George Lucas Does It Again...For the First Time

George Lucas's name comes with a lot of baggage these days. Lucas created the best mainstream sci-fi, and some of the most famous films of all time. They are classics, all time favorites, and are etched deep into the skin of the body populous. Then he made lesser blockbusters. His studio is easily recognizable, and the licensing that has spread is monstrous. Oh, and he helped make Indiana Jones. It all started though, with THX 1138.

I won't bore you with the details, but instead will launch into the discussion.

Perhaps one of the most interesting concepts is the "value" of lives. I personally have always thought of a difference between "people logic" and "capitalist business logic", which balance each other out in our society. For example, McDonald's is trying to make money. When people sue them because they are getting fat off eating too many fries, I don't think McDonald's has a social responsibility to them, I think they have it to themselves. However, if you're roommate is mad because you always cook fatty food for them, you might have more responsibility in the matter. In THX, once it exceeds the value (I predict the value is equal to the "profit" from THX's existence - how much he produces minus how much he costs to maintain) THX has to keep him, they let him go. What will he do anyways? This is business machine logic. It is being applied to life. As far as their system goes, it makes some sort of twisted sense. Yet, when we see it directly applied to human beings, it seems grotesque. However, in the real world today, we see a similar logic applied to the firing of lower level employees of large companies that are downsizing or merging. Not quite the same, but the parallels aren't difficult to see.

One thing that struck me was the "courtroom" scene, as it were. The almost childlike "lawyer" condemning the actions of the sexual deviants was an odd, but I just wanted point out it's existence.

That's about all I have space for today. I'm glad I watched THX, even if I didn't think it was an amazing film (although it did a lot more with little dialogue than 2001 did, IMO), but it brings up interesting issues and shows something about Lucas. Plus, the ending shot is a beautiful shot that can delight even the most jaded film cynic (if only for a second, and they'll never admit it).

And that is why The Sandlot is the pinnacle of modern film.