Day #16 - of the 30 day film challenge
Sep. 15th, 2020 06:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatDay #16 of 30 Day Film Challenge.
These prompts aren't getting any easier...
A Film that is Personal To You
I saw the film in 1977.
We were the first kids on our block and among my friends to see it. We saw it opening weekend.
I was around 12 years old at the time. A skinny little girl with pig tails and long legs.
And we saw it the summer before we moved to Kansas City from West Chester, PA. It was to be our very last summer in Pennsylvania.
Prior to Star Wars - my idea of science fiction was horror films. There weren't any strong female leads or women I could identify with. The 1970s reboot of King Kong had come out the month before - starring Jeff Bridges and the obligatory damsel (which populated all films at the time), and I'd seen it with my next door neighbor's family, and best bud at the time. I clearly remember her father stating that King Kong would whomp Star Wars ass at the box office. And would become the classic. Her family loved horror movies. As did my grandfather - who used to take my grandmother to all those old 1950s sci-fi horror flicks back in the day.
I disliked horror movies. They gave me nightmares. And I hated sci-fi back then - despised it. I'd leave the house the moment Space 1999 came on, and avoided Star Trek, Doctor Who, and all the others. A little girl of 11 or 12, I wasn't fond of scary monsters. And for me? Sci-Fi = Horror, there was distinction between the two. Outer Limits, Twilight Zone, and the Afternoon sci-fi movie - were all without except horror films.
Then, along came Star Wars - and I fell in love. Star Wars was my first fandom. The damsel wasn't really damsel - she was snarky, and wise-cracking, and could fire a gun. I loved her. She reminded me of me. I could actually identify with the lead female character - with her pudgy cheeks, and brown hair.
The film had a mythology. There was world building. People with superpowers. Characters I could identify with. And, no monsters. Just a really cool villain - Darth Vader. And at that time - amazing special effects - special effects that blew me away. I'd never seen anything like it.
I remember my father pushing us to see the movie. He got it into his head that we needed to see it as quickly as possible - before it magically disappeared. He'd read about it in the New Yorker or the New York Times - and well, at that time, my father was a bit of a movie buff.
My parents were huge science fiction fans back then - they'd watched Star Trek and they also made time to see Space 1999. I remember driving all the way out to Exton, PA - about three hours to see the movie - but it was sold out. So we went the next day and saw it closer in.
We were among the first to see it. And since that time? I've seen it about twenty times. I wrote fanfic in my head about it. I bought the novelizations. We got the action figures for Christmas. We'd NEVER owned action figures before or since. The only action figures I've ever owned were from Star Wars. Our cat used to steal the Princess Leia action figure and dump her in his water dish.
This movie changed how I viewed science fiction. Because of Star Wars - I fell in love with the sci-fi genre, I fell in love with fantasy. I actually bought various books based on the series and asked for them for Christmas.
I know there are people who don't get it. There always are - folks who don't understand why we love what we love. Most of my friends don't - my best friend at the time, preferred King Kong. MD - never got the appeal. Although when Stars was re-released in theaters in 1999 or thereabouts...my friend CW saw it with me - because she adored Star Wars.
So, it was my first fandom - but I tended to keep it to myself for the most part. Oh sure, I met people here and there who loved it. A couple of friends I ran with in junior high. But for most people? It wasn't cool. It had no monsters. Or horror or dystopia. It was ...a positive sci-fi series. It wasn't Star Trek or Doctor Who. It was a space opera, an epic, that mixed Westerns (which my family adored), WWII movies, Science Fiction and Fantasy.
A true mashup of styles.
This is my comfort film, the film of my childhood, it makes me happy, and it gives me hope. My first love affair with movies and cinema. My first flirtation with fan-fiction and with fandom.
When I looked at this selection - the first film that popped into my head was Star Wars. I tried to think of another film, a more obscure, cool film, but no...the only film that came to mind was Star Wars for all the reasons outlined above.
These prompts aren't getting any easier...
A Film that is Personal To You
I saw the film in 1977.
We were the first kids on our block and among my friends to see it. We saw it opening weekend.
I was around 12 years old at the time. A skinny little girl with pig tails and long legs.
And we saw it the summer before we moved to Kansas City from West Chester, PA. It was to be our very last summer in Pennsylvania.
Prior to Star Wars - my idea of science fiction was horror films. There weren't any strong female leads or women I could identify with. The 1970s reboot of King Kong had come out the month before - starring Jeff Bridges and the obligatory damsel (which populated all films at the time), and I'd seen it with my next door neighbor's family, and best bud at the time. I clearly remember her father stating that King Kong would whomp Star Wars ass at the box office. And would become the classic. Her family loved horror movies. As did my grandfather - who used to take my grandmother to all those old 1950s sci-fi horror flicks back in the day.
I disliked horror movies. They gave me nightmares. And I hated sci-fi back then - despised it. I'd leave the house the moment Space 1999 came on, and avoided Star Trek, Doctor Who, and all the others. A little girl of 11 or 12, I wasn't fond of scary monsters. And for me? Sci-Fi = Horror, there was distinction between the two. Outer Limits, Twilight Zone, and the Afternoon sci-fi movie - were all without except horror films.
Then, along came Star Wars - and I fell in love. Star Wars was my first fandom. The damsel wasn't really damsel - she was snarky, and wise-cracking, and could fire a gun. I loved her. She reminded me of me. I could actually identify with the lead female character - with her pudgy cheeks, and brown hair.
The film had a mythology. There was world building. People with superpowers. Characters I could identify with. And, no monsters. Just a really cool villain - Darth Vader. And at that time - amazing special effects - special effects that blew me away. I'd never seen anything like it.
I remember my father pushing us to see the movie. He got it into his head that we needed to see it as quickly as possible - before it magically disappeared. He'd read about it in the New Yorker or the New York Times - and well, at that time, my father was a bit of a movie buff.
My parents were huge science fiction fans back then - they'd watched Star Trek and they also made time to see Space 1999. I remember driving all the way out to Exton, PA - about three hours to see the movie - but it was sold out. So we went the next day and saw it closer in.
We were among the first to see it. And since that time? I've seen it about twenty times. I wrote fanfic in my head about it. I bought the novelizations. We got the action figures for Christmas. We'd NEVER owned action figures before or since. The only action figures I've ever owned were from Star Wars. Our cat used to steal the Princess Leia action figure and dump her in his water dish.
This movie changed how I viewed science fiction. Because of Star Wars - I fell in love with the sci-fi genre, I fell in love with fantasy. I actually bought various books based on the series and asked for them for Christmas.
I know there are people who don't get it. There always are - folks who don't understand why we love what we love. Most of my friends don't - my best friend at the time, preferred King Kong. MD - never got the appeal. Although when Stars was re-released in theaters in 1999 or thereabouts...my friend CW saw it with me - because she adored Star Wars.
So, it was my first fandom - but I tended to keep it to myself for the most part. Oh sure, I met people here and there who loved it. A couple of friends I ran with in junior high. But for most people? It wasn't cool. It had no monsters. Or horror or dystopia. It was ...a positive sci-fi series. It wasn't Star Trek or Doctor Who. It was a space opera, an epic, that mixed Westerns (which my family adored), WWII movies, Science Fiction and Fantasy.
A true mashup of styles.
This is my comfort film, the film of my childhood, it makes me happy, and it gives me hope. My first love affair with movies and cinema. My first flirtation with fan-fiction and with fandom.
When I looked at this selection - the first film that popped into my head was Star Wars. I tried to think of another film, a more obscure, cool film, but no...the only film that came to mind was Star Wars for all the reasons outlined above.