Movie Analysis:
Movie 1: Star Wars, episode IV
- Before watching "Star Wars" (probably _again_), write down some notes pinpointing your expectations about it.
- What do you already know (or remember) about it?
- What do you know about its context, particularly about the historical period of its origin?
- About the director?
- Relative to our study of robotics, what do you think will be the most important features of the film?
- How does the sound and lighting affect the telling of the story?
- What about the SciFi and/or effects?
How do these expectations lead you to look for certain themes within the overall plot? Explore how you are biased.
- Watch Star Wars, but be active and engaged. Take notes and write down questions that arise in your mind as you watch, associations that you make between the elements of the story and similarities or differences with "I, Robot". Two questions that I want you to think more carefully about, both during your watching of the movie and in your written response:
- What are the reactions and attitudes of the humans toward the robots? Does it depend on which robots, or on which humans? How does the director and actors convey these attitudes?
- Do the robots appear to express any emotion? How can you tell? Again, try to think about how the director and actors and possibly even special effects either help convey emotions on the part of the robot, or fail to do so.