A&E
Sports
Opinion
SJSU alumni rise in San Jose music scene
Spartans weigh in on Super Bowl LIV
Star Wars was better in the ’70s
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Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020
Volume 154 No. 4 SERVING SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1934
WWW.SJSUNEWS.COM/SPARTAN_DAILY
‘I couldn’t be home when home needed me’
Catastrophic wildfires dishearten Australian Spartans
By Bryanna Bartlett STAFF WRITER
When San Jose State kinesiology senior Caitlin Bettenay went home over winter break to Sunshine Coast, Australia, all she saw was red. “I saw the red sky above the blue water and the trees were completely burnt,” Bettenay said. Australian SJSU students returned to campus while the fires continued. The Australian wildfires have burned between 12 million and 24 million acres of land with nearly 60 fires still burning, 2,000 homes evacuated and approximately 30
Soothing, smooth jazz captivates audience
recorded deaths, according to BBC News. Bettenay first heard the news about the fires while she was on campus. “I was pretty shocked, especially because one of the first places to go up in fire was really close to my house,” Bettenay said. “It was literally in the next town over, like 10 minutes away, if that.” As she followed updates on the fires, Bettenay wished she could help more. “Obviously I would post on my social media and I would help out with the donations,” she said. “But I felt hopeless. I couldn’t be home when home needed me.”
The Australian wildfires have proved difficult to contain because of the soil’s inability to absorb rainwater, according to ABC News. “Sometimes the soil gets so dry that the water ends up running off of it rather than absorbing into it,” Craig Clements, SJSU meteorology professor and Fire Weather Research Laboratory director, said in an email. “Wildfire can also change the soil properties due to its intense heat and this causes the soil to respond to rain differently than before.” Harry Nixon, a biology
60 estimated fires still burning
30 approximate number of deaths
2,000 homes evacuated SOURCES: BBC NEWS; INFOGRAPHIC BY CHRISTIAN TRUJANO & BRYANNA BARTLETT PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MARCI SUELA
Slashed VTA options lengthen commutes STAFF WRITER
Hristo Vitchen, SJSU music alumnus, plays smooth jazz on an acoustic guitar at the Student Union Atrium on Wednesday.
approximate acres burned down
FIRE | Page 2
By Gia Pham
GIA PHAM | SPARTAN DAILY
up to 24 million
With a black snapback hat, a gray hoodie and a new load of homework, graphic design freshman Adrian Cardona, a wheelchair user, wheels himself onto Bus 66 for his commute from school back to south San Jose. The only problem is the ride can take up to an hour and a half longer this year, Cardona said. Last semester, Cardona’s trip to and from school took an hour and a half, but with the Santa Clara Valley Transit Authority’s reduction of bus routes, it now takes almost three hours. For some, public transportation is the only option for commuting, but VTA’s discontinuance of transit routes and buses have made commuting to San Jose State much more difficult. “I’ve been late to class. It’s pretty stressful enough to prepare for class, and on top of that you’re running late,” Cardona said as he waited for his transfer bus on First Street
I’m so annoyed about it honestly, it’s less convenient. Just 15 minutes makes a significant difference because if you miss it, that’s it. Tanisha Dave
sociology sophomore
and Santa Clara Street. The departure times displayed on VTA’s transit app and Google Maps have been out of sync as a result of the altered service, Cardona said, making it difficult to calculate the optimal time to leave his house. “One thing that is inaccurate is the app. It tells me to leave at a certain time, but it’s not the actual time that the bus will be there,” Cardona said. “If you miss it, you wait up to 20 minutes for the next bus.” While bus routes 66 and 73
had altered services in which 66 now serves the Milpitas BART station and 73 stops at Senter Road and Monterey Road, bus routes 65, 81 and 82 were discontinued. The Rapid 523 replaced the 323 and Rapid 500 replaced the 201 Dash to provide connections with the Berryessa BART station. Sociology sophomore Tanisha Dave commutes to SJSU on bus route 42, which now only arrives every hour instead of every 45 minutes. “I’m so annoyed about it honestly, it’s less convenient,” Dave said. “Just 15 minutes makes a significant difference because if you miss it, that’s it.” Other students now have to transfer buses instead of taking a direct route. “It used to be that I could just take one line and reach my workplace, but now I have to transfer,” English freshman Rose Zhu said. “I wait 10 minutes in between.” VTA’s website and flyers announce “a more frequent bus network, improved bus routes COMMUTER | Page 2
