I watched a great show last night on the Science Channel called Raiders, Raptors, and Rebels: Behind the Magic of ILM. It detailed the evolution of George Lucas’s renowned special effects company, Industrial Light & Magic, and the advancements in technological innovation inspired by the iconic films he and his colleagues have worked on.
Besides getting an inside look at how the dazzling effects in Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Terminator 2, and others were created, the best aspect of the show was those films’ influence on the larger scientific community. Interviews with physicists, engineers, astronauts, archaeologists, computer scientists and other science professionals described how Lucas’s company amazed them as kids and taught them to think bigger about our universe and what humans are capable of creating.
In trying to come up with ways to show dinosaurs on the big screen, or have liquid metal become a supervillain, or make Yoda into a ninja-like warrior, ILM’s innovation led to amazing developments beyond the world of filmmaking. New medical devices, space exploration machinery, photographic technology, robotic engineering, construction materials, computer programs, and many others all came about because of Lucas’s imaginative team.
Here’s how all of this is related to English: all of those advancements, those great innovations that have improved and will continue to improve our world, all came about because people wanted to tell stories.
Literature (and art and film) allows us to view the world hypothetically to determine how we want to live in it realistically. With Lucas and other storytellers wondering what could be possible through their narratives, viewers are allowed to adapt those creative ideas from the screen to the real world. While we watch Han and Chewbacca make the jump to light speed, we are inspired to wonder if we could ever achieve the same thing. While we see dinosaurs come to life through genetic engineering, we wonder how we can learn more about prehistoric animals. While the T100 resiliently morphs, we wonder how liquid metal alloys may be used for beneficial purposes. Each new exploration of knowledge emerges from a literary genesis.
For those schools that aren’t developing their Arts and Humanities programs, or for those teachers who think literature and film are frivolous, remember that it is often these “soft” fields that inspire the STEM fields we believe to be so valuable today. Yes, the sciences are important, but without literary imagination, how will they know what to develop or why?
Check your local listings to see if Science Channel will rerun this program. And if you work in the science industry, be sure to thank an English teacher. Your next project probably will probably be an idea that some author or artist or filmmaker already imagined.
Besides getting an inside look at how the dazzling effects in Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Terminator 2, and others were created, the best aspect of the show was those films’ influence on the larger scientific community. Interviews with physicists, engineers, astronauts, archaeologists, computer scientists and other science professionals described how Lucas’s company amazed them as kids and taught them to think bigger about our universe and what humans are capable of creating.
In trying to come up with ways to show dinosaurs on the big screen, or have liquid metal become a supervillain, or make Yoda into a ninja-like warrior, ILM’s innovation led to amazing developments beyond the world of filmmaking. New medical devices, space exploration machinery, photographic technology, robotic engineering, construction materials, computer programs, and many others all came about because of Lucas’s imaginative team.
Here’s how all of this is related to English: all of those advancements, those great innovations that have improved and will continue to improve our world, all came about because people wanted to tell stories.
Literature (and art and film) allows us to view the world hypothetically to determine how we want to live in it realistically. With Lucas and other storytellers wondering what could be possible through their narratives, viewers are allowed to adapt those creative ideas from the screen to the real world. While we watch Han and Chewbacca make the jump to light speed, we are inspired to wonder if we could ever achieve the same thing. While we see dinosaurs come to life through genetic engineering, we wonder how we can learn more about prehistoric animals. While the T100 resiliently morphs, we wonder how liquid metal alloys may be used for beneficial purposes. Each new exploration of knowledge emerges from a literary genesis.
For those schools that aren’t developing their Arts and Humanities programs, or for those teachers who think literature and film are frivolous, remember that it is often these “soft” fields that inspire the STEM fields we believe to be so valuable today. Yes, the sciences are important, but without literary imagination, how will they know what to develop or why?
Check your local listings to see if Science Channel will rerun this program. And if you work in the science industry, be sure to thank an English teacher. Your next project probably will probably be an idea that some author or artist or filmmaker already imagined.