Turn On, Tune In, Veg Out

Neal Stephenson has written an interesting Op-Ed piece for the New York Times: Turn On, Tune In, Veg Out. He notes major differences between the original Star Wars film and Episode III. The original film was a freestanding narrative. Except for the opening crawl, you didn’t need to know anything. Episode III relies not only on the earlier films but also on “Clone Wars,” the animated TV series that bridges the story arc between II and III. Many viewers, including me, never watched that series so we aren’t familar with some of the characters and back story in Episode III. We’re left to let all of the cool on-screen action wash over us without fully understanding what’s going on. (And, I’ll add, not caring all that much about the characters on screen but that’s another matter).

Stephenson’s “veg out” vs. “geek out” comparisons are interesting but his contention that Americans spend too much time “vegging out” and as a result the United States will go “the way of the old Republic” is a bit much. Nevertheless, I think he’s right that far too many films are mostly eye candy. A lot of filmmakers don’t bother to create an immersive, engaging experience.