The comedy Spaceballs came out in 1987, was directed by Mel Brooks and starred Bill Pullman, John Candy, Rick Moranis and Mel Brooks. Though the film is mainly a parody of Star Wars it has its own little story about a civilization of space-balls (90’s- pun intended) that has “foolishly squandered their atmosphere”. This starting point serves as a McGuffin to drive the story of kidnapping, saving and returning the Druish princess in distress.
The environmentally conscious part of the movie is pure toxic discourse. The planet Spaceball, though futuristic and still populated, has barely any atmosphere and looks like a mixture of a golf court and the moon (interesting design though you wouldn’t want to live there). A civilization that has used up all its atmosphere and needs to rob other planets in order to survive is clearly a form of Gothicized Squalor (though a child friendly version as it is a comedy after all).
Spaceballs shows that you can have a great comedy which is environmentally conscious without that part seeming taped on or too morally patronizing. You can leave the cinema laughing but as you drive home you might think about that car of yours and how it might not have been necessary to drive those three blocks to the cinema. After all you wouldn’t want to end up like President Skroob (the old Schmock), would you? *click*
Posted by Konstantin Zielke
And so much of that film was indebted to Star Wars that one must also consider the ways in which the Lucas film series treated environmental threats. The way to do that is to situate the film within its own contemporary moment--late '70s, nuclear fears, Cold War anxieties, mistrust of the government, etc. Is it any wonder that the Empire comes across as overly mechanized, eerily cyborg (Vader is, after all, "more machine than man," according to Obi Wan--a fact which I am only partially proud of remembering.), and environmentally antagonistic.
ReplyDeleteFor a humrous take on the Empire and their waste management, take a look at this:
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2002/01/10deathstar.html