Saturday, December 18, 2010

The David Boyle / Katie Lucas Letters



Me: I confess I'm sort of amazed that you're not all sort of 'Star Wars'ed out for one lifetime, but I dig the enthusiasm.

KL: I mean, I am, but its part of the job. I also love how much you guys love it. Makes me happy.

Me: I hope the noise from the cynical dicks isn't quite so loud at that end as it seems from here. They were good movies... I find the not-subtle political commentary getting missed by everyone but the kids elevates the movies to performance art... I figure someday we'll look back on this era and your dad's movies, shake our heads, and say, 'Well, we can't say we weren't told.' Unfortunately, art and reason and imagination seem to be losing the war to repetition and demagoguery. More movies needed.

KL: Millions were affected by the Star Wars vision. My father followed his passion, and inspired others. That's all that matters. The bottom line is: you can't please everyone. The movies are what they are and they're not going to change. Same with The Clone Wars. We do our best to create something worth watching, but some people dismiss it as though it were easy. It’s not!

Me: Thanks for the thoughtful reply. It saddens me to see you are practiced at defending something that shouldn't need defending. After a man transforms movies, imagination, and generations of people forever, I'm not sure what he can do for an encore. What he did was create solid entertainment that hit its target audience, made money, and pushed SFX forward AGAIN. I know JarJar has haters but they aren't real. My dad laughed at JarJar. So did my nephew. It was on the mark. It was fine. And the haters themselves are a solid revenue stream so what does that say about them? Anyways. I don't mean to bore you but I think I'm a smart guy and nothing about Star Wars was that far off the mark.

KL: It doesn't bore me at all. It’s nice to get thoughtful, kind responses once in a while. And yes, it does suck to be so practiced at defending your parents' legacy.

Me: Well, some of us are keeping score for real. I'm just sorry there's so few of us. The cynicism of people my age is actually a bit worrying. I'm just sort of outgrowing it myself. Get me talking about Battlestar Galactica sometime and I'll show you that I can be a cynical, critical dick... when it's warranted.


Secrets of the Universe?

1.> Matter distorts space-time. This is what we call gravity. It turns out also that matter in complex arrangements produces consciousness. I donno. Maybe consciousness is a distortion of space-time as well?

2.> The universe is, in fact, conscious, in that it can be said to contain you enfolded nonlocally within its, uh... want to call it universalness? potentium? matrix? You are a superdetermined part of the lattice of being, and the dreams, thinks, and feelings you have are written on the same slate as the laws of physics, made of the same stuff as found in the hearts of stars. This should freak you right out.

3.> Either our insistence on observing meaning is meaningful, or it isn't. We are probably better off assuming that it is.