The End of a Generation and a Galaxy without the Skywalkers | Star Wars Episode IX Trailer Discussion

So Im just reeling from watching The Episode IX panel. I have to say my excitement is back up to hype levels. I'm already a fan of course. I don't share this outside circles but I love Every Star Wars film, aside Solo which i do enjoy but it's just a bit off. It's really Star Wars Celebration that brings out that positive sens of community and hype in me. Seeing all those cosplayers and smiling faces, all the positive reactions fills me with joy. Now the fanbase has it's troubles, the ability to monetise hate is pretty egregious. But TLJ isn't for everyone, i'm not here to ague that. Personally  love it, and I guess in this article I'll go through a bit why during this, as we discuss the themes narrative and mythology we will and could see in this film.

First off I've seen the trailer a few times, the chills are real. It's not as hype as TFA's Trailer with 'we're home' or TLJ's trailer with that foreboding and mysterious tone. But it culminated everything we've seen so far in the saga, it maintains that adventurous tone of TFA while keeping some mystery. Some great shots and cinematography, emotional moments, chilling lines and while it reveals some interesting things we could speculate on for months. It also keeps some things secret which we will also speculate on ourselves. I also want to make a disclaimer that I am not predicting the whole movie or saying this is how it'll turn out. I just want to comment on what has been shared and use my knowledge to offer a idea of what to expect.

So let's go through all the key shots, sequences, dialogue, music etc and see what we can talk about.
First of all the trailer begins with heavy breathing, which seems to be a theme of the Sequel Trilogy trailers. First the teaser Trailer for TF where Finn wakes up frantically from the crash, then TLJ where Rey heavy breathes after communing with the dark side 'hole'. Now before we even get footage, we hear Rey breathing, however instead of the times before its more readying herself for what's about to come. We get an iconic sequence of Rey standing readying herself for Kylo's arrival. The initial reassuring herself before she finds her balance ready to face the coming Tie Silencer. This is important given during the last two films she is learning force powers, but hadn't found her centre in the force in order to master it. Now we see her focusing more and gaining confidence.



We get a revealing shot of  Rey's Lightsaber on her hip. Repaired or recreated with parts, now at the end of TLJ the Lightsaber had a symbolic reason for being destroyed. Rey and Kylo destroy it by fighting over the legacy of Luke skywalker/Anakin. Which you could take as the new generation killing the past. However that is not the message of the film. In the end Luke accepts his past and uses the lightsaber to become 'the legend'. This angers Kylo, meanwhile on the Falcon Rey and Leia sit isolated discussing the future.

Rey: 'How can we build the rebellion from this? (looks at Lightsaber)
Leia: 'we have all we need'

The Lightsaber being destroyed makes us think all is lost, the past is dead. But Leia tells us we can rebuild, they still have two pieces. (obviously this is about the resistance but the lightsaber is the visual metaphor for both concepts). So we have that lightsaber back, as the idea of rebuilding what was lost but in new hands. Probably reaching,but that Lightsaber has had thematic significance before.
Anyway as the Tie get's closer Rey gets herself into a stance, before running full sprint ahead of it. The Tie is trying to run her down, but just before that she back flips right over the speeding aircraft. It's a fantastic shot, showing off how far she's come and bringing back more of the flips and tricks we saw back in the prequels.












Now we can discuss the why's. Personally I believe that's Kylo In the Silencer, now whether this is actually real or some form of force training is yet to be discerned. The training to flip over a speeding target and concentrate on that makes sense as a way of advancing yourself and facing your fears. If not it's just him trying to kill her more personally...or and as others have said it might be Kylo training her. More on that when we talk about Kylo's scene. Great scene overall but let's talk about Luke's voice over.

''We've passed on all we know.

A thousand generations live in you now. But this is your fight'' - Luke

Mark Hamill's voice gave me the chills as it plays over Rey readying herself. Let's dissect the words and talk a bit about Luke's head space. So obviously in the last film Luke was going through some trials and tribulations. Having succumbed to the Dark just for an instant, but in that instant losing Ben. He blamed himself and the Jedi order, rightfully so. But he didn't realise the Jedi's failings were as important as their teachings. That the Jedi aren't defined by failure but how they move past the flaws in themselves. 'we've passed on all we know' refers to those teachings. Not just the Texts and the legends but the personal teachings Rey learned from Luke and Ben. Rey is the Last Jedi, she has all she needs to continue the Legacy and this is her fight. Luke is likely a ghost or at least a voice from beyond like Qui-Gon was. But it seems that he has indeed found his peace. As you may or may not know, the only way to become a spirit is to find your peace before before death.

So as he tells Rey at some point she represents a thousand generations and that is true. But she is not a Jedi as in the same Jedi who fell to the dark side, engaged in war and allowed the Sith to use their own actions against them. Nor is she Luke who used those teachings and didn't realise the Jedi needed to change. We know from Daisy that Rey has been doing some reading of the jedi texts, so this adds to things like the flip we see in the trailer. Finally let's discuss 'but this is your fight', for the movie itself it is obvious that Rey is the Last Jedi. Personally i'd have had Rey train some students a bit, but It's also probably hard to during wartime so it's understandable. Perhaps i'll be proven wrong, their is still so much we don't know. However the words ring true, the Jedi can't help Rey anymore beyond advice and training. No matter what you think abut Yoda calling a lightning strike, that does not mean he can or will get involved nor Luke or Obi.

