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Critic Cites Revenge of the Sith As "Generation's Greatest Work of Art

Posted by samzenpus on from the you-keep-using-that-word-I-do-not-think-it-means-what-you-think-it-means dept.

eldavojohn writes "Art critic and University Professor of Humanities and Media Studies at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia Camille Paglia has written a book that not only claims George Lucas is the 'World's Greatest Living Artist' but also that 'Revenge of the Sith' is our generation's greatest work of art. That's right: Titian, Bernini, Monet, Picasso, Jackson Pollock and ... George Lucas. If you thought you understood art but you hated Episode III, it might be difficult to understand how her book 'Glittering Images: A Journey Through Art from Egypt to Star Wars' ends with 'Revenge of the Sith.' There is a possibility that the art world remembers this generation by examining that movie."

5 of 376 comments (clear)

  1. Re:How do I troll? by Black+Parrot · · Score: 3, Informative

    Srsly, how do I troll?

    You post a long, superficially well reasoned argument that she's right.

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  2. Is this the 90s!? She's been trolling for years. by Methodkiller · · Score: 5, Informative

    Paglia has been trolling the feminist establishment for for years. Now she has broadened her trolling to sell more books. It's boring and this post is troll bait.

  3. Well, THAT was unexpected... by Millennium · · Score: 5, Informative

    I never expected to agree with TFA. I mean, come on; if Revenge of the Sith is truly the greatest work of art produced in the last thirty years, then the artistic state of humanity has fallen far indeed. But then I went and read the thing, only to find that the critic is pretty much saying exactly this: that it is the greatest work of art produced in the last thirty years, because the artistic state of humanity has fallen so far.

  4. Re:How much is Disney paying her? by interkin3tic · · Score: 3, Informative
    From reading part of TFA (I don't know why I bothered) that seems to be the case:

    Yes, the long finale of Revenge of the Sith has more inherent artistic value, emotional power, and global impact than anything by the artists you name. It's because the art world has flat-lined and become an echo chamber of received opinion and toxic over-praise. It's like the emperor's new clothes—people are too intimidated to admit what they secretly think or what they might think with their blinders off.

    Interestingly, she says other arts, videogames specifically, are doing much better. So it's probably more a hyperbole to shock the art world into, I don't know, getting better, than something she actually thinks is true.

  5. I agree by fuzznutz · · Score: 3, Informative

    My ex and I used to argue over this point constantly. She was a "fine arts" major. What you and I call art, she claimed we confused with craftmanship. If it "evoked a feeling or response", it was art in her book.

    Some of the junk she thought was art, created a "feeling" in me. I "felt" it was crap.