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NEWS
THURSDAY, JAN. 30, 2020
FIRE Continued from page 1
X
66
Milpitas BART station
73
Senter Road GO Monterey Road
GO
523
Replaced Rapid 323
GO
500
Replaced 201 Dash
GO
65 81 82
Discontinued
ILLUSTRATION BY CINDY CUELLAR
COMMUTER Continued from page 1 and a new light rail line,” but several downtown San Jose commuters have questioned the new system’s benefits, which prioritizes highridership areas. “[VTA is] trying to increase the frequency and the number of routes that run along those corridors; and then areas that have low ridership, they are kind of taking away routes,” said Tiffany Rodriguez, Associated Students Interim Manager of Transportation Solutions. In addition to altering service to areas with high ridership, VTA established a new bus line to Berryessa Transit Center, foreseeing the opening of a new BART station. Though this integration could transport more people from North
San Jose to downtown, it has led others to think about prospective connections and disconnections. “I know it’s going to keep changing and keep making edits. You don’t know how something is until you get into it,” said a VTA bus driver of four years who could not give their name because of VTA policy. “There were some pretty dead routes though, I’ll say that.” The driver said that riders will have to adapt to changes when BART comes to Berryessa, which would most likely slash bus route 181 that currently connects SJSU to the Fremont area. In 2018, bus route 181 changed from being free for SJSU students to $2.50. When the new BART station is implemented, students who take route 181 will have to pay for BART, then use their clipper card from Berryessa to SJSU.
Monica Mallon, a student, transit advocate and co-leader of the San Jose Youth Climate Action Team of Silicon Valley, encourages other students to reach out to the VTA through letters, emails and public comments. “If students are concerned about what is going on, they should start attending VTA board meetings,” said Mallon over text. On Jan. 28, Santa Clara County voted against reallocating Measure B funds from highway projects to transit service. “It is likely that more cuts will be made in the future if VTA does not increase their operations budget or improve efficiency by speeding up transit,” Mallon said. “This is a good opportunity for students to get involved and advocate for positive change.” Follow the Spartan Daily on Twitter @SpartanDaily
freshman from New South Wales, Australia, said that when he went home for winter break, he felt like he suffered from second-hand smoke. “I was coughing horribly when I went out clubbing,” Nixon said. “The city was completely covered in smoke.” These “fire clouds” are clouds of smoke that can t r av e l 10 miles high and disperse thousands MOORE of miles from its origin, according to NASA. “Some of my friends MARCHIONE already evacuated,” Nixon said. “At the beach, you couldn’t even sunbathe because the smoke was blocking out the sun. It was insane.” Nick Marchione, biological science s oph om ore an d Melbourne, Australia native, said, “It’s all anyone talks about and people do everything they can to help out.” 9News reported that bushfires burned through Australian states Queensland and New South Wales, which also had a devastating impact on wildlife. “We have a lot of nature, a lot of habitats,” Marchione said. “Australia thrives on its rich diversity in nature, but half a billion of animals have died, it’s hard to even express the kind of toll that takes on a
country.” Live plants such as shrubs and trees become dormant during droughts in Australia, Clements said. The plants’ inactivity creates dry tinder that can ignite dangerous wildfires across the landscape. Clements added that droughts create longer and more severe wildfire seasons. “If the Australian droughts are linked to climate change, this is a situation where the fuels are being stressed under drought and the fire weather conditions are extreme,” he said. “Those two aspects combined led to the devastating fires.” The fight against the fires has yet to end. On Jan. 29, 9News updated its reports that Southeast Australia, Western Australia and New South Wales are expecting record-high heat waves, while fires continue to blaze in Canberra and flash-flooding occurs in Queensland. Kinesiology sophomore Matilda Moore from Rockhampton, Australia, said she feels angry about the lack of government action toward global warming and the bushfires. When Moore visited home over winter break, she said she felt humbled by her fellow Australians by seeing Muslim, Sikh and Christian groups going out to the affected areas with food and resources. “It really brings the community together even stronger,” Bettenay said. “We have to support each other, especially being such an isolated country. We’re really all we’ve got.”