For the spirits to get involved undoes everything we know about them, they are teachers not fighters. The Jed have ended their time is past but their teachings live on and Rey has to choose what to do with them. It also tells reminds us that the time for the old characters has past their generation did their part, the good and bad. But it's these new characters who've grown and learned the ins and outs of the world who will make a better tomorrow. Or at least Luke hope's so, but that's been the message in TLJ and rogue one. Faith. This is your fight is also a message to the audience, this is the new characters fight to finish what the previous generation started. It also gives us that feeling of finality.

So now that we spent ages on that, let's dive into the other shots/sequences.
(side note: the running from the tie is inspired by North by North west)
https://twitter.com/PINNLAND_EMPIRE/status/1116776235391160320

Next comes a shot of a ship flying over a mountain range towards a light up city, you see the cascading waterfalls showing the city is also mountainous. I love the night time colour palette, however some have noticed that the ship we see is extremely similar to the same one we see in Rey's force vision in TFA. The one that assumedly was her parent's ship. This although not seemingly interesting in the trailer has a few implications. One it's just the same model of ship (but who's piloting and why have the same ship?), two it's the same ship but someone else ha it and that'll tie in someway. Or it has something to do with Rey's past/present, a flashback or something else.  If this is the reveal of what happened to them that'll be interesting. If I am honest I hope they are just filthy junk traders. Rey being 'a vessel' for the force is already in canon, sure you can go back and say Kylo lied. But where do a characters lies stop then? Palpatine didn't lie when Padme died, Luke did lie but he was hiding the truth from himself and Rey out of shame.

But yeah I imagine given it's J.J, this will have some tie to TFA at least. Every shot has some meaning even if we don't see it until later.

The next shot we see Kylo and some First order Troopers engaging some enemy. What I do like about his trailer that it gives us little to go on in regards to Kylo's motivation. At the end of TLJ Kylo tried to destroy his past, Snoke, Luke, the Jedi, even the Sith of which were extinct. This is one of the many things I love about the canon. The Sith never came back (more so on that at the end) which stays true to Lucas's vision. In this shot we see Kylo give a clothesline to a robed figure while stormtroopers engage an unseen enemy. I love the red sky, it'll be interesting to see what's going on there. Seeing Kylo who is probably my fave of the new characters doing a wrestling move is pretty cool. It is interesting that he doesn't outright kill this person. I would speculate that this a Knight of Ren,but who knows if so, and if it is a Knight who can say what the context is. The most obvious would be redemption for Ben, but he has troopers on his side. I prefer not to say outright that is what is happening anymore, I discarded that stance since before TLJ came out and my experience was better for it.



This is an important shot, both for fans of the Sequel trilogy and those who are not. Kylo Ren's helmet has been an important tool, especially for Kylo's progression and character. In TFA it was used as intimidation and for a sense of him fulfilling his Grandfather's Legacy. He took it off to confront Han. Later after being beaten by Rey, Snoke basically disowns him. Kylo after giving all he had for him, destroys that legacy by breaking his helmet. He then goes on a path of deciding who he is. He chooses his own destiny by killing Snoke announcing he will kill the past. However Rey doesn't join him, he is baited by Luke and in the end his connection to Rey is cut. Now where he is at mentally is uncertain, personally I'd prefer him to go down that path of self destruction. I my mind Kylo will die as a result of his quest for ridding himself of pain, but he could be redeemed and i'd be fine with that.

But what I am getting at is, does him having his helmet back ignore his progression? I say no. This isn't J.J taking back his vision or retconning Rian's story. A lot of 9's story was taken from unused concepts from TFA, J.J regardless of where he would have taken 8 loved Rian's story. Now if he wanted the helmet back because he wanted to then fair enough, obviously he has the more connection to it given what he and the other writers cooked up. At the most i'd say he brought it back of his own volition, not to undermine Rian or fix a subjective problem. I wouldn't be happy about it, it doesn't mean very much aside a possible regression which we'll have to see in time.



Not much to say here. This is assumedly the same planet Rey is on earlier in the trailer. Finn and Poe are seen in the shot. One thing I was enticed by, especially while watching the episode IX panel was the outfits. John Boyega talked about a sense of Identity for Finn, how before he was finding his place and now he has chosen a cause. So he needed an outfit that was 'him'. Poe didn't have this crisis, his was more about gung-ho masculinity. So he's probably the same personality just more understanding of the importance of winning to fight another day. So Poe's outfit probably means very little aside the 1930's adventure serial action hero look mixed with a bit of the Uncharted series. It's fitting with his character I suppose, Finn has found his identity so he chooses clothes for himself, where as Poe found his humility but doesn't have to stop being the same guy.

But yeah I love the new outfits, practical and really cool, especially Poe's.














What else is left to say? Lando is back baby. That laugh and seeing him at the Falcon's chair again filled me with the warm fuzzies. Billy Dee has that same presence he had all those years ago and much like Harrison Ford before him, looks to be sliding back into that role effortlessly. J.J made this a family story, one with all the characters who are left, together. It's great to see Lando is also part of that journey.
















