Star Wars vs Star Trek (Part Two)

Star Wars vs Star Trek (Part Two)

George Lucas

George Lucas was born in Modesto, California in 1944. From all accounts that I have read there are three things that Lucas was interested in during his youth, cars, science fiction, and film making. A particular show that resonated with him was Flash Gordon. It combined all of George’s interests. First, obviously it was science fiction. Second Flash Gordons rocket was a souped up, interstellar rocket ship very similar to the modified drag racers of his youth. Finally from a film making and special effects perspective Flash Gordon was extraordinary…..for the time. 

At an early age Lucas began making his own short films with friends. He transferred to USC Film School where he not only learned and honed his skills as a film maker but gathered together a clique of future collaborators that would go on to become legends in their own rights and shape the film industry into what it is today. Others would be vital to the development of George’s career. This clique became known as the dirty dozen. Some of the big names George befriended in film school were Steven Spielberg, Brian DePalma, and Francis Ford Coppola. Again like Roddenberry I am giving you a brief history of George Lucas because it helps to illustrate how and why Star Wars became what it is today, and how Star Wars became integral in the development of not only science fiction but film making. 

A Galaxy Far Far Away

Star Wars takes place in a completely different universe, at a completely different time, in a completely different galaxy. That’s the most crucial difference between Star Wars and Star Trek. Again Star Trek is just supposed to be the future of the human race, answering the vital science fiction questions of “where will we go?” and “what will we become?”

In 1977 George Lucas created his own production company called Lucasfilm, LTD. He decided early on his career that he was going to make movies that he wanted to see. Not follow the cookie cutter, “whats hot right now”, pump movies out as fast as possible, studio system that had been the standard in Hollywood since the dawn of film making. After his companies first movie American Graffiti, about drag racing in Southern California (that just so happened to feature Harrison Ford) was a great success he decided to move on making another interest from his childhood, Flash Gordon. 

Lucas was unsuccessful in obtaining the rights to make Flash Gordon and decided to make his own space opera. George Lucas used his love of science fiction and filmmaking to write the first drafts of Star Wars. Lucas said that Star Wars is heavily influenced by Kurowsawa , spaghetti westerns, as well as “sword and sorcery” fantasy. Now you of course read my “Who is John Carter” post and already know what George Lucas was doing. He used all of his knowledge and the people that influenced him to up to that moment to create a cultural phenomenon. 

Special Effects

Star Wars’ contribution to the world of science fiction is significant. The expansion on the concept of planetary romance and that you could serialize science fiction films to the tune of billions and billions of dollars, setup film making for the latter part of the 20th century and beyond. Alien, Terminator, and even Star Trek (Movies) owe Star Wars credit for creating or rejuvenating their franchise’s. Studios brought back the original cast of Star Trek to make six movies, not including the seven made after, that didn’t include the original cast. However the contributions don’t just stop at science fiction but film making in general. The extraordinary part about Star Wars was that the hokey space opera, with wizards in space, that wield laser swords at the time was incredible to look at. Whatever the subject matter, as a film maker George Lucas was interested in making movies look as good as possible. The story and special effects were equally important to Lucas. He wanted the special effects to work so well that the audience was able to suspend disbelief and immerse themselves fully into the movie. To accomplish this, George Lucas created Industrial Light and Magic. A branch of Lucasfilm, whose core purpose was to innovate and create special effects for Star Wars at first and then over 300 other films after that including Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. ILM developed the first motion controlled camera that was programmed by computer. This innovation allowed shots to be done over and over again so precisely that special effects never achieved before were possible for the first time. ILM was the pioneer of computer generated special effects. ILM’s Graphic Group and a man named John Lasseter would later pioneer the first computer generated characters in the 1985 movie Young Sherlock Holmes. The Graphics Group would later be sold off to Steve Jobs for five million dollars. That company would become PIXAR, I think their work speaks for itself. 

From a business perspective Star Wars pioneered the concept of merchandising. Toys, costumes, actions figures, novels, etc. were all created around the Star Wars universe. For the first time kids were able to buy what they saw on screen. Countless movies since have followed this business model.

Future Film Makers

In the way Star Trek inspired scientists, engineers, inventors, astronauts, etc. Star Wars inspired film makers and creators. George Lucas not being able to settle for mediocre results in film making raised the bar for the film makers of the 20th and 21st centuries. Directors, makers, artists, computer programmers, graphic designers, painters, model makers, etc. who came of age during that era, will likely cite Star Wars as a big inspiration for them. The cascade of inspiration that started with George Lucas fed the careers of Steve Spielberg, John Williams, James Cameron, who then inspired the next generation of The Russo Brothers, JJ Abrams, Rian Johnson,  Colin Trevorrow, James Gunn, and so many more. 

Conclusion

It’s obviously difficult to talk about science fiction without discussing Star Wars and Star Trek. They inspire people for different reasons, and appeal to people for different reasons. Clearly they are very different but the common thread that unites them, is inspiration. They are easily accessible science fiction that inspire people to not only dream about a better future but do something about it. Even from a less lofty perspective both Star Wars and Star Trek are fun. They are entertaining for five year olds or fifty five year olds. Their achievements will not soon be forgotten and for the forceable future will be the benchmark of things to come.