Follow Bryanna on Twitter @brybartlett
Photo exhibit challenges perceptions By Paul Hang STAFF WRITER
Photos can spread lies and truths. Regardless of what each frame portrays, California artists Jimin Lee and Paula Levine showed the images they create have the power to change people’s perception of accepted realities. They displayed their work for the BoundarySpan series at San Jose State, which highlights how artists create a connection with students using their work. Lee started the lecture by demonstrating her thought process and showing various photos she has taken. The exhibition was free for all attendees, and approximately 60 people participated. Lee works with found objects such as a bathtub that she interprets as a “container of her body.” She found the photo to be symbolic to her. “I am entering into a very different cultural time,” Lee said. The photo was her first work when she came to the Bay Area in 1995. During her lecture, Lee mentioned similar artistic techniques akin to Photoshop from a book titled “Faking It: Manipulating Photography Before
Photoshop.” Lee found herself to be fascinated by this technique. Artists would cut and paste to create alternate or multiple photographic elements. “I did so much of cutting and paste and image relation and using a variety of photographic elements,” Lee said. Lee looks at photographs from the perspective of what happens and what you would see. She does not want her art to be in that same category. “The way I am using my photographs are opposite; creating more fictional elements,” Lee said. “That is my really interesting way, or unique way, to using photographic elements.” Her work generally covers mobility, displacement and labor while regarding them on a social and personal levels. Lee is currently the head of the print media program and a director of the contemporary print research center for the University of Santa Cruz. Levine, a San Francisco State art professor, included video and sound in her lecture. She showcased her various clips of an experimental narrative video called “Burials and Borders” where Levine
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The Spartan Daily is written and published by San Jose State students as an expression of their First Amendment rights. Reader feedback may be submitted as letters to the editor or online comments.
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The way I am using my photographs are opposite; creating more fictional elements. That is my really interesting way, or unique, way to using photographic elements.
Jimin Lee
UC Santa Cruz print media professor
documented her journey to Golan Heights, a rocky plateau in southwestern Syria, for her brother’s burial. The documentary’s footage was recorded during the mid ‘90s when there was a peace negotiation between Israel and Syria. Golan Heights originally belonged to Syria, but 70% of the land was under Israeli ownership. The land would eventually be repatriated to Syria. Levine was interested by the nuances of war and conflict between Israel and Syria. “In this case, what I’m particularly interested in is how these moments
SENIOR STAFF WRITERS DIANA AVILA PAUL HANG BRIANNA SHEATS EDUARDO TEIXEIRA AUSTIN TURNER
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STAFF WRITERS JOCLYN AGUIRRE BRYANNA BARTLETT BRIANA CONTE ANDREW GLENN SHRUTHI LAKSHMANAN ALEXIS NAVARRO DAN NGUYEN CHRIS PADILLA GIA PHAM BRIAN SO
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intercept a potential change,” Levine said. Her brother was a settler in Israel. Levine decided to make her trip to Golan Heights seven years after his death. “When you have these kinds of irreconcilable situations in your life, you end up either living with that fissure or you kind of try to mitigate it or address it,” Levine said. Event director Alena Sauzade said these lectures are there to relate back to the curriculum among art students. “Whether that be photography, spatial art, digital media, [or] factorial art, we kind of aim to really make sure the type of work [that] is being shown is also the type of work that our faculty are showing in our classrooms,” Sauzade said. Sauzade said these events reflect students’ professional development because they can see artists talk about their work as a steppingstone to learn about their careers. The next Art Gallery lecture event is on Feb. 4, featuring artist Jacqueline Kiyomi.