BB-8 and the new Droid Dio get some screen time. We saw Dio at celebration moving on the stage. I have to say I love this little guy. I've heard complaints about him big impractical and having no reason to exist. Yet BB-8 who go the same criticism pre-TFA proved his worth, personality and usefulness. All I'm saying is we haven't seen him in action. Only Rz, 3P0, BB, L3 and K2-SO have had real story use. Out of however many hundreds of droids we've seen, Gonk droids ar completely impractical, a box with 2 legs? Baseless criticism imo, we've had droids for comic relief, world building and set dressing. They aren't all R2 and sometimes  droid can be therefor cue comic relief. Star Wars has established this since inception. For every well written character drama their is a Jar Jar or a Watto or a Dio. Wacky dumb characters exist and they've been here since '77, Dioi sa part of that charming, silly aspect of the universe. Sometimes people don't like that and i'm not saying you should. But that droid has precedence to be here regardless.













Love this shot here. We see 3po back in the action again after so long. This is a very mad Max-esque scene which I love. Poe is looking great here. We don't see C-3po with that crossbow arm that was leaked. I imagine it'll be a small moment like in AOTC where 3po has an action bit.












It took me a while to find out what this shot was about. But this is Han's medal from ANH. I'm going to guess it's Leia holding it. It is less impactful that it took me time to find out what it was, but now I do know it means that Han is being remembered. Some criticism of TLJ had people say that Han was disrespected, such as Luke's mourning scene being a deleted scene. However that film was a continuation, it had no time for a funeral or real send off. Here we know it has been some time since that film's events and Leia, rey and everyone else has time to breathe. I would argue that Chewie didn't get enough in the end of TFA in terms of a hug or anything, which is a shame. perhaps he'll get some closure in this film.



A couple more trailer shots and we'll finish off I promise. Next we get a scene of Rey and Leia hugging on a planet of greenery. This scene was supposed to happen in The force Awakens at some pint but was cut. However changed it is for 9 is uncertain, but we do know that 7's story elements that were shot and unused are in this film. You can notice in the background the Tantive-IV, the same ship we see at the end of Rogue one/beginning of ANH. This kind of tells us this is some form of force related encounter, a vision or connection or whatever. It also plays into the tying of the saga to this film. This isn't fan service as much as fan logic, objects, characters, themes and concept are returning to close the saga by reminding us and sending off those elements. I'm sure this will be lost in the need to get angry about nostalgia, while praising it when it suits you. Still a powerful scene giving us context on how Carrie's footage will be used. It comes across as natural and fitting the film which is all I ask for (aside sending off Carrie of course).













Okay let's get it out the way. First off this shot of the group together both new and legacy characters is great. J.J calls this a personal story about those we've come to know and these 2 shots reflect that. This is a journey, and we are given a sense of finality. That this is what we've been building towards. Both in the film universe and outside from our perspective. It works really well for the trailer and for selling that this is indeed the end. We get the beautiful shot of our Trio looking at the remains of the death star. The DS2 to be exact, it appeared in Ep. 7 concept art and we know that the writers are using set aside story elements from 7. During this we get Luke's words...

Luke: No One's Ever Really Gone.... 

This line came from TLJ when Luke consoled Leia on her son's turn. He couldn't save him but he reminded her that Ben Solo isn't gone. It's a good sentiment about how people live on as long as they are remembered, but also the force as well. However here the line preludes Palpatine's evil cackle. So this obviously implies his return. J.J also confirmed Ian McDiarmid is reprising his role as the Emperor.

So opinion time. If you came to me 2 years ago and said The Emperor was returning after Anakin destroyed the Sith and that was confirmed in canon. I'd not be amused. It would have been heresy, not only to George but to also use a concept the old EU used terribly. However the past year, the explanation of how Dark Side users survive was explained. Darth Momin (seen below) was a Sith lord who technically achieved immortality. However this isn't Plagieus immortality, whatever exactly that is. Sith Lords can become trapped within areas, such as caves or forests or their own personal objects. Momin either him himself or a copy of him Via the Dark, was trapped in his helmet. The Sith can't become ghosts, but they do have a version of living forever, if you can call it life.





















To me this is perfect. The Jedi's immortality is confined to being only with specific training and mindset. Whereas the Sith who pursue attachment, selfishness and Power achieve immortality but they are trapped within their own possessions. The things they crave. It's a perfect way of having Sith around without needing them to be back literally in the flesh. This is why I am okay with Palpatine's return their is precedence, their are ways to bring him back that aren't contradictory or disrespectful to Lucas's work. But it's not just the brilliant way the Canon brings back the Sith without actually doing so, their is another reason for why it entices me.

Palpatine's return makes logical, narrative sense. He was the Phantom menace behind the prequels, manipulating a Galaxy to war then discarding both armies for a new one. He is the Ronald reagan, the Dick Cheney of which George based him on. He is the man who took everything away from Anakin and basically forced him into being his apprentice, also lying about Vader's son. His death marked the end of the Sith. However Anakin's redemption is more important than wiping out the Sith. You might say his job isn't done, but if their is anyway to close the Skywalker saga, to have an enemy or presence worth uniting to rid the galaxy of evil. Palpatine was the mastermind behind everything, it is only fitting that whatever form his return takes, it would be the new and legacy characters who face it. This allows us to move on from the saga, it just makes sense given the film is a closing to this 9 film tale.













The title was awkward at first but given personal speculation and discussion with others, whatever events transpire that tell us what this means I'm ready. Whether it's the Jedi change their names to skywalker, or the people of the Galaxy are inspired by the Skywalker legend to rise up. Or even Rey taking or Kylo raising the Skywalker name from it's soiled past. Whatever it is I won't be angry if it's not what i'd have done, I'll judge it as presented.


