X-Men discussion

That was awesome.

Guess that counts as spoiler free.

While all the marvel movies have been great, I think the Thor movies might be my favorites. really solid and entertaining and any grumbles I have are minor.

I saw it opening day as well - really enjoyed it.

I also saw it opening day. The effects are incredible. The plot is interesting. Chris Hemsworth is gorgeous.
But I felt it was too familiar, as if I'd seen it before. It was following the pattern of the previous Thor plus The Avengers. And reminded me of LOTR a bit too much.

I was reminded of LOTR with the first Thor film, especially where it established the history. This one reminded me of Star Wars a bit - which I didn't expect. I enjoyed the film, just was surprised by that.

James wrote: "I was reminded of LOTR with the first Thor film, especially where it established the history. This one reminded me of Star Wars a bit - which I didn't expect. I enjoyed the film, just was surpris..."

Which Star Wars?

Good question - I guess Phantom Menace? The battle on Naboo maybe, or some other battle from the prequel movies...
I think of Thor and Asgard being closer to fantasy than Sci-Fi... so ships with lasers, etc - was not what I expected.

James wrote: "Good question - I guess Phantom Menace? The battle on Naboo maybe, or some other battle from the prequel movies...
I think of Thor and Asgard being closer to fantasy than Sci-Fi... so ships with ..."
I'm less familiar with the prequel stuff, but I see your point.

Saw this in the theater and just rewatched a couple days ago. Love it. I also really enjoyed the first, but for different reasons.

Nice comparison James. I got the same feelings. I like that they incorporated more of a science & "magic" mix in the Dark World, as Asgard is supposed to be an advanced civilization and it gives more depth. That said the first movie worked just fine focusing purely on the more mythological aspects.

So why do you think there is a similarity?
My feel about LOTR can be explained because Tolkien loved Norse mythology, so the roots with Thor are common.
Was George Lucas a mythology fan? Or did the Marvel guys use something that felt safe and familiar?

Probably a little of both. Star Wars is so iconic at this point that some of the technology and designs used in Thor were likely influenced by it, whether consciously or sub-consciously.

On the other side of things, while Star Wars is primarily thought of as sci-fi because of the technology and space travel, there are a lot of mythic themes to it and elements (the force being the prime example) that go beyond science. The original movies also have a story structure reminiscent of folktales and myths (which I believe Lucas has said in interviews was intentional). So Star Wars is in some senses a similar mix of science and "magic."

Did you know that there was a Jungian influence on the scripts or Star Wars . Carl Jung was a psychoanalyst, he speaks about the collective unconscious (the idea that all people have a connection on an unconscious level) which was an inspiration for the force. Vader, Luke and Leia all represent some of his archetypes...

Yeah, Lucas has pretty much said that Star Wars is Campbell's 'the hero's Journey' applied to a Flash Gordon serial.

Star Wars got it's start when Lucas tried and failed to get the rights to do a Flash Gordon movie.

Had heard about the connection to Campbell, but not Jung or Flash Gordon. Interesting...

Starts sounding like a collection of conspiracy theories...

Lisa wrote: "Starts sounding like a collection of conspiracy theories..."


It's what Dirk Gently calls 'the inter-connectivness of all things.'

Lisa wrote: "So why do you think there is a similarity?
My feel about LOTR can be explained because Tolkien loved Norse mythology, so the roots with Thor are common.
"
Have to agree with that similarity with LOTR, for the reasons you just stated. For any similarity to Star Wars with this movie (or just sci-fi in general), I imagine that Marvel is expanding what they are covering - Thor 2 sets up the sci-fi with Guardians of the Galaxy...
Wanda will expand on magic and open things up for Dr. Strange...

I'm wondering about our collective unconscious as humans, maybe with whatever unconscious racial and species memory we have we have a way of knowing how something Norse, magical, fantastical should be. That knowing lives itself out on the page or film.

In child psych we speak about the universal house. If you ask a group of preschool/ kindergarten kids to draw a house, regardless of where they come form, they draw the 'same' house. Those of you with kids have seen it: square walls, triangular roof, chimney with smoke, 2 windows, door and apple tree. No one ever lives in a house like this but it's what we draw. And there's multiple proposed reasons for this...

So maybe, unconsciously and collectively, we recognize a universal legendary world?

For example Travis brought Dirk Gently into the discussion.theres something about Douglas Adam's world that fits with Thor, LOTR, Star Wars etc

William wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I'm wondering about our collective unconscious as humans, maybe with whatever unconscious racial and species memory we have we have a way of knowing how something Norse, magical, fant..."

Sounds good, to read after finals!

William wrote: "It is and surprisingly readable for such an academic book :D !

P.S. Best of luck in your finals!"

Thanks. Monday- Wednesday.
Wish I was telepathic!

Ooo yes...

William wrote: "True that or even better be Layla Miller - how awesome would it be to walk into an exam hall with the ability to intuitively "Know stuff" !"

So I tried to tell my colleague: I'm Lisa and I know stuff... She asked if I felt ok.
I've ordered Campbell's book

^ like