Summer SAVY Session 3, Day 3 – Theory, Criticism, and The Force: An Academic Study of Star Wars
Day 3: Thank you for our session today!
I know that I began our day by previewing that we’d begin to explore Ferdinand de Saussure and the study of semiotics. I’m glad, however, that we spent the time that we did on the Monomyth and Blake Snyder’s Beat Sheet. When you recognize how the BS2 functions, you’ll find that you’ll never watch a movie the same way again. Or a play. Or a television show. Or just about any performed narrative content!
I see that many of the students are using their notebooks to create sketches and artwork. I am so impressed with their creativity and imagination! I will gently remind them that the purpose of the notebooks is to complete course assignments and to take notes during projects or film screenings; it’s so important to me that they have a written record of their discoveries, which will allow them to fully participate in discussions, activities, and games!
We’re ten minutes away from the end of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. We’ve “broken” most of the narrative, fitting each beat to the BS2, and linking all moments with the language of causality. It’s funny: when you see the film in this way, it’s easy to appreciate what a well-made machine Lucas wrought! Tomorrow we’ll see how things end for Luke, Leia, and their crew of Rebels.
I know students were eager to play more Pew! Pew! Pew! today. It’s my hope that we’ll have time for that tomorrow. I was glad to introduce today’s handful of new moves, but we still haven’t added The Grogu, The Utini, or “Stay on Target!” There’s fun stuff ahead, my friends.
We’ve passed the midway point. I’d say that today was a… true victory! See you tomorrow!