One thing I found interesting in this trailer was the parallels to the original The Phantom Menace teaser trailer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYkHD9y8EqI

Both trailers share 'Every Generation Has a legend'. I had never seen the Phantom Menace Tease before now, so thanks to those on twitter who are up on their TPM history. I love how this line was reused, It plays well into the full circle that is this film. The line itself is great as well it makes even more sense now than it did then. The idea of legends was scrutinised and then reaffirmed to mean something in TLJ. The prequels were the story that had been rewritten by Palpatine, the jedi were considered extinct by the time of ANH, terrorists and mythical. The prequels told tales of the the Legends of the Sith, the Legend of Plageius. The originals murkied that history telling us bits and pieces but making that past mythical, like the although in film time it was 19 yeas ago, that as enough time for the stories to be skewed into propaganda, or stories to tell your children.

By the time of the Sequels the idea of Legends had changed. Luke Skywalker, at the time the Last Jedi had many stories, some true most not. But he was deified, the Jedi were deified after being branded traitors. Han Solo became a Legend and war hero, so did Leia and whoever else from the older generation. These stories are told with joy and mystery, the past is romanticised. But we know that Luke bought into his own legend and that cost him. In the end however he accepted his role, his legend inspires hope and although he isn't a god/completely a hero he is a good man and he can use that Legend to save the future. Here episode 9 introduces the idea that the past has a way or repeating, as is the cyclical nature of star wars. It seems every 20/30 years their are new legends, and how the past is seen is changed each time.

However you interpret it, it is a good tagline.

Next comes 'every saga has a beginning' TPM has this in it's teaser as well. Obviously the meaning here is way more literal. It's a prequel so we are given some context for when this film is set. It's a very simple but powerful card. However ROTS trailer gives us 'Every saga has an end', it times with the music to give you the feels. The words hit me like a brick as I got emotional as even though I knew this was the end, It still hadn't hit me like that until this trailer. The parallel to TPM trailer is perfect and It really helps with the trailers Narrative.













With that I draw this, probably too long, analysis and opinion piece on the trailer and the sequel trilogy as a whole. I'm excited t see the saga end but also sad to see it go. However 9 films and 3 trilogies is a perfect number for the Skywalkers to bow out. Let me know your thoughts and consider following this Blog or subscribing by email. Expect more star wars analysis' in the future.

Bye for now.

How Tron Legacy's Opening Scene Fixes the End of Tron (1982) | Scene Analysis

About a year ago I watched Tron 1 and Tron legacy back to back for the first time. It was quite the experience. I was already a fan of Legacy's soundtrack and had enough of a passing interest to give the two films a try. Tron 1 was good, the worldbuilding was great and loved the Master Control Unit as a villain in both the system and in real life as it tried to control every system, including hacking into the Pentagon and the Kremlin and basically controlled Ed Dillinger who was that programs writer and the human villain. Flynn's main interest was getting back the rights to the video games he created and eventually ownership of the company. Most of the writing was solid and the themes of control vs a free system are littered throughout. Flynn's care for the programs wasn't really fleshed out. aside from making a few friends with them like Sark and Tron and freeing himself and the system. If i'm honest it didn't feel in the movie like he cared about freeing the system as much as the film suggests. It mostly seemed to be about getting at Dillinger and the M.C.U and those games.
With that let's discuss why although I like Tron 1, it's ending didn't work for me.

The ending of Tron (1982)

Flynn gets what he wanted from the beginning, the ownership of the game 'space paranoids' and the other I.P's he wrote that were stolen by Dillinger. He had, with the help of Tron, destroyed the Master Control Unit freeing the system. He was given the position of ENCOM CEO after having Dillinger done for Fraud. The final scene of the movie has him meet his friends, Alan Bradley (writer of Tron) and Lora to the board of Directors who are promoted to the Board of Directors. This completes what Flynn set out to get and gives gives Alan and Lora a reward what what they did and endured.

However here is my problem. The film did a real good job in the writing department for the themes of free will, freedom vs control, what kind of company will you be: corrupt and power hungry or caring for what you create and others. The thing is it's not really resolved at all. The MCU is destroyed but we never learn what happens to the system other than it being 'free', Flynn was friends with and helped the programs he knew but mainly just wanted out.We never learn what he feels about the system as he seems to realise what's going on while we was enslaved in the games and acclimatized to everything pretty well. The system is basically forgotten as we see what Flynn personally gained, rather than learned. It's just a really flaccid ending, we didn't even get the MCU trying to hack into the Pentagon, or what happened to Dillinger aside being arrested off screen. It feels like Flynn was sent in and got out without learning anything.

Now imagine that was all you got for 28 years. I don;t know much about if anyone wanted a sequel but I'd be pretty unsatisfied with that myself. Then again I knew I was watching Legacy straight after so perhaps that affected my view of the ending.I still feel that Flynn got off learning nothing and that's my big problem.

But how does Tron Legacy rectify this?

Tron Legacy: Opening Scene



So we open with a very welcoming start to the movie. Daft Punk's beautiful soundtrack plays 'The Grid' as a digital city begins to unfold before us. Kevin Flynn now sounding like the Jeff Bridges you'd hear today brings us back to the world of Tron in a speech.

Flynn: The Grid. A digital Frontier. I tried to picture clusters of information as they moved through the computer. What did they look like? Ships? Motorcycles? Were the circuits like Freeways? I Kept Dreaming of a World I thought I'd never see....and then, One day.... 

Sam: You got in?