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
THURSDAY, JAN. 30, 2020
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The ‘Swells’ dominate downtown By Bryanna Bartlett STAFF WRITER
Within a year and a half of forming their genrebending band, five San Jose State alumni, have gone from jamming in a garage to playing in local gigs of 40 people, and then to a crowd of 400. The core of the Swells and the Lunatics is their lead singer, guitarist and songwriter, Austin Avila. Joining him is lead guitarist Ryan Wall, bassist Mitchell Lacata,
should just be a band.” The Swells then played gig after gig across San Jose, with repeat performances at Cafe Stritch, Hammer Theatre, Naglee Park Garage and The Ritz. “We’ve all been doing this for a long time on our own and I think we just wanted to get together and do something with it and play for people who want to hear us,” Wall said. The Swells describe their sound as genre-
[Performing is] giving something to yourself and giving something to the crowd. I just want to give something that’s mutually beneficial because the music I listen to is holistic in a lot of ways. Austin Avila
Lead singer and songwriter
drummer Kristian Buenconsejo and keyboardist Mild Monk. “The band first started when Austin got a gig playing [Cafe] Stritch,” Wall said. “When he got the offer to do the show, he needed backup in order to perform his demos live so he approached Mitch and I, and [then-]roommates, Anthony and John.” After a warm reception from the cafe’s audience, Wall suggested to the musicians, “Well, we
bending, drawing from influences such as Mac DeMarco and incorporating sounds from surf rock, rhythm and blues, soul, lo-fi indie rock and dream pop. The band said their biggest gig was at The Ritz last April when they opened for indie garagepunk band, Shannon & the Clams. Caleb Hodgson, public relations senior at SJSU, close friend and fan, said “My favorite time I saw them was when
they opened up at The Ritz because there was so much buzz around that. They absolutely killed with the energy of the crowd and seeing them so versatile with their instruments was unreal.” “[Performing is] giving something to yourself and giving something to the crowd,” Avila said. “I just want to give something that’s mutually beneficial because the music I listen to is holistic in a lot of ways.” The Swells released their 12-song EP in July with original hit songs “A Place to Lay Awake,” “Eat Your Heart Out” and “Broken Hearts.” “ ‘A Place to Lay Awake’, I wrote that when I was literally living off 12th Street in my truck,” Avila said. “[It was] a time that was hard before I really met anyone in the band.” Avila described the therapeutic quality of his songwriting experience, going on to say that “music comes from hard times, like love specifically.” Avila evokes emotional imagery in his songs with lyrics such as “It touches my soul like a strawberry field/ Oh no, you’re miles away/ My soul craves you like winter rain” in his song “Eat Your Heart Out.” Hodgson has known band members Wall and Lacata since he was a freshman in Pi Kappa Alpha, though they were seniors at the time. “Maybe I’m being
Film studs fumble in B-list movie By Austin Turner
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Feeling insecure in your masculinity? Need a shot of testosterone in the form of guns, drugs and beautiful women? This one’s for you. “The Gentlemen” is director Guy Ritchie’s latest attempt at a mindblowing, reality-shattering “whodunit” thriller. But like his other attempts at the same concept, the movie falls flat but can still be an enjoyable romp with some genuinely hilarious moments and great action. The revered Matthew McConaughey stars as Mickey Pearson, an American expat who owns the largest illegal marijuana operation in the United Kingdom. Wanting to leave that lifestyle behind to spend more time with his wife, he agrees to sell the business to American billionaire Matthew Berger, played by Jeremy Strong. But after one of Pearson’s “farms” are broken into, everything goes awry. Other characters are brought in including Pearson’s right-hand man Raymond, played by Charlie Hunnam. The story is told through a colorful and ridiculous conversation between Raymond and a drunk, obnoxious private eye named Fletcher, played by Hugh Grant. The first 45 minutes of the film is pure setup, and it
movie review “The Gentlemen” Rating:
Directed by: Guy Ritchie Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Matthew McConaughey Genre: Crime/Action
leaves the viewer questioning what is going on. Once you get past the odd acting and confusing exposition, “The Gentlemen” turns into an enjoyable action flick. There are some absolute laugh out loud moments and shocking twists and turns. But the problem is, the film tries so hard to be unpredictable that it actually becomes easy to figure out. Raymond and Fletcher are an entertaining pair, but the storytelling is so unnecessarily complicated that it makes you wonder what the point is. If the story was told straightforward and chronologically, the plot would have been much easier to follow. The thick and overacted cockney accent of Grant’s narration is nearly painful to listen to at times, even if his character offers some solid comic relief.
