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Afternoon, all! @JackRaoul here, back for the #FWWandPopCulture takeover. This week, I& #39;m talking about the influence of the first air war on sci-fi.
Today, I& #39;ll explore how aerial warfare gets represented so we can examine our fictional space war favourites later in the week.
Today, I& #39;ll explore how aerial warfare gets represented so we can examine our fictional space war favourites later in the week.
Early film representations of air war were ambitious, messy collaborations between #WWI veterans and non-combatant flight enthusiasts.
First Best Picture Oscar winner Wings (1927), directed by an ex-French air service pilot, combined real-life experiences with maximised thrills.
First Best Picture Oscar winner Wings (1927), directed by an ex-French air service pilot, combined real-life experiences with maximised thrills.
This scene is a great example. Large-scale dogfights like these were rare, and most pilots would avoid head-on charges – that& #39;s a cinematographic choice.
But you can get a sense here for how 3-dimensional, spontaneous, and self-reliant aerial combat is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrVY8ukOl88">https://www.youtube.com/watch...
But you can get a sense here for how 3-dimensional, spontaneous, and self-reliant aerial combat is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrVY8ukOl88">https://www.youtube.com/watch...
This kind of fighting creates unique narratives, ones that #WWI pilots themselves actively curated. Post-war film, though, erased many practical or complicated components of air war. Many aces, for example, weren& #39;t flamboyant pilots – they avoided dogfights by hunting from above.
But the visual appeal of this exciting, fast-paced, multi-dimensional combat usually overrode historical accuracy. As a result, there& #39;s actually not a lot of great films about #WWI in the air! (Don& #39;t ask me about Flyboys).
It does, however, make for great science fiction.
It does, however, make for great science fiction.
In popular sci-fi TV and film, space combat is usually imagined 1 of 3 ways – as a surface naval battle, submarine war, or ship-to-ship aerial combat.
Here& #39;s a naval-type battle complete with broadsides and evasive manoeuvres in Star Trek: Discovery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKeZ4eqYQ5I">https://www.youtube.com/watch...
Here& #39;s a naval-type battle complete with broadsides and evasive manoeuvres in Star Trek: Discovery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKeZ4eqYQ5I">https://www.youtube.com/watch...
And here’s one of my favourite bits of Star Wars: The Force Awakens:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-pag7W8548
The">https://www.youtube.com/watch... ship-to-ship aerial combat we see here looks really similar to the WWI-style aerial combat commodified by 1920s and ‘30s cinema (down to that dramatic head-on charge).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-pag7W8548
The">https://www.youtube.com/watch... ship-to-ship aerial combat we see here looks really similar to the WWI-style aerial combat commodified by 1920s and ‘30s cinema (down to that dramatic head-on charge).