Flynn: Ha heh heh That's right man. I got in 

First of all let's talk about the intro, the digital city unfolding until it forms the physical world looks so stunning. It immediately gets you into the Aesthetic of the digital world, with it's bright blues, we see buildings and roads from from the circuits, cars begin to form, then the streetlights as we see the real world in full view. It's a perfect way of symbolising how the Grid and humanity are both systems in a way. As well as reminding us that the world of the grid is much like ours, especially if your looking back at Tron 1's system and the themes throughout. Daft Punk's music brings us in slowly with that nectar to the ears build up, that gets louder until 'I got in'  and the music delivers that beautiful crescendo, as the Title of Tron Legacy appears between some skyscrapers. A great way to return to both the digital and real worlds. For me it was mere minutes since I watched the first film, but it must have been even more welcoming to people who saw the film in the 80's.

But the intro also helps us return by Kevin's speech. Bridges voice is the perfect tone for narration here, calming but engaging, it works so well with the build up in music. Let's dive into what's said here. So we begin with Flynn telling us about the Grid a bit. As far as I remember the Grid was never mentioned in the first film so this is new terminology for the digital world. The term 'digital frontier' helps provide some new viewers, of which their are plenty of what the Grid is. Flynn talks about picturing the world of the computer, having a vivid imagination of what the circuits and information clusters looked like. We know this to be true both from the intro and Tron 1. It's also possible when he mentions motorcycles and ships, perhaps that was the inspiration for his games he made that Dillinger stole. It also gives off that child like wonder and imagination that kids have about the world and the stories and worlds they can create out of simple/complex thing. Such as systems of sentient programs for instance.



'I kept dreaming of a world I thought i'd never see. And then, one day I got in', a perfect way to lead us in to the title and also reveals a few things. For newcomers it tells us the world Flynn imagined was real and that was Tron 1. Fans of the first movie have a nice line to remind them of the first film. But we also hear someone else, a kid say 'you got in' before him. Like he heard the story before. Now the narration goes from the normal kind we see in movies, where a character monologues to themselves. To an actual story being told by Flynn to a kid, the kid can also tie into the Legacy part of the title. But that's enough of the intro we still have the actual backstory/setup of the scene to get into.

So the camera moves through the title as we go through the city and across the river, as far as i can tell this is all one continuous shot until we get inside Flynn's house, which is a great feat. It helps add more to the opening as it's like we're getting this story as well. The music ends we get the date 1989 in front of the house, a full 7 years after Tron 1. The house looks great, it has a very homey feel to it, we see Flynn's Bike outside as the camera takes us inside the house. We turn right as we see Flynn by his Son's bedside.

We continue Flynn's story
'And the world was more beautiful than i ever dreamed and also more dangerous than I ever imagined'.

Flynn puts Sam to bed. What's great about the line here is that it recaps the first film simply but effectively. Flynn's adventure was dangerous, the whole time i felt aside the odd wonder and mocking joke he wanted out of there. But here we get more added to his past self from '82, he used to dream of the beauty of the digital world, which adds a lot to his programming days before/after he was fired from ENCOM. It also tells us he found that world beautiful which must have been the thoughts he was having rather than said out loud. Either way I finally got to hear Kevin comment on the Grid after he left it, which was my biggest gripe with the ending of 1.

Flynn lies down on the bed as he begins to tells us more about the Grid and what has been happening 7 years later. The music we heard before plays but this time it's more cosy, quiet and brings feeling of homeliness and family. It really helps with this moment for us. Before we continue with Flynn's story let's talk about the setting and what the sequence is going for. The room has a very nostalgic feel to it, it's a kids bedroom so their is that but it also feels 80's if that's a thing. It brings that comforting vibe you have when a parent is telling you a story or reading a book when your young. I remember a few of them and this scene captures that perfectly. The room has a small PC, games on shelves, and a telescope. Lots of boys had telescopes, to witness the stars and wonder. Perhaps that's to parallel the wonder Flynn gets from the Grid but probably looking too much into it.

Flynn: Now I met a brave warrior (grabs Tron action figure)
Sam:Tron! (points at figure)
Flynn: Bom bah bom bom bom Tron!!
Sam: He fights for the Users
Flynn: Heh he sure Does

Flynn reminds us of Tron, the character from which the game is named after. The program who protects the system and the users, maintaining a free system. We now know that Sam knows of Tron as well and what he does. Were reminded of that role as well. We also know that flynn had designed merchandise off what he saw in the grid. The lightcycles, disc battles, the programs. Clearly that helped with ENCOM's profits. It also helps Flynn as he already created most of the games used in the system anyway so that's easy money. Perhaps it's also a thing to help remind him of those he met in the system and a small way of memorialising them. Also keep in mind 'he fights for the users', something from the first film and also Tron says that later in the film and it's a nice moment.
We get shots of posters and the Tron toys in Sams's room telling us all we need to know about what's happened. It also gives newcomers an idea of what happened in the first film, and gives us an idea of what to expect in this one.

Flynn: Oh man he showed me things that no one had ever imagined. Their are these disc battles that are fought in spectacular arenas, and cycles that raced on ribbons of light. So Radical. And together...

