Denver Comic Con 2016 Panel Spotlight: 'The Origins of the Force'

Written by Tim Girard

The Origins of the Force
Friday, June 17, 2016 7:25pm-8:15pm
Alexandre Philippe, Ernie Quiroz
  
The panel “The Origins of the Force,” was based on Denver Film Society Programming Manager, Ernie Quiroz’s four-part film series where he shows the films that George Lucas either was inspired/influenced by, referenced, borrowed, or just flat out stole from (I've also had similar discussions about John Williams' music, but more on that later). This is the central discussion point around the four films (Hidden Fortress, Dam Busters, THX 1138, and Metropolis). It was co-presented by Alexandre O. Philippe, the director of the documentary The People vs. George Lucas. There are also comparisons made to Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, and especially Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces.
 
The presentation started out strong with a video (Star Wars Rip-Offs: The Dam Busters - Side by Side Scene Comparison, featured below) of a side-by-side comparison of the 1955 film Dam Busters and the attack on the Death Star at the end of A New Hope. At first it shows a few scenes that do look similar, like schematics of the dam/Death Star and targeting systems, then shots of the pilots inside the cockpits. The point is really hit home when we hear comparisons of some of the dialogue (”How many guns do you think there are, Trevor?”/“How many guns do you think, Gold 5?” and “I reckon you should be able to see it by now.”/“We should be able to see it by now.”). Ernie did admit however, that if you watch the whole scene from Dam Busters, it is much longer because the pilots make many more attempts, so the pacing is incredibly different.
 
Next they discussed Akira Kurosawa's film Hidden Fortress (also with a video, Star Wars vs. Hidden Fortress Mashup, also featured below). The most easily identifiable comparison is that of the Samurai to Jedi. Both films also have characters that parallel each other. In Hidden Fortress there are two peasants (a tall one and a short one) who at one point are walking through a desert together, get in an argument, and split up, only to be reunited later on (C-3PO and R2-D2). There is an evil general who has a scarred face (Darth Vader), a good and wise general (Obi Wan Kenobi), and a princess (Princess Leia). One thing that didn't quite translate culturally is that in Japan, most people are probably at least somewhat familiar or aware of the samurai code, so it does not have to be explained in Hidden Fortress. The Jedi and the Force, however, were not a well-known part of American culture (like they are now), yet Lucas didn't explain much about them, so they remained mostly a mystery. This would have made watching Star Wars in America a very different experience from watching Hidden Fortress in Japan. This aspect of the comparison then led to a side discussion about how Lucas attempted to explain the Force in the Prequels with midi-chlorians. Some preferred the inclusion of midi-chlorians because they said it added a scientific explanation for how the Force worked, solidifying Star Wars as science fiction, while others preferred not having an explanation and leaving the Force as a mystical element, which some believe makes Star Wars fall into the fantasy genre. The conclusion that everyone could agree upon, however, was that when George Lucas made the Prequels, he was a very different person than when he made the original trilogy.
 
The next film that was discussed for comparison was THX 1138. Since it is his own film, the discussion obviously wasn't about whether or not he stole from someone else, but how much this was a stepping-stone to Star Wars. This gave him his start by creating a grim, dystopian world. Quiroz believed that, had he made Star Wars next, it would have been a very different film. Next he made American Graffiti, which allowed him to focus on human relationships in a more coming-of-age story. This gave his storytelling more balance, making him the creator that would bring us Star Wars. Only a brief time was spent comparing Metropolis, and it was limited to the more obvious similarities like the robot being an inspiration for C-3PO, and the two levels of society manifesting as the Empire and the Rebellion.
 
 There was more discussion on Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces and the concept of the “hero’s journey” which is a distillation of core events that Campbell discovered in myths from cultures all over the world. The basic idea is that there is a normal person, and the call to adventure takes them out of the ordinary world on a quest. Sometimes there is a sidekick (or sidekicks), sometimes there is a princess, and sometimes, the hero will spend time in the abyss. Comparisons were also made between the original trilogy and The Force Awakens, showing that the same basic elements are there, but sometimes varied or in a different order. For example, both Luke and Rey hear the call to adventure, but while Luke seeks it, Rey tries as hard as she can to refuse it.
 
The discussion was eventually steered to the music that John Williams either was inspired/influenced by, referenced, borrowed, or just flat out stole from. In the discussion, the Imperial March was said to have been inspired by music from Stravinsky’s Firebird. There are also many other similarities to classical masterworks, such as Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and Holst’s Planets Suite. One explanation for this could be that George Lucas used a temp score that included these works, and John Williams was trying to create the same mood. This notion related to another question we can ask ourselves, did Vanilla Ice steal the bass line from “Under Presssure” by Queen and David Bowie, or is it a different bass line because it has one more note?

One thing we can’t deny is that everyone is influenced by everything that they come in contact with. Anything that everyone creates is some kind of amalgamation of the things that shaped their set of aesthetics and is passing through them with varying levels of intention. Many people have done “rip-offs” of what came before them, but what we have to ask ourselves is, “are they any good?” Many are not. Creating a patchwork of other peoples’ work usually doesn’t create a cohesive work of art. Why not? Maybe because they don’t have the core mythology that Star Wars does. Maybe their creators haven’t honed their craft like George Lucas has. Maybe they wanted to take the easy way out and make something quick by standing on the shoulders of other, better artists. George Lucas wanted to create a galaxy, and he did, and that’s what is important, and that is the point of Quiroz’s film series and of this panel. Whatever you want to call it, if he hadn't been influenced by, referenced, borrowed, or stolen, then we wouldn't have Star Wars. 

Next up to discuss from Denver Comic Con’s panels: The Sounds of Star Trek.

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