Star Wars

General Information:

Year Released: 1977 Country: US Director: George Lucas IMDB: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0076759

The Promise of Science: Space Travel

Star Wars is much more concerned with excitement and storytelling than science. In this film, man has explored the far reaches of the galaxy, and is capable of travelling at unimaginable speeds. Again, space travel is merely another aspect of everyday life -- but rather than being dull and monotonous, it is exciting and fresh. It is also dirty and unreliable. Unlike the pristine technology encountered in Forbidden Planet and 2001, the technology of Star Wars is old and subject to failure. Wear and tear is evident on almost every piece of equipment, including space transportation vehicles. These vessels come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, each serving a different purpose. Such a wide and imaginative array of space vehicles is not seen in many films.

The Promise of Science: Robots

Star Wars features both friendly and hostile robots. Two of the lead characters are robot companions of the film's humans. Instead of serving as slaves or servants, they work with people in the film to achieve their goals. Numerous other robots are encountered in this film in a variety of situations serving many different functions. Some are enslaved, some are intelligent, and some are simple, serving single functions. Almost all of them are associated with human or alien leaders, and sometimes can be bought or traded in markets.

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