The acting is an issue throughout the one hour and 43-minute run time, even if it isn’t supposed to be taken super seriously. M c C o n a u g h e y ’s performance is about on par with his infamous Lincoln Motor Company advertisements. For a drug kingpin, Pearson is portrayed as shockingly boring and monotone. It’s strange because Pearson is similar to other characters McConaughey has excelled at portraying, but for whatever reason, he is one dimensional in this one. Strong’s attempt at playing a snide, shady billionaire is laughable. He gives easily the worst performance in a film chock-full of bad ones. That isn’t to say that there wasn’t some stellar acting though. The best performance without a doubt belongs to Colin Farrell as “Coach.” He is absolutely hilarious, and badass when he needs to be. He’s not in the film much, but when he is, it’s impossible to peel your eyes off him. There is one thing that any viewer has to remind themselves of while watching the film – don’t take it too seriously. It’s a flawed and overcomplicated film, but it’s still entertaining and fun. If you’re a fan of British humor and lots of blood, you’re in for a treat. Follow Austin on Twitter @AustinTurner_
PHOTO COURTESY OF RYAN WALL
The Ritz marks the Swells and the Lunatics’ biggest gig, with the nightclub being one of the area’s noteworthy live music venues and featuring many top national artists.
modest as a person, but they are all individually more artistic. They know who they are, they know what they like. That’s been prevalent for a while,” said Hodgson. Wall is currently working on his own EP, written over the course of the past couple of years. It features four songs that he describes as, “a bit more heavy [and] a different direction than what we’ve been playing.” Wall also mentioned that bassist Mitchell is working on his second
EP after the release of his first, “Canned Worms,” in January last year. While Wall and Lacata are focusing on their upcoming EPs, Avila said that he wants to devote more time to supporting local producers looking for a place to record by “building a platform for bedroom producers to hold the space.” Avila is also working on beat-tape material, and has a side project called “Johnny Love Joy,” which he says will be more disco and dance influenced.
Beat-tape material is a collection of instrumental productions designed to showcase a producer’s skills. Although many of the band members are working on side projects, they are not planning on splitting up. “Once it simmers down a little bit, we’ll start writing again for our next album,” Wall said.
Follow Bryanna on Twitter @brybartlett
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SPORTS
THURSDAY, JAN. 30, 2020
CAMPUS VOICES
What is your Super Bowl prediction or tradition? I used to bet $20 to $50 every year with my dad. It was kind of our tradition. I’ll be watching the game with my friends and I hope the Niners win.
I think the score will be 31-28 with the 49ers winning. I also think [Raheem] Mostert will have at least two touchdowns and over 200 yards.
Hunter Sprague engineering junior
Jenny Tran psychology junior My uncle throws a Super Bowl party every year. Both my dad and uncle are huge 49ers fans so I hope they’re on the winning side.
For the Super Bowl, I’m about to go crazy since my team is in fs 52-41, I’d bet it this year. Chiefs on it.
Parker Canady graphic design senior
Mikayla Valdez communications senior
How the Chiefs played this season, I think the score is going to be 21-14 Chiefs.
Steven Molina - Luquen justice studies junior
I live with five other people so we get together and have a barbeque together and watch the game.
Marion Cooke engineering graduate student
Correction On Wednesday, Jan. 29, the Spartan Daily published a story titled, “Coronavirus cases confirmed in California,” in the Centers for Disease Control was misidentified. On Wednesday, Jan. 29, the Spartan Daily published a story titled, “Grammys don’t promote diversity” which misstated when the 55th Grammy Awards were held. They were held in 2013. The Spartan Daily regrets these errors.
