This offbeat musical presents rock 'n roll style, precursor to punk rock, and even spiritual-like songs throughout its parody of the horror and 1930s-1960s SciFi B movie plots. And its music became popular--part of Pop Culture (the title of this thread.)
Richard O'Brien composed, in my opinion, this beautiful spiritual-like song:
I love this songas it speaks to my soul and spirit.
In times of trouble and dark and scary times, like Brad and Janet getting lost and stranded with a flat tire on a cold and rainy night, there is hope...
There's a light, light in the darkness of everybody's life.
The generation that first heard this broadcast knew something about troubling times. In 1938, they had lived through most of the Great Depression, many remembering the Great War and hearing the rumblings of more wars to come.
From Wars of the Worlds to World Wars
Ironically, H. G. Welles wrote The War of the Worlds in 1898, sixteen years before World War I (1914 - 1918). And Orson Welles broadcast the radio version within a year of World War II (1939 - 1945). Both these World Wars surpassed the horror of science fiction.
And there have been countless stories about life on Mars and their invasions of Earth. Now, it's our turn, for real, as science and tech continue to follow SciFi.
September 3, 1939 - 75 years ago - Britain and France declared war on Germany. It was in response to Hitler's invasion of Poland two days earlier on September 1st.
Six years later, World War II would prove to be the most devastating war of the 20th century. One estimate gives close to 50 million killed. Some go as high as over 70 million. But no doubt about it, all corners of the planet were affected by perhaps the greatest conflict in history ... so far.
Many stories have been spun about this war, particularly those of persevering and prevailing during dark times. And art imitates life in the ...
* Movies *
The King's Speech (2010), is the true story of King George VI facing a crisis in both his personal life and as a reluctant wartime monarch. First, he persevered and prevailed in public speaking in spite of a speech problem; likewise leading his people through the most trying time in the 20th century.
"The stammering that defined him, and the courage with which he tried to beat it, came to symbolise the vulnerability of the British people as they stood alone against the Nazi tyranny that had the rest of Europe in its grip."[reference: The King's Speech: the real story - Telegraph]
And as World War II began 75 years ago, this speech, dramatized below, was given at the start of the six year marathon of persevering and prevailing over great evil.
"There may be dark days ahead, and war can no longer be confined to the battlefield. But we can only do the right as we see the right, and reverently commit our cause to God. "If one and all we keep resolutely faithful to it, ready for whatever service or sacrifice it may demand, then, with God's help, we shall prevail."
George VI backed up his words with actions. He stood by his people as they experienced enemy raids from the sky on native soil. The most intense were from September 1940 to May 1941, the first attacks lasting for 57 consecutive days, known as the London Blitz.
Instead of fleeing to Canada or to the countryside, the King stayed in London, which was the target of the most intense Nazi bombings. Buckingham Palace even took a hit from the raids. Shown here (bridgemanart.com) is a picture of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth walking through London during the Blitz, 1940 or 1941.
The King gave the people courage to stand up to Hitler and his "supermen." And ultimately, Great Britain and her allies did prevail. For a transcript of some of the King's Speeches, check out: HISTORIC ROYAL SPEECHES AND WRITINGS
The trying times of World War II not only influenced the stories shown on the big screen like The King's Speech, but also such genres on the smaller screens like ...
* Science Fiction *
One such is the longest running Science Fiction television series in history - Dr. Who. In this following scene from "The Empty Child," the Doctor commends Nancy for the tenacity of her people during a time which Sir Winston Churchill had described as "their finest hour."
Below are some of Dr. Who's comments during the London Blitz:
"1941 ... the German war machine is rolling up the map of Europe ... country after country falling like dominoes .... nothing can stop it ... nothing. "Until one tiny, damp little island says, No! No, not here. "A mouse in front of lion ..."
Another genre is ....
* Fantasy *
Many stories are set during great conflict of good and evil as epic as World War II. As shown in the clip below from The Lord the Rings, The Two Towers(2002), Sam's speech reflects perhaps the theme of the trilogy:
Great stories give hope for the future during the many dark days in our history. Heroes and heroines had lots of chances to turn back, but they did not. As Sam put it -
"Because they were holding on to something ...
"That there's some good in this world ... and it's worth fighting for."
The King's Speech and Sam's Speech ... a little of Dr. Who - this is a sample of those stories that speak to our soul during dark days. And during such times, there are heroes and their stories of persevering and prevailing over great evil. And many of these stories become part of the culture and we pass them on ....
As they give us hope for the good worth fighting for!
"I'll get you, my pretty and your little dog too! "
That quote from the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz came to mind as I gazed at the actual witch's hat worn by Margaret Hamilton. The hat itself, though pointy, was velvety, still quite elegant - even after it had debuted 80 years ago on the big screen .
This summer, we visited friends in Idaho, where (they joke) the biggest cities are Salt Lake City and Spokane. Since they live in the pan handle, we trekked for an afternoon at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture (MAC) in Spokane, WA. The MAC hosted the traveling exhibit "Out of This World: Extraordinary Costumes from Film and Television" from science fiction films and television programs. These were part of the private collection of Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft.
No pictures were allowed, but I jotted some notes of other memorable costumes.
From the Original Star Trek series:
The tunic of the evil Captain Kirk worn in "Mirror, Mirror," the first alternate reality episode where a transporter mishap swaps Captain Kirk and some of his crew with their evil counterparts in a parallel universe.
The Gorn lizard suit, where in the "Arena" Captain Kirk was pitted against this reptilian captain. Captain Kirk triumphs, showing mercy, though he manages to get his shirt ripped - so common in many episodes.
The uniform worn by Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine, the adapted Borg, severed from the collective. From the costume, this actress was petite with curves in all the right places.
Star Wars:
The costume of one of the most well known super villains of the cinema - Darth Vader. Those buttons and controls on the front of the dark lord's suit up close looked so faky. Oh, the power of the big screen!
The black robe of Obi-Wan Kenobi. With the pointed back of his hood, this costume looked like a black KKK robe if the hood was over his face.
The leather jacket worn by the Terminator complete with metallic bullet holes. Not as cool as Indy's jacket - all those metallic holes kind of wreck it.
Super heroes:
Batman & Robin costumes. Batman was very dark. But Robin? These duds were full of color with those bright yellows, greens, and reds. If you ask me, Robin was the most brave to wear this with a straight face.
Like the ancient Greeks' gods, goddesses, and demons, these are a sampling of our super villains and heroes in the 20th and 21st century. Yet all these characters are just extensions of our faulty images of ourselves.
Psalm 97:9&10 (King James Version) gives me a perseptive that we have much greater Deliverer than anything else that is reflected in our popular arts and literature:
For thou, LORD, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods. Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.
Related links:
