems like the plot holes, the midiclorians, and many other problems and the defendent is Matthew Woodring Stover who defends Lucas and his plot holes. You guys should check this out. The prosecuter Brin has a lot of the same beliefs as we here do about the prequels, and even adresses problems in ROTJ. Here is B&N’s synopsis of the book:

"Debates on the authenticity of the Star Wars franchise and the hero-or-villain status of George Lucas are at the heart of these essays by bestselling science-fiction authors. The incredible popularity of the movies has led to the formation of strong emotions within the science fiction community on the strengths and flaws of the film, exemplified here by David Brin’s attacks and Matthew Woodring Stover’s defense of the movies. This intense examination of the epic works addresses a broad range of issues—from politics, religion, and the saga’s overall logic to the impact of the series on bookshelf space as well as science-fiction film. The question Is George Lucas a hero for bringing science fiction to a mass audience or a villain who doesn’t understand the genre he’s working for? is discussed before a final “Judge’s Verdict” on the greatness—or weakness—of the franchise is reached. "
 

Here is a link to the page about the book on B&N’s website:“Star Wars on Trial”

Alt link: for Nook version and physical book - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Star+Wars+on+Trial?_requestid=245224


Author
Time
Post link
That's very interesting- is there any discussion about the OOT vs. the SEs?

Author
Time
Post link
I had to look through it quickly at the store because I needed to get home, but the book is 383 pages long so I am sure that the OOT vs. SE is mentioned somewhere. Also I have added a link to the page about the book in my first post.


Author
Time
Post link
Thanks very much! I'll have to check that one out.

Author
Time
Post link
I read nearly the entire book at Barnes & Noble a few days ago. It was very interesting. I found that I agreed and disagreed with both sides over some things. I agreed with the prosecution when they attacked the prequels for being ridiculous and awful, and with the defence when the prosecution behaved in a douschey fashion towards the originals, which they unfortunately often did.

It was funny that as ardent as Stover was in his defence of Lucas, he could make no coherent argument against the notion that the execution of the prequels (dialogue, acting/directing etc.) was very poor. The main prosecutor made the mistake of lumping all six movies together in the same category of being "Star Wars", making criticisms against all the movies on the basis of his quibbles with only the later ones. Later chapters brought up the original vs. SE debate and several participants made it clear they considered the earlier films, particularly in their unaltered states, to be entirely separate from the decisions of 90's Lucas and ought not to be criticised in the same manner (I agreed with this argument).

Ultimately no verdict was delivered, leaving it up to the reader to decide for themselves what they thought. I had a good time reading it.
Author
Time
Post link
I am glad someone besides me has heard of this book.


Author
Time
Post link
Wow, that's interesting. I might want to pick that up someday!

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

Author
Time
Post link
I like that cover a lot.

Sounds like an interesting read as well.

"Now all Lucas has to do is make a cgi version of himself.  It will be better than the original and fit his original vision." - skyjedi2005

Author
Time
Post link
Some links you may find interesting:

The book's official site

A Salon.com article by David Brin and an addendum to this article on David Brin's site.

Enjoy!

(I haven't read that book, but I plan to buy it in the (hopefully near) future)

Han: Hey Lando! You kept your promise, right? Not a scratch?
Lando: Well, what’s left of her isn’t scratched. All the scratched parts got knocked off along the way.
Han (exasperated): Knocked off?!

Author
Time
Post link
That second link was very good. It actually made me totally reasses Vader's salvation/ressurection. I have never believed that Darth Vader should have ever been seen as a hero though. More of a tragedy if anything. I felt empathy for whatever goodness might have remained inside of him, but even at the end when his body is being burned, I still thought of him as a horrid monster. The force-ghost scene . . . I'm not sure I remember what I personally thought of that. Oh well, regardless, that dissertation will keep me thinking for a while here.

"Now all Lucas has to do is make a cgi version of himself.  It will be better than the original and fit his original vision." - skyjedi2005

Author
Time
Post link
I picked this up at comic con when it just came out. I'm about100 pages into it now. It is entertaining and it presents its arguements wel, but even the fdefenders are showing their dislike of the PT and the SE's although eah writer defends individual charges well, they can't help but lob a few volleys at some of the films and Lucas himself.
There's good in the Original Trilogy, and it's worth fighting for.
"People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people."
http://www.myspace.com/harlock415
Author
Time
Post link
I haven't read Brin's Salon article in years. I agree with a lot of it, but he

a) unfairly implies that Superman would not submit to scientific scrutiny (see page 1 of Action Comics #1, inter alia),

b) unfairly implies that Darth Vader murdered billions "with the push of a button". The only time we saw billions murdered was when Tarkin destroyed Alderaan.
"It's the stoned movie you don't have to be stoned for." -- Tom Shales on Star Wars
Scruffy's gonna die the way he lived.
Author
Time
Post link
He was refering to him using his lightsaber. He said( I can't remember the man's name Killed ton's of people withe swish of his sword and he said Vader did it with thepush of his button (refering to activating his lightsaber).


Author
Time
Post link
Vader didn't murder billions of people with his lightsaber. I can only think of one person he killed with his lightsaber in the OT. And that person probably had a death warrant or a letter of marque against him anyway, so it wasn't murder.
"It's the stoned movie you don't have to be stoned for." -- Tom Shales on Star Wars
Scruffy's gonna die the way he lived.
Author
Time
Post link
Pff...somebody watched the Clerks cartoon for inspiration...
Author
Time
Post link
The premise of the book is very interesting, and it brings out something I've never thought before with regards to whether or not Lucas is a sci-fi hero or villain; whether he understood the genre and what he has done by popularising it, etc.
MTFBWY. Always.

http://www.myspace.com/red_ajax
Author
Time
Post link
Hasn't GL claimed that Star Wars isn't 'science fiction' per se, but rather more towards the 'fantasy' genre?

Author
Time
Post link
He has, but it's impossibe to deny that Star Wars uses (and steals) many science fiction elements.

"Now all Lucas has to do is make a cgi version of himself.  It will be better than the original and fit his original vision." - skyjedi2005