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SCIENCE & TECH
THURSDAY, JAN. 30, 2020
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BINARY BOMBSHELLS
Values exist in New building on the rise all technologies Kunal Mehta
SCIENCE & TECH EDITOR
There’s a longstanding myth that technologies are value-neutral. There’s nothing inherently positive or negative about any given technology – proponents argue it’s how people use it. Twitter leads to crowdsourced harassment, credit cards are debt inducing and Google slurps up everyone’s private data. Of course, it’s not all negative. FaceTime, for example, visually connected people like never before, and WhatsApp securely encrypted communication between a billion people. It’s important to realize that it’s not just a high-tech problem; even ordinary everyday technology that we’ve taken for granted have embedded values. Most recently, the myth of technology being valueneutral has been parroted through the saying that “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” Guns are a heavily politicized issue these days, but it’s rather clear that guns are often used to kill animals and people, and some are designed to optimize that process. A subtle but egregious example of technology having imbued value is in a set of racist bridges built
in the 1900s. Yes, even boring old bridges can be problematic. Despite never winning an election, then-New York public official Robert Moses controlled millions of dollars in public funding, some of which he used for highways. Moses owned beaches on Long Island and started the construction of public parkways to connect New York City residents with his beaches. But he didn’t want Black residents spending time at his beaches, so he came up with a scheme to hinder them from ever getting there. He intentionally built bridges lower than normal, so buses would not be able to go down the parkways. Black residents who typically relied on public transportation would now be unable to reach the beaches. In 2017, CityLab reported that the average clearance on Moses’ parkway is around 15 inches shorter than other parkways constructed around the same time. New York City has invested in implementing a bus route to reach what was formerly Moses’ beach, but the fact that the bridges are still low today demonstrates the lasting impact of the
racism embedded in his infrastructure. In some cases, the impact of technology isn’t realized until decades or centuries later when it may be too late to reverse institutionalization of values. With artificial intelligence usage on the rise, we’re on the forefront of new technologies being accessible to the masses. Some, such as more realistic CPU players in video games, are going to be welcomed with open arms, while others, such as advanced facial recognition, raise privacy questions. Throughout the semester, my column, Binary Bombshells, will analyze different technologies that we use day-to-day, examining the values they contain, what effects they have upon us and any avenues for improvement. I hope readers will question new and old technologies before beginning to use them to determine whether they are likely to be advantageous in the long term. Rather than being beholden to those who make and design technologies, as users we should rise up and ensure that they actually serve us. Follow Kunal on Twitter @legoktm Binary Bombshells discusses values embedded in technologies that we use every day. It appears every other week on Thursday.
CLASSIFIEDS CROSSWORD PUZZLE
KUNAL MEHTA | SPARTAN DAILY
Construction workers move up to the fourth floor while building what will become the new Interdisciplinary Science Building. After a groundbreaking ceremony in May 2019, the building began to rise over the past two months and is expected to open to students and faculty members in 2022.
SUDOKU PUZZLE Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively.
JOKIN’ AROUND What happens if life gives you melons?
You’re dyslexic.
SOLUTIONS
ACROSS 1. Happy 5. Greek letter 10. Tablet 14. Gray wolf 15. Coach 16. Largest continent 17. Finally 19. Male turkeys 20. Wager 21. In base 8 22. Explosive devices 23. Gist 25. Creepy 27. In the past 28. Kin 31. Smelter waste 34. Numbskull 35. Regret 36. Awestruck 37. An unidentified aircraft 38. Arizona river 39. Eastern Standard Time 40. Chocolate-flavored coffee 41. Harness racer 42. Lose visibility in heavy snow 44. Louisville Slugger
45. Abyss 46. Throw away 50. Scottish for “Child” 52. Our planet 54. Spy agency 55. Wings 56. It’s made from antiparticles 58. Focusing glass 59. Leaf opening 60. Diminish 61. Netting 62. Type of poplar tree 63. Probabilities DOWN 1. Parish land 2. Adores 3. Assists 4. Put clothing on 5. Plaster 6. Angry 7. Big party 8. Periods of 1000 years 9. One or more 10. Jargon 11. Three-dimensional 12. Arm or leg
13. Young girl 18. Forceps 22. Broth (Scottish) 24. Where the sun rises 26. Behold, in old Rome 28. A quantity of no importance (archaic) 29. Govern 30. 365 days 31. Sketched 32. Impetuous 33. They make eyeglasses 34. Records 37. Razzes 38. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 40. Average 41. Ottoman title 43. Flail 44. Caped Crusader 46. Illegal activity 47. Group of eight 48. Villain 49. Fees for buses 50. Emollient 51. Away from the wind 53. At the peak of 56. An Old Testament king 57. Pair
01/29/2020
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OPINION
THURSDAY, JAN. 30, 2020
Star Wars: The Fall of Skywalker Why the original trilogy will always be the best films of the saga Andrew Glenn STAFF WRITER
The Star Wars franchise has been a well-known and established property since 1977 and has continued to grow in popularity over the years. A total of three trilogies have been released to a connected saga and have been received differently by fans. The original trilogy is what created the fan base and will always be regarded as the best for its imaginative storytelling, the prequels were memed and the Disney trilogy disappointed. Acting as the foundation for any and all future movies, books and video games, these three movies set the ground rules for how to bring in a broad audience, solidifying the originals as the best trilogy.
