Friday, May 4, 2018

May the Fourth: Art Vader


Painting by David T Cho
 May the Fourth is once again here, which seems an appropriate moment to comment on the astonishing degree to which Star Wars has become a common design motif.

 

Yes, the galaxy far, far away has all the same sorts of marketing merchandise as any other pop culture franchise - t-shirts, hats, bedsheets, action figures and so on – but how many of those franchises have toasters?  Or waffle irons?  Or gas barbecues, for heaven's sake?* 

 

A brief search of the internet reveals a plethora of Star Wars derived items: dresses, measuring cups, screwdrivers, fish tanks, shoes, tape dispensers, cookie jars and so on.  I'm not certain that Hello Kitty has even managed to achieve the same degree of horizontal coverage that Star Wars has.

With this sort of thing apparently becoming more and more common, it's not hard to see a point in time where Star Wars is recognized as a historical design movement like Art Deco, Bauhaus or Scandavian Modern – Art Vader, if you will. One imagines some future socialite commenting to a friend, “Oh, that’s my Lucas VII chair, it’s in lovely condition, isn’t it?”

Ultimately, though, I think we need to draw the line somewhere, and I think I've found the place.  Mummified Ewok head purse, anyone?

 

- Sid

* I don't know why, but for some reason a Tie Fighter Gas Grill strikes me as being a little more absurd than a waffle iron.  Really, though, they're probably equally odd.

May the Fourth: "That is why you fail..."



I recently made a positive comment on a co-worker's performance in a new job, to which they replied by saying, "Oh, I try." And it was all I could do not to bark out, "Do or do not!  There is no 'try'!!!"  I may have missed an opportunity, though - because it would have given me a great follow-up line if they don't succeed in their new position...
- Sid


May the Fourth: "Everything you've heard about me ... is true."


Leia: Why you stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking…nerfherder!
Han: Who’s scruffy-looking?

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
If it's not already obvious based on previous postings, I just love this sort of thing.  I wish I'd pulled my jacket straight, though, I feel that I'm not matching the sartorial standard of the rest of the group - and it's pretty obvious that Lando Calrissian agrees, based on the look he's giving me.

On the other hand, judge not lest ye be judged.

 

- Sid