What Happens When The Western Meets The Sci-Fi?

Firefly!

I watched Serenity the other night, and afterwards I went and bought the entire Firefly series (never done anything like that before!), site unseen. I saw the Serenity trailer and wanted to see the movie when it came out, but was too busy. I thought it was a very easily engaged (and engaging!) story.

It's pretty well-known what the impact of Westerns have been on Sci-Fi or related movies (the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises being two of the most lucrative examples). But what happens when you look at it form the other way around? Firefly's the result.

It's got a great ensemble cast (both in terms of how the characters are written, and in how the actors use their many talents to bring them to life). It's got great camera direction (some of the shots that would have to zoom in-and-out to gain the proper focus, actors not being perfectly in a shot and really opening up the world, the jerky, silent space shots that later on became popularized in the remake of the Battlestar Galactica series...but that's another blog...). And it has the right amount of “cheese factor” that I got articulate beyond the “I know it when I see it or hear it” formula. The live action and the CGI are, in two words – REALLY AWESOME!

I thought the writing was really great too. I really liked how the characters went back and forth between English and Chinese – especially when they wanted to convey something with more emotion or feeling. They did it so well, as if they had always spoken that way. The technology was a really cool juxtaposition of old and new...people dealing with the past, their presents and wondering if there's a possible future

Another thing I liked about the series was the depth of the writing. I really felt like each of the characters had really complete lives and back stories for each of the characters – I want to know more!!! Sure, there were some cheesy lines and such, but it was a really tightly written script. I just want to know more...they should never have tried pitching it to FOX – it belongs ANYWHERE else (sci-fi, internet / pod casts, etc.)...

Plus, it just looks like a really cool and fun place to work and play...

STAR WARS!

I first heard about this movie when one of my brother's friends came over to our house on a Saturday, when we were all fixing our bikes (tires, oiling chains, etc.), and all he kept talking about were these space AWESOME battles! I had no idea what he was talking about, but since I knew I wasn't going to be seeing "Jaws" anytime soon (my parents said I was too young), I was determined to see this.

My Dad, Mom, brother and I all went to see this movie, one night after dinner. While they enjoyed the movie, none of them took to it like I did. And I don't really know why; I just did.

I had no idea what I was in for when I saw this movie, and it literally changed my life:

- I met a friend at school via Star Wars, and together we saw the movie more than 50 times.

- I walked around with stiff arms and legs, perfecting my first British accent, as portrayed by Anthony Daniels (playing C3PO, of course) - it drove my Mom nuts! Later, I increased my accents, as I got more into Monty Python, but that's another post...

- I became interested in really good story telling, classical music, how music could be used to enhance moods (which would come in handy later on in life), and the art of the movie (scripts, comics, trading cards, toys, etc.)...it was all good.

The closest thing I have found to re-experiencing this effect has been through video games and the video games industry.

Why? It's a more immersive and inviting medium than any other. It not only engages all of your sense - it also engages your imagination, which is much more powerful.

Think about this - one of the next five U.S. Presidents (and their administrative staff) will not only have been kids influenced by Star Wars, but they will also probably have played video games, probably an Atari or a Nintendo...

Flying

I first became interested in flying at a very young age (5-ish) when my brother (who is now a pilot) started getting interested in military aircraft from World War II. While we went back and forth on several types (among my favorites are the P-51 Mustang and the F-4U Corsair), our mutual favorite was the Boeing B-17. Its design and functional capabilities were astounding for it's time. Even now, it is a thrilling experience to actually go up and see one of the few remaining B-17s that are in flying condition. As I've grown, and have come to more fully understand the reason why these aircraft were built, I appreciate even more their design and capabilities. This video clip is one of the best I've seen (excluding, of course, those used in Twelve O'Clock High). You can see how much damage the airplane can take and keep flying; I believe those are pieces of the airplane that you see falling away...

(From the YouTube.com description..."Torn by good & evil and an incestuous love affair, a lonely and depraved Darth Vader has a nervous breakdown." This is by far the FUNNIEST thing ever made this side of the Milky Way!! It was created entirely by using the true voice of Vader, Mr. James Earl Jones HIMSELF! Watch it love it live it! Spread the word...)

Vader Sessions

Okay, it's the weekend, so I'll ease a bit on the "deep thoughts" normally reserverd for during the week...

I still think Star Wars, and the movie series it spawned, is one of the greatest pieces of cinematic story-telling to come out of Hollywood. I'm sure it helps that I saw it when I was still quite young and impressionable, but that doesn't matter. And, one of the other cool things about the movie is that my kids like it, so I can always use them as an excuse ("But Honey, the children and I are spending quality bonding time together...").

(no, she doesn't really buy that excuse either...but that's not the point!)

Anyway, I think if you did a mashup of Monty Python, Second City and Star Wars, you'd end up with this video clip. It's about 10 minutes long - enjoy!

"It's the Singer, not the Song"

I watched "The Aristocrats" recently. For those of you haven't seen it yet, I won't spoil it for you; I think it's worth a rental. In a nutshell, the directors take a number of different comics and portray all of them telling their own version of the same joke; several of them even elaborate on it and relate their perspectives on the joke, it's place in comedy, etc. It's kind of like a documentary...but funny! I enjoyed the movie, but two things stuck with me:

1) Kevin Pollack's impression of Christopher Walken. First off, I like Christopher Walken. He seems to live in between multiple worlds! I like that guy. He is effective in multiple genres (drama, comedy, music videos, etc.), and while he doesn't seem to take himself seriously he does seem to take what he does seriously (to paraphrase my comedic philosopher / college roommate of many years ago). Plus, he's got his own style with which he does things. Which leads me to...

2) ...the title of this blog. One of the comics mentioned it when they were relating their perspective on the joke. And my mind (as it often does) riffed off of that and onto another tangent -

Leadership. An important word that often comes across as trite, and frequently trivialized with glib lip service. What is leadership? How do you identify it? How do you measure it? I've been thinking about this off and on for about a week. I had a conversation with a professional colleague, and we got around to the subject of leadership. In my opinion, if you don't have it or can't exhibit it with how you live, let alone how you do your job, it will come across as an ephemeral, taunting muse...you can see it, but it's just out of reach. You can see that you don't have it.

I think I've still got a lot to learn (which I think is part of the reason why I'm still around), but I am fortunate that I have had many leadership experiences from an early age. I think my first real leadership role was in the Boy Scouts, when I was about 12 and I had to get a bunch of older, teen ager boys to not just listen to me and do what I asked, but also to support me. Now that's a scary challenge for a young lad...

So, what is leadership, and how do you judge a leader? Most of the definitions I've read are tautological, and don't shed any new light on the subject (see Wikipedia or Merriam Webster's Dictionary for more data). My Dad used to quote Shakespeare's Henry V and the speech King Henry gave to his troops before the Battle of Agincourt (known as the St. Crispin's Day speech).

I'll give you my definition (and how I identify it), and then tell you how I measure it. I'm going to skip the obvious characterizations of title, office, majority party, etc., and focus on the more personal characteristics of Leadership. As with good Modern Art, "I know it when I see it".

There are two aspects to it - the internal and the external. The external can be seen through an individual's behaviors and measured by the results he produces. The internal is tougher to see or evaluate.

The external is what everyone sees; the internal is what everyone wants to know.

I've always like books of quotations, and I think Voltaire summed it up best when he referred to it as “...the fruits of labor, the price of courage.” You measure it by one's results (“...the fruits of labor...”); you identify it by the “...price of courage.” (how one makes decisions, especially difficult ones; how they use what they stand for in life to guide their actions).

Essentially, when it comes time to make a tough decision, how will one decide? Unlike the stock market, I think a person's past performance in this realm IS a good predictor of future performance. Leadership comes from one's character, and that doesn't really change too much after about age 7.

This is what I thought of when I heard the quote I used for this blog's title. It was mentioned in reference to the telling of a particular joke. I heard it in reference to how one leads in life (business, family, self, etc.).