However, the idea of bloodthirsty furry bear creatures with pointy sticks being able to overpower a platoon of technologically superior soldiers twice their height makes no sense. The original trilogy was shown to me by my parents first. While I didn’t understand the movies at my young age, I still loved watching them. The same could not be said about what happened a decade later with the new films. “Episode I– The Phantom Menace” is the first flop of the Star Wars franchise. The story is confusing, it involves fictional politics with a main villain that had fans excited, just to be killed off while a hated new character, Jar Jar Binks, lived. CGI was used in place
The Disney trilogy is an abomination that spits in the face of the original films and should be burned out of existence.
The first Star Wars movie, later named “Star Wars: Episode IV– A New Hope,” was released to theaters in 1977 and was welcomed with positive opinions from fans and critics alike. The special effects were revolutionary for the time and still hold up to this day. The simple use of models will always make the trio of movies look a touch more realistic than computer– generated imagery. Although it was a cliche story of good guys overcomig the bad guys, it worked. The second movie of the original trilogy, “The Empire Strikes Back,” was released three years later and was welcomed with little complaint. The plot was another easy-to-follow premise, the villians make a comeback, and people fall in love. It even ended with the heroes on the run, separated and licking their wounds. Having a larger budget to work with allowed for certain changes such as the lasers and lightsabers. The lightsabers, most notably, went from a fragile glowing stick to a sturdy stick that would receive its glow in post-production. Another three years passed which brought the world the final installment of the trilogy, “Return of the Jedi.” The big finale to the story, after six long years, went out with a grand and satisfying finish. The heroes made a return and beat the villains one final time.
of models for the first time, as it allowed for greater creative freedom, which is funny considering the movie was dull and easily skippable if you’re having a Star Wars marathon. A few years later, “Episode II– Attack of the Clones” was released and is only slightly better. The use of politics in the story slowed the plot and there was some of the most horrendous romantic dialogue that made me want to rub sand in my ears. However, there were some entertaining aspects such as two CGI armies’ fighting each other and the first CGI lightsaber duel. We now come to the final installment of the prequel trilogy with “Episode III– Revenge of the Sith” in 2005. It was greatly preferred over the last two installments because the writing became more coherent and emotional, though this may have been the result of a stellar soundtrack. The ending tied itself to the events of “Episode IV,” making the overall story a six chapter series of events and a complete story with nothing needed to say, psych. Though not nearly as revolutionary as the original trilogy, the sequel trilogy made an admirable effort to expand on the franchise. This could not be said about the Disney trilogy. The first film of the Disney empire came in 2015 when “Episode VII– The Force Awakens” was released. The film was well received by Disney fans
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and had long time Star Wars fans curious. While the movie performed well overall, it sparked a conflict between audiences and creators. The CGI was stunning, though the story was a near copy and paste of “Episode IV.” Two years lated, “Episode VIII– The Last Jedi” was released with praise from critics and disdain from fans. The story was atrocious as it destroyed old characters so as to favor the new members of the saga. The story was a glorified chase scene that made stuff up to justify its existence. “Episode IX– The Rise of Skywalker” was the film to end it all last year and was surprisingly liked by fans and hated by critics. Much like the previous films in the recent trilogy, the CGI impressed, though the story could best be described as literary lobotomy. It served to please the Disney fans with a satisfying conclusion to the Star Wars saga as a whole. The Disney trilogy is an abomination that spits in the face of the original films and should be burned out of existence. The original trilogy is far superior as every attempt made to imitate their success could never come close. They have established a foothold in film history that will always be fondly remembered.
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