George Lucas and the Art of Plagiarising
Yoda in The Phantom Menace: "Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering."
Brandeis J in Whitney v California 274 US 357 (1927) at 376: "they [the founding fathers] knew that... fear breeds repression; that repression breeds hate; that hate menaces stable government"
The discovery of this interesting similarity is courtesy of my own Star Wars obsession; GT's Media Law textbook and research for my (as yet, still in development) thesis - although I have since discovered that I'm not the only SW fan/law student to have picked up on this. Maybe this explains the supposed failure of the prequels to live up to the originals - when the creator starts stealing - sorry, 'appropriating' - quotes from judges, alarm bells begin to ring and you can't help but wonder if the well is dry.
Come on, CB! Surely it's worth giving the films a go, if only to analyse the legal theory behind them?
Skye
3 Comments:
You wookiephiles are a tenacious lot aren't you?
You know, my complete indifference to SW may well have been mellowing itself into an absent minded curiosity, much as I feel towards a carton of milk or the second step leading to the lawn in the backyard...that is to say until one fateful day on a sleepy bench in the Art Gallery overlooking Woolomoloo bay, when none other than GT unwittingly gave me the single most damning analysis of this tedious phenomenon I had ever heard. (ladies and gentlemen, eggs and crumpets, we have found THE MOLE!) So alas poor Yorick- nothing could induce me now.
As for the legal analogy, I can't say that I'm particularly surprised or inspired- that being an observation that has surely been applied to this motely species of ours and the way we conduct ourselves since the beginning of doubt itself. In fact it is so ubiquitously topical that this observation is a cream pie being hurled at us here and now as we speak.
Star Wars may have kept you amused for a few hours, but I assure you truth is stranger than fiction, and you don't have to look far for either.
(I commend the effort though VS-Georgie boy would be proud)
cb
By
8scoops, at August 16, 2005 at 9:28 PM
GT, as Padme remarked to her beloved Anakin with horror "What have you done?!"
Alas, I fear for your redemption - is the dark side so much stronger? Until that day comes when you can once again stand strong with your fellow SW brothers and sisters against the tide of realists and trekkies alike (come on, somewhere along the line one must choose a side) I dub you 'Red Tea'.
VS
By
8scoops, at August 18, 2005 at 1:04 AM
well actually i did use to be a bit of a trekker so i guess that side was influencing me DON'T START WITH PADME her and Anankin's relationship in the new trilogy alone could put me off Star Wars for life.
But no i do love the film [well the old ones anyway i'm turning into a grumpy film woman needing things like decent dialogue hrmph!]at any age and pretty much anytime of the day which is rare in a film especially one that you can carry with you till the day films become obsolete or you die whichever one comes first.
love is indeed an odd thing but maybe not blind because its a fun flick no doubt and social phenomena not to mention the tech advances but it is a silly film but i DEMAND and need some sillyness in our lives or in fiction anyway as Cranberry rightly noted life can be stranger than fiction and very sadly much scarier e gad look at the people in control!
Georgie boy?
So paint what colour you will of me i'm a complicated nerd with a film student's mind.
GT
By
8scoops, at October 10, 2005 at 12:52 AM
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