How will the trial go down?

When I started reading, Star Wars on Trial, I thought there were going to be three or four "charges" but I was a little off. There is actually (for sport you can put your guess in comments) I can't believe this court, which is actually a mock trial but its a 600 page book about debates and Star Wars, found eight charges in Star Wars. I thought the only things Star Wars did wrong could fit into three categories: 1) Episode I. 2) Episode II. And 3) Episode III.

But here are the eight charges: 1) The politics are antidemocratic. 2) Star Wars portrays no admirable Religious or Ethnic beliefs. 3)Star Wars NOVELS are a poor substitute for real science fiction. 4) Modern Sci-Fi has been reduced to poorly written effects extravaganzas. 5) Star Wars has dumbed down the perception of science fiction in popular imagination. 6) Star Wars pretends to be science fiction but is really fantasy. 7) Women in Star Wars are portrayed as weak. 8) Logical gaps in Star Wars make it unsuitable for intelligent viewers.

I won't be prosecutor for the issues but I will defend some of them. Starting with Charge 4) The Matrix came out 16 years after Return of The Jedi, and even though it was full of special effects it did still have an importance for those special effects and a really good story I love to this day. Avatar and Terminator 2 are also both huge sci-fi films and one of them is the best of a 4 or 5 film franchise and the other is the HIGHEST GROSSING FILM OF ALL TIME. James Cameron is a boss. For charge 7: There is only like two major female characters in Star Wars with more than two lines which is Leia and Luke's Aunt. His Aunt get's charred to death so you can't base that assumption off of one character who is still pretty awesome (my favorite Disney Princess). For charge 6, Star Wars was never pretending to be anything. George Lucas calls it a space opera. I think it's just because people think space=science fiction. Even though its fantasy all along. And that brings me to charges five and eight: its not meant to be logically thought provoking. It is a fantastical story of a Jedi and a Smuggler saving a princess and blowing up a Death Star. And it has touched the hearts of millions.
Can you defend or prove any of these charges?  Or are there common criticisms of your favorite films you would like to share. Comment below to answer one or both of these questions.

Why did I choose Star Wars On Trial?

I took a break from Dark Knight Returns because I wanted to read a longer book (and the library doesn't allow renews on graphic novels but that's irrelevant). I also wanted to go with something that didn't just make me look like the nerd in class, you know like Star Wars. But the real reason I chose this book is because I have two passions in life: comedy and movies. Film has the ability to influence us in so many ways that we don't even realize. The lawyers in the book (by the way there was a real trial about the religious and government undertones in Star Wars. Isn't that awesome?) make this apparent due to their quote they took from a famous New York Times interview, "Movies have a big voice, and what we filmmakers have to do is set a good example" also on page 5 Birn (The lawyer) Brought up is how he felt after seeing The Empire Strikes Back, "This (Star Wars) wasn't just fun anymore. It felt... important.

I want this book to help me understand why certain people feel so passionately about the films they took the time to see, love and eventually argue about religious undertones of.

So here is the non rhetorical question I'm putting out:
What are your top 10 favorite films of all time and talk about why they are your top 10. Submit below in comments and click here to visit my movie blog so we can continue our discussion about movies.

Here's my top 10 to get you started (in no particular order)
1. Dark Knight
2. Avengers
3. Star Wars 4
4. Star Wars 5
5. Star Wars 6
6. The Matrix
7. Batman Forever
8. Ghostbusters
9. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
10. Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Krista Ramsey Intro Activity

According to Mrs, Ramsey's collumn, the Mennonites (which based on the article are a religous group) embrace the arts by making quilts, performing, etc. Click here to see the article. The best written line in my opinion is, "It's an image to which many Americans can't relate. That's one reason why Mennonite artists like Stoltzfus relish this weekend, the chance to explore such thoughts with others of their faith" (Ramsey). The first sentence of the line is much more to the point than the second. However, the second sentence is a lot more thought provoking. Her writing style is written directly to the reader to make them feel not only like an observer (like in most novels) but almost conversation like. "You see it all the time" (Ramsey).
If I could ask her three questions they would be:
1) What seperates you and your style of writing from other journalists and columnists
2) Have ever written in any other genres before and if so what were they
3) How do you choose what to write about?

Where is Killing Joker Hiding?

There was an era of comic and superhero cinema where the point of superheroes were supposed to beat the bad guy where the bad guy wasn't given as much back story as I would believe they deserve. Even though The Joker was Batman's opposite since the beginning, he wasn't taken particularly seriously. You could try to argue, "well he's a clown" but that can be argued with two major points 1) clowns are terrifying. 2) None of the characters in the Adam West Batman were taken seriously. But then The Killing Joke came along and the story is terrifying. I won't tell you what the Joker does but it is MESSED UP. But the writer Alan Moore did something really cool with the character. He expanded on it while keeping the core essential elements to who the Joker is: a sadistic clown. If you want to know where you can see the most accurate portrayal of the character is (what a shock) Heath Ledger's Joker. Although they never actually describe him as a clown in the movie, the two parts that express who The Joker is more than anything are 1) the magic trick and 2) when he has the frag grenades in his coat and he says, "lets not blow this out of proportion." I highly suggest you check out both of the Joker pieces I talked about because they're both awesome.

What does the mask mean?

Among most superheroes a common trait is that they have a mask (besides X men, Hulk, Thor, Wonder Woman, Dr. Strange and Superman) although that's a lot of exceptions we will address those later. But why do superheroes wear masks? Is it just a form of disguise? I don't think so. Let's discuss a couple of heroes and their reasons for wearing the masks. As a child dressing up for Halloween my least favorite part was the mask because it was as sweaty as all get out so it worth it? The main use for the mask or the outfit in general as Ra's Al Ghul put it in Batman Begins is (to paraphrase) that it you have to be more than a man. A symbol. To be honest more that one person can be taking that persona of Batman. There might even be a Batman organization of people who are Batman all over the world. Although this is only in the comics, there is a real super hero organization who wear costumes and do work for the good of humanity. Not for hiding identity but as a symbol. What do you think the mask is for? Comment below to state your thoughts.