12 •
^tjLACKAMASPríflt
June 1, 2005
Arts&Entertainmeìì.
I-III cannot
with IV-\
emphasis on the pod-rac
ing. The story was okay,
but- really only had one pur
77ie Clackamas Print
pose—to introduce Anakin.
That’s all fine and dandy, but
It’s finally here—the begin the rest seemed less focused on
ning of the end. 2005 marks the Anakin and more focused on
end of a legacy—the final Star other things, like the Gungans
Wars movie, “Episode III: The (what the hell?).
Revenge of the Sith.” I am as'
The original trilogy had a
diehard as any other Star Wars strong story, with well-placed
fan; I must say that, though very plot twists and a non
good, this second trilogy in no stop account of the next
way touches the monumental, generation of Jedi.
primo, phantasmagoric nature of “The Empire Strikes
the original.
Back” is probably the
Why? Well, where do I begin? most shocking of the
Yes, it is wonderful that Star Wars three, moving away
creator George Lucas decided to from the first Star
continue on with his vision, but War’s happy-go-
where’s the effort? There is no lucky attitude where
doubt that the new movies are good triumphs over
beautiful and mind-boggling in evil and becoming
appearance, but there is a lack of bleak and desper
decent acting to go with it. And ate, traveling on to
“Attack of the Clones”—ugh! the darker side
Please tell me that was a joke. of the story. In
Between Hayden Christensen
and the ridiculous dialogue, I
could barely stomach it. What
did Lucas do, sit on the john and
scribble the script of a piece of
toilet paper (and then use “Attack
of the Clones” to wipe)?
“Episode I” was .decent
enough, with a little lagging and
“Empire,” the heroic trio is cut
short with the freezing of Han
Solo, the revealing of a surpris
ing back story (“Luke, I am your
father”), and the loss of a hand
(an appendage-loss tradition car
ried on to Episodes I-III). And,
of course, no scene could beat
the last minutes of “Return of the
Jedi,” when the Emperor,
Luke and Vader face
off. It is still one of
the greatest scenes
of all time when
Vader
defeats
the Emperor and
saves the day.
In the origi
nal three Star
Wars episodes/
the occasional
lack of special
effects was
always paid
back with the
JennaJohnk
Photo illustration by Jeff .Sorensen Clackamas Print
superb acting of the cast,
still, what they did with the
cial effects was phenomen
the time. The plot is supp
by incredible visuals and
ing scenery. In the new ti
it’s almost too much to ta
Though Episodes I-III are
ally stunning and amazingly
istic, the full effect of the set
can be a little distracting;
that distraction can someth
welcome.
Star Wars IV-VI was l
ed by a great cast, who
with their characters and
vided an awesome chemistn
was smooth, making their
screen relationships believ
In the new Star Wars, the
important relationship, bed
Padme and Anakin, seems i
py and maybe even cold. A
they supposed to be in l
Of course, in “Attack of
Clones,” the love story is p
out more—far too much, in
And what can be said abou
Harlequin Romance-style
logue and dreamy little r
the grass? I gagged.
Of course, if I wanted t(
up the true reason why the
nal trilogy is supremely supi
it would have to be these
words: no Jar Jar Binks.
z
‘Shotgun’ speaks to generations
Sam Krause presents.
Ben Maras
The Clackamas Print
“CITIZENS,” the solilo
quy begins. “Children of the
night, bearers of the day torch,
scorched and burned — BURN
NOT. The damn is broken,'
the curse is fled, once mudr
died and still, the river runs
RED!”
" This first paragraph in writ-
er/musician Saul Williams’
epic poem “Said the Shotgun
to the Head” is enough to
either hook the reader instant
ly, or completely scare them
off. Regardless, they’re usu
ally curious enough to go onto
the next few pages, where
they are confronted with a
182-page parable written in
poetic form, breaking many
rules' of “clas
sical” poetry.
Williams
“Angst driven
uses
every
technique nec
insecure/
essary to por
not politics, the
a
country in
tray his tone,
story of “a truth
even chang
puberty/
that mushrooms
ing spacing
its
darkened
a country at
and font sizes
cloud over the
war.../
(hence
the
rest of us so that
capitaliza
we, too, bear
your
weapons/
tion in quota
witness to the
<
are
phallic/
tions, which
short-lived fate
may
seem
all of them ”
of a civilization
out of place).
that worships a
The
words
'Saul Williams
male god.”
are often cut
Said the Shotgun
Anyone
ting and to the
to the Head
expecting con
point, some
ventional poetry
times ironic,
from this book
and,sometimes painfully true. will be sadly mistaken; there’s
In the introduction, it is little conventional about it.
explained as a narration about Yet as babbling and bizarre
a modern-day John the Baptist, as it may sound at times, each
preaching the tale of a female line has a hidden meaning, as
messiah who he has known I was lucky enough to hear
intimately — the babbling sort Williams explain at a reading.
who one might cross the street For example/
to avoid, while he rambles on
“She had eyes like two turn
about phallic weapons and the tables; mix(h)er in between
womb.
my dreams and reality, blend
Throughout the book, the ed in ancient themes. The bass
broken tale is told, making is of Isis (basis) cross-faded
little to no sense at times, to ankh, the beat drops like a
but the meaning being, para cliff overlooking my heart.”
doxically, perfectly clear—it The beat dropping is (simply
is a tale of social commentary; put) representative of the way
The Toil 10 horrible
things to do this
summer
10. Take that long-awaited trip to
Baghdad.
9 Attempt to build multi-winged
flying machine.
8. Get an unpaid internship with
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
that any culture moves as one,
to a combination of idealism
and reality, while in progres
sion clinging to the past. .
Williams
is
also
an
acclaimed musician, putting
his poems (including many
exerpts from “Shotgun”) to
music, which merely comple
ments his talent with the writ
ten word. While Williams may
not be the first to do what he
is doing, he is making his art
available to an entire genera
tion of people who wouldn’t
go to a poetry reading if their
liyes depended on it.
His books and music are
available at his website, www.
saulwilliams.com, or at many
local book and record stores
(including Powell’s Books in
Portland).
Zach de la-Rocha of Rage
Against the Machine fame
»once described the piece as
“An invitation to live and die
in the moment, a confrontation
of the politics of an empire, a
dare to transform oneself in
the face of fear and a post-
9/11 love song all in one.”
Sounds about right.
7. Become pen-pals with a person
from North Korea, then see what the
United States government does.
6. Wait in line three months for
the new Harry Potter book.
5. Spend á week in purgatory.
4. Register friends as sex offend
ers in Benton County.
3. Challenge Kirstie Alley and
Sally Struthers to a pie eating con
test.
2. Petition to bring back Adult
Swim’s Super Milk’ Chan “or else.”
it
■
:
?
1. Spend entire pay checks going
to indie rock shows.