3 Act Structure in Star Wars

Hollywood's 3 act structure is the most used structure in the developing process of a film. In Star Wars, the three act structure is prevalent throughout the whole film. Star Wars is a feel good movie, with the hero winning in the end. George Lucas uses the 90 degree pyramid in the film in which every scene leads into the rest of the acts. 


Act one:
     Lucas ends act one at around the 35-40 minutes mark with the decision that Luke, the protagonist, makes. He had been contemplating leaving Tattoine for a more exciting life with the rebellion, but helping his aunt and uncle forced him to stay behind. When his aunt and uncle get killed by the empire it leaves Luke with no other choice than to help Obi-Wan Kenobi and fight for the rebellion like he had wanted, using his skills to help rescue Princess Leia and the rebellion. By doing this Lucas ends the act by escalating the stakes for Luke and implying the tough road ahead for Luke and the rebellion.

Act two:
     In act two,with an end time arounf 1:15-1:25, most of the action takes place. Luke ends up finding Princess Leia in the Death Star and manages to escape the Death Star but Obi-Wan Kenobi ends up getting killed by Darth Vader. The story is not over however, with the empire planning to blow up another planet in their way, Luke and the rebellion need to act quickly and destroy the empire's plans. This elevates even more action, transitioning from act two to act three. 

Act three:
     Act three is the shortest act, and consists of primarily a big space battle that last 20 minutes long. This is my favorite movie because the climax is so EPICLY EPIC!!! The action is great but I like it more becasue this is the act that answers almost all of the questions, the main one being that The Death Star is blown up and the empire is defeated, for now. 

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The TV Sitcom

One of the characteristics of a tv sitcom very noticeable in almost all tv sitcoms is the lesson characteristic. Almost every episode of every sitcom ever created has a lesson associated along each episode. 

For example, in Everybody  Loves Raymond there is an episode entitled "The Wallpaper" where Ray's parents drive a car through his front door. They end up paying for the damages, yet Ray isn't happy cause the wallpaper on the new wall doesn't match the original one. He gets pissed and his dad, Frank, declines to pay a cent more than he has too. After a while they reconcile and leave it be. 

The whole moral of the story was about many things most noticeably greed and being too picky. TV sitcoms are usually based on the family life. And with family life sometimes comes family situations and family troubles. It is interesting to see these problems played out on tv. It kinda makes people go back and say "I remember when that happened in my life, I didn't see how it was funny then, but I do now". Sitcoms take a light look on the situation, highlight the funny, and solve the problem in the end. It's a classic formula and doesn't show signs of stopping anytime soon, and I couldn't see it better any other way.   

Pics from: http://i.cdn.turner.com/v5cache/TBS/Images/Dynamic/i23/elr_episode100_337x233_032720061525.jpg
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Star Wars "Binary Sunset" shots

In Star Wars "A New Hope" there is one scene in particular that I really love because it tells a story all it's own in about 35 seconds with no dialogue, only emotion played out through the kind of shots George Lucas used. This scene comes almost halfway through the movie and really let's the viewer know what Luke is feeling.

The shot I am going to explain is the Binary Sunset scene in Star Wars. Basically Luke gets out of the house and looks at the two suns setting in the sky. It doesn't seem like a big deal but when you watch it it feels like something much more is happening on a deeper level.

Long Shot: George Lucas opens up the scene with an isolated house in the Tattoine Desert and with two suns setting, Luke simply walks out of the house. The descriptive meaning of this scene is simply telling us where the scene is taking place, which is in Tattoine. But on a deeper level as Luke is standing by just watching the sunset he is alone. There is a sense of loneliness with the backdrop of the two suns and Luke just standing there, watching his dreams set along with the suns.

Medium Shot: The medium shot in this case is with the two suns. As it goes from Luke back to the two suns, the suns represent the dreams and aspirations of a young farm boy, who wants more from life and knows deep in his heart that he is called to be a part of something bigger than himself.

Close-Up Shot: The close up is of Luke looking into the sky. Obviously, it clarifies that it is Luke that is in the scene. As Luke looks away, you can easily tell he is sad, lonely, upset, and disappointed with the way his life looks to be going.  The immense sky paints a picture that represents how big the universe is and how small Luke is in this vast world. Yet, those two suns are there to represent that something is out there for him, yet until that day comes it is back to life as he knows it.

Pics from: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/72/SW_binary_sunset.png/290px-SW_binary_sunset.png

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The Studio System

The Studio System of Classic Hollywood was a very unique and all-in-one process. The most interesting aspect of how they made movies back then at least to me was how everyone in the movie business was on a contract with the movie studios. 

Being on contract meant that the people who were signed on to a particular studio like MGM, meant that they could only work on the MGM movies assigned to them for a certain number of years or movies.

This was a very important piece to the puzzle that is the movie industry. This meant that the studios would have certain actors that the general public liked very much. Usually these stars came associated with specific genres of film like a musical, gangster, or crime film. So the studios would cater to whatever was working at the time, with whoever was the hottest actor or actors of the day. And because they were on a contract they had to do it. 

This was the case with Frank Capra and many others. In Frank Capra's case, from 1934-1946 he directed four films including It's a Wonderful Life, all under contract for Columbia Pictures. Without the contract to make the films he was supposed to make, there would not be many of the classic movies of the Golden Era of Hollywood.

Pic from: http://www.filmreference.com/images/sjff_02_img0600.jpg

All In the Family and Everybody Loves Raymond

     Television comedies have changed in many ways by the decades it seems. And as shows change along with the world, so does the situations and mentalities displayed in each episode. All and the Family and Everybody Loves Raymond are different in many ways and are the same in some.

    

One reason why Everybody Loves Raymond is different from All in the Family is that Everybody Loves Raymond is more acceptable with certain views of life that All in the Family was. For instance, as Archie was totally against the homosexual way of life, he reflected a harsh view upon a percentage of people. Everybody Loves Raymond doesn't quite contain the harsh tone towards something like homosexuality. As the times change and ways of life become acceptable, so does the portrayal in television sitcoms like Everybody Loves Raymond. These two shows are similar in the way that they both bring up topics in there episodes that deal with modern issues like accepting homosexuality, but are different in that one displays a level of acceptance and the other not so much.

     Everybody Loves Raymond does not deal with gender roles and gender discrimination as much as shows like All in the Family does. As the times change and women become more independent than they were in the 70's so does their portrayal in television sitcoms.  

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