Sam: You built a Grid 

Flynn: We built a new Grid, for programs and users

So we get some new information about what Flynn's been up to these days now. Flynn gives this fantastic visual of the Cycles and disc battles, allowing old fans to relive the nostalgia and new fans to use their imagination. But the thing we need to learn most of all is the New Grid. Flynn was inspired to make a new system alongside Tron and whatever he took from the old one. One ran by programs but users can enter freely and interact with. This tells us that Flynn did indeed take something from his time in the first movie after all. A love for the system and he wanted to see more of it, but his own Grid not ENCOM's.



We get a shot of Sam's grandparents who look after him while his Dad's away. Grandma Flynn gives a nice smile, perhaps he believes Flynn is just making up more stories for Sam. I imagine he didn't tell them about it beyond what he created merch of. Still more of that homely feel. But their's more to Flynn's new Grid.

Flynn: Now I couldn't be in there all the time, so I created a program in my own Image who could think, like you and me. And I called him... (slowly raises up action figure) CLU. 

Sam: Codified Likeness Utility 

Flynn: That's right. And CLU, Tron and I, we built the system where all information was free and open. Beautiful. And then one day...something happened. Something...extraordinary. A Miracle. 

Sam: What was it? 

Flynn: That'll have to wait till next time.

Fans of the first film will remember CLU from the start. He is Flynn's personal program he used to try and hack into ENCOM, but was destroyed by the Master control. It had it's own personality like the other programs, from memory I believe the personality/soul of the program writer translates to their own program, so CLU was like Flynn a bit, Tron like Alan etc. So Flynn gave him new life in a new Grid with a bigger role, as the program who keeps the system going and innovates where necessary. Alongside Tron and Flynn when he's in. A nice thing to do for a character who wasn't in long, you can tell that the writers watched the film closely and wanted to do more with the source material already available. Building off it and going the natural progression.
We also know that CLU is in Flynn's image, and can think for himself. Programs have personalities and can think/solve but generally serve a purpose. CLU can create/shape the Grid to a major but not complete degree.

What's also important and finishes off why this film makes Tron a better film, is that the ideas of free open systems, a lack of control, the beauty of that. That is all made a part of Flynn's character. He actually did take away why the master control was bad, he saw the beauty of the system from the inside and wanted to create his own perfect system alongside Tron and CLU. He loves the digital world, not just the games and CEO position he got at the end of the film. The perfect progression for him. However he also teases something more he discovered in that system, but we won't learn that till later. The camera slowly moves to look at the side of Flynn's face, showing that enthusiasm that he has. Making the scene a bit more personal

We end on a sweet yet somber moment as Flynn is about to leave.

         Flynn: I have to get to work

Sam: I wanna go with you Dad 

Flynn: Yeah well one day, you will. I promise 

Sam: To the Grid? 

Flynn: Heh Goodnight Sam (kisses Sams forehead)

Flynn stands up to put on his awesome Jacket. It's worth noticing that Sam loves his dad and is said when he leaves, He wants to see the Grid his dad tells him about, perhaps because he just wants to or to spend more time with him in his fantasy land.

Flynn: Hey what'ya say, tomorrow, you and I hit the arcade. You can have a crack at the old man's high score? First games on me (throws coin at Sam)
Sam: Can we play Doubles? On the same team?
Flynn:

Nice moment here. Flynn reminds us of his old arcade he ran from the first movie. We know he was the best at his games, he designed them after all. Hence the high score mention. Sam asks if they can play together, meaning he likes to play with his father and values spending time with him. He has his back to us before telling us 'we're always on the same team'. It's very warming moment and culminates that father by your bedside feel the scene is going for. It's also a key last line before Sam never sees him again for 20 years.

After Flynn leaves Sam  immediately misses him and looks at the coin. He turns it to heads, not sure if that has any significance but the coin is clearly there to show his new attachment to it as he can see his father tomorrow. We get a last shot of Flynn glancing back at Sam before riding off on his Bike.

That finally finishes my analysis of Scene 1 one of Tron Legacy and answers hopefully for you guys how this improves the end of Tron 1 greatly and uses the worldbuilding in the first film to expand it in great length in this one. I'm quite proud of this analysis and look forward to any reply's or thoughts from you.

Why Thanos is not the Hero (And that's the point) | MCU Character & Theme Analysis

This is something I've wanted to talk about for some time , but haven't really had the knowledge to critique before. Thanos, the Mad Titan, the bringer of death has become really popular both pre and Post Avengers: Infinity War's release. With that popularity comes interpretations of his character and his motives. Now interpretation is great, we don't always agree with each other on it, but if everyone came away with he same thoughts on the themes and characters in a movie, well it'd be nice at first, but the discussion would become stale. Luckily the never ending discussion about Thanos has some variety, however two takes on him keep coming up. On of which makes logical sense, which is about the practicality of snapping half the universe's life and how Thanos would need to be around to keep doing it. Or that he could have just created more resources etc etc etc.

However the other more popular to talk about take on the film, is that Thanos is the hero. You've probably seen one of the million video essay's or articles talking about how, 'Thanos deserved to win' or 'Thanos was right' or any other take on that. Now I will say you'd be correct in terms of him being a main character, who goes through his own trials and tribulations, he drives the story he has goals you understand. The 'he's the protagonist' narrative seems to have been overblown however, he is still the villain, a driving force who has nuance sure, but the Villain nonetheless. Being a protagonist doesn't make you necessarily right nor a good guy. However I do understand why people think this, even I have had thoughts on Thanos's perspective and it being a hard choice, but one that could solve a problem.

