Cam Winstanley
Cadet
First thing - I love the original Star Wars films.
But I rewatched Soylent Green at weekend and it set me thinking. Back in the late 70s and early 80s, while I was waiting for the next snippet of Star Wars information to come out (no internet of course), the films on TV that sent me dizzy with ideas were the sci fi greats of previous years. They were all different but what unified them was they all had a point:
The Day The Earth Stood Still – Mankind should stand together
Planet of the Apes – What is the true nature of humanity?
Soylent Green – Where will consumption take us?
Silent Running – Is the last tree worth the lives of a few people?
Rollerball – The power of individuality
Now again, I'm not out to diss Star Wars but it is, at its core, a tale of castles and wizards transplanted into a galaxy far, far away. It's even based on a Japanese movie set in medieval times. And who can doubt the overwhelming appeal of such simple, exciting space opera?
But here's my question. Did sci fi movies with a message suffer due to the success of Star Wars? Did we all give into spectacle rather than a message? I've been wracking my brains and while I can think of dozens of loud-but-dumb Transformers and GI Joe event movies, the recent thoughtful films I can count on my fingers. Inception, Sunshine, Limitless... erm...
But I rewatched Soylent Green at weekend and it set me thinking. Back in the late 70s and early 80s, while I was waiting for the next snippet of Star Wars information to come out (no internet of course), the films on TV that sent me dizzy with ideas were the sci fi greats of previous years. They were all different but what unified them was they all had a point:
The Day The Earth Stood Still – Mankind should stand together
Planet of the Apes – What is the true nature of humanity?
Soylent Green – Where will consumption take us?
Silent Running – Is the last tree worth the lives of a few people?
Rollerball – The power of individuality
Now again, I'm not out to diss Star Wars but it is, at its core, a tale of castles and wizards transplanted into a galaxy far, far away. It's even based on a Japanese movie set in medieval times. And who can doubt the overwhelming appeal of such simple, exciting space opera?
But here's my question. Did sci fi movies with a message suffer due to the success of Star Wars? Did we all give into spectacle rather than a message? I've been wracking my brains and while I can think of dozens of loud-but-dumb Transformers and GI Joe event movies, the recent thoughtful films I can count on my fingers. Inception, Sunshine, Limitless... erm...