However I've come to realise the horrifically flawed logic behind solving the overpopulation question. Thanos isn't right but he is an eventuality, an idea that a some point might come to pass. He is relateable and understandable because we've heard these arguments before. The talks of eugenics of their not being enough food, fossil fuels are finite as well as plastic and minerals. He is in many ways 'human', because he represents the extreme of the fear that humanity will drive itself to extinction. So let's dive into what drove Thanos to this, why he believes it, what evidence he has to think balancing the universe works and why he is in fact wrong.

Let's begin with where this all started. Titan, home of Thanos. A once thriving race of beings now leaving Thanos seemingly the only survivor. A planet now desolate and during the film Dr. Strange learns why. Let's examine the key part of the scene.

Strange: Let me guess...your Home?''
Thanos: It was... and it was Beautiful.
Titan was like most planets. Too many mouths, not enough food to go around. And when we faced extinction I offered a solution.
Strange: Genocide
Thanos: But Random. Dispassionate, fair to rich and poor alike. They called me a madman. And what I predicted came to pass.
Strange: Congratulations, you're a prophet.

We learn that Thanos was the one to suggest balance to the people of Titan and yet rightly he was refused. Perhaps he was a philosopher or politician, someone who could suggest or say these things to a government or wherever he preached his genocide. Their are a few things missing, were the people of Titan trying to solve this crisis? Were their other solutions being considered that were too outlandish or came too late? Or perhaps like humanity today, the public and environmentalists offered plenty of solutions but the society, the corporations, food producers and the rich wouldn't acknowledge this or take action and risk the sea of power right now. These answers aren't given, and we can't expect a madman like Thanos to give them either.

Another question is what was it that let Thanos escape or survive this crisis. His own privilege? perhaps he had one of the few ships left, it makes sense to save fuel and ground spacecraft when your in a resource crisis. Whatever the case he outlived a civilisation that wouldn't save itself. However the lack of knowledge does tell us more than you'd think. This is Thanos's perspective, his view on why his race died. He offered a solution, they refused and died. It's only logical right? I mean billions of people, and not enough food or room for them all. They were the fools without the will to act. Thanos now the last of his kind, had to become the kind of person he preached to be. So when your race goes extinct because of it's lack of will to act, then what's left to save? What do you stand for when your the last one?

Simple. Their are other races, other worlds out there suffering their own crises. Some slowly declining, others going down the same path Titan did. Thanos can save them from themselves, only he has the will to do so. So he builds an army to wipe out half of each planet. One thing to note is that he does talk about it being dispassionate, both to rich and poor. Which at least shows he isn't just wiping out lower classes, still terrible but I guess it's fair? However he does take orphans like Gamora., Nebula, Corvus Glaive etc. He has some sick sense of love for them, but mainly Gamora who he sees himself in. It's a clearly abusive parenthood and with a lot of torture and death threats. 

Now during this aside the odd criticism of Thanos I've mainly been coming at it from his perspective. He does believe he is the universes savior, that it's resources are finite, he is saving worlds not destroying them. During the film we are given evidence that balancing a planet does work.

Gamora's planet Zen-Whoberi was balanced on the day of her 'adoption'. Half the planet was killed off randomly. Assumedly city by city. Later we learn when Thanos captures Gamora that his action did indeed save the planet, the hunger crisis was solved by reducing the demand/population. So we get why Thanos has reason to believe he's right, because it has worked. However we don't learn where it doesn't. I extremely doubt this worked on every world, it's possible sure but the chances certainly aren't 50/50. Killing half a planet doesn't mean they can restructure their government, society, resource management and food production. Nor solve any climate crisis overnight.

What it does mean is that is some cases it does work, they can use this balancing to restructure, perhaps introduce new ideas that were ignored before. Perhaps losing half a planet brings perspective/or fear that they need to change their economic system. Whatever the case It does work, but the thing is it's chance. Their are many variables and although every civilisation has corruption, and an expanding population, their are so many intricate reasons why even though a planet is dying, balancing it actually ends up worse for them. Now you could argue that the Russo Bros. intended this to work for every planet, I doubt it, they've already said he is crazy. I'm assuming the 'he's the hero' narrative originated from them when they talked about him being the protagonist and such. But that doesn't mean he's the good guy.

So the only reason, and I think it makes sense for Thanos given what we know about him. Is that he doesn't want to save the universe, not just saying that because he wipes out half of it. But he wants to to create the conditions needed for his own survival of the fittest, save yourselves narrative. We've seen this with the Dwarves that he doesn't care about killing a entire race, (save one) when it fits his personal needs. This isn't about saving anyone, its's about saving Titan. He couldn't save it when he knew he was right, and now he has to stop Titan from happening again. But if a race goes extinct because of it, it doesn't matter because they 'didn't understand' how to save themselves. He believes he is creating the conditions to save those willing to do so, not everyone. 

So snapping half the universe is a quick way of solving resource crisis in the short term, but those planets will have the same problems he didn't see before. He isn't a savior just a regretful person trying to save others in a naive attempt to avenge Titan or redeem himself. He's deluded himself into thinking after the snap, eventually these worlds will call it a blessing. But it does have precedence and it is a relateable motivation, but we cannot agree with him nor can we fool ourselves into thinking he is right. Solving some problems by doing something no one else can do doesn't make you a hero, it's a shortcut to solving what made those problems exist.

Let's talk about overpopulation. I'm sure you'v heard it from politicians, speakers and people who facebook. As well as more unsavory people talking about immigration. It is a concern, too many people cant be supported in one area it's true. However have you ever questioned who made the prediction in the first place. Isn't funny how it's never the west that's overpopulated but third world countries and china and whoever else but never us? Thanos was  prophet for his races destruction but have you ever questioned the environment that lea to him thinking that? Let's talk about Maltusian Theory.

Thomas Robert Malthus is humanity's Thanos. The one man who 'dared' to make the research into studying overpopulation. Something pretty new at the time, but what was his theory.
https://study.com/academy/lesson/malthusian-theory-of-population-growth-definition-lesson-quiz.html

Here is a link but the general idea is he made the correlation between population growth and birth rates. Stating that in times a boost in population and birth rates happen, food production grows arithmetically, so the amount of food in one period cannot match the amount of people. He introduced 2 population control variables on 'preventative check' which are ways of getting the public to control the population growth themselves, such as saying people should only have children when they are married and can support a family (clear religious beliefs their). The second is positive checks (pretty disturbing name for it), which concern element which reduce  populations such as disease, famine, drought and poor living/working environments. Too much of this and the population enters catastrophe. So he wan't genocidal but a lot of the conservative mindset he and others who believed i this conveniently focused on the poor and other races when it came to overpopulation.

Le't's take a look at some criticism of this outlook.

https://www.intelligenteconomist.com/malthusian-theory/

Malthius's calculations for arithmetic growth of food and population growth were not actually provided. So today we know that his predictions are not accurate. He did not predict the amount of trade other countries have with each other, food and resources are shared thanks to globalisation. It was all based on the amount of land to produce food versus the amount of land being taken up. But that is not as big of a problem today. Food production could not be higher, for example a mere 2% of america works in agriculture but as produced a 14 trillion GDP. Now some countries are less rich than others and don't have as many big automate farms for mass production. But the kind of countries Malthius was worried about have no problem on that front. Though currently the UK is suffering from the inability to realise it's trade power isn't what it was.

Finally the population growth in third world countries or in poor areas isn't nearly as massive as predicted. Eastern Europe has the advancements needed to sustain itself. Overpopulation might happen one day but not in our lifetime. Thanos did have a way out to save Titan but he fell for a conservative fallacy that its the poor and other countries that have the population problems and they are burdened with feeding them. It's a greedy way of viewing feeding the world. The inequality and rich-poor gap is the real problem. Without the money going into the lower 'classes' they are at a disadvantage an are staving and getting cramped in areas because of the economic situation they are in. Their is plenty of space for at least a few centuries, but without affordable living conditions, affordable housing and more money from the rich into the economy, millions will indeed starve to death.

We can save ourselves but only if we are willing to care for others and accept the corruption and end the overpopulation myth. It's used to excuse that we aren't feeding more people not to say that we can't.

Thanos is a warning. A warning to us about the kind of people that will be created if we refuse to solve our problems now. He was looking in the wrong place, the population doesn't control the resources, corporations and the government do.  The answer isn't eugenics.

Thanos is not a hero, he's wrong and we need to stop agreeing with him for the real greater good.

An introduction to armchair philosophy

Hello Everyone this is British Tyrannosaur here

I've been interested in creating a blog to share my writing talent. Well i say talent, more I'm just pretty good at talking about themes, and see myself as an armchair philosopher. I've spent since 2016 creating youtube content, improving as I go. A lot of the time i cover the geeky dumb things I love. Nowadays that's Jurassic Park but I alsocover Marvel DC, dinosaur media, video games occasionally. I like to discuss them in a usually unscripted style but sometimes I do take the time to write scripts for more long form topics, analysis & reviews.

What I pride myself in is analyzing and engaging in thematic storytelling, interpreting that and discussing narratives. I do keep myself well read. Not on the works of Kant or any other real philosophers, (but I probably should) but normally authors of science fiction. My favourite author is Micheal Crichton, who sadly died in 2008 but who's memory lives on. His prophetic work served not only as gripping thrillers but as commentary on human nature, greed and the future of science. Such as the abuse of genetic power. He is probably the most prophetic person in terms of that field of writing. Many of his works such as Jurassic park, Sphere, Prey, Westworld all have something to say while maintaining a engaging pace and story you can't put down. 

In many ways Crichton shaped my view of the world and how I go about looking at media, in terms of themes, characters and story. But other writers for TV, movies, books and games are inspirations for how that media engages me. When it comes to tv and filmm I like to analyse character arcs and flaws, the music and cinematography, the narrative and more. I do not pretend to be a filmmaker but i am educated enough to comment on it, raise and discuss those aspects and say why i found it engaging, good, or why it didn't work for me.

So that's the kind of things I'll be dong here as well. Post's will include

• Reviews of games, films, tv shows, comics and other forms of media. Mostly talking story/narrative and themes but also he soundtrack, film making, what worked for me and what didn't etc.
• Scene analysis of films and shows - diving into all the things I've talked about going into the subtle storytelling and execution of each scene. Mainly Jurassic park films but branching out from there.
• Unused video ideas and whatever videos I've done that raised something worth sharing again in blog form
• Narrative analysis of Games - discussing the storytelling, worldbuilding
• Long form theme/commentary analysis - of themes, ideas,morals, politics presented by Movies/tv shows

That's about all for now. To any of my fans and followers from Youtube and Twitter I hope you stuck around. You'll be used to my pretentious ramblings anyway. To anyone else  hope you like what you see and have your own opinions ad interpretations to discuss.

See you on the Flip.