CINEQUEST FILM FESTIVAL 2023 REVIEW! Ghyslain Raza, aka “The Star Wars Child,” was the unwilling star of one of many Web’s first viral movies. What began as a college venture rapidly introduced the younger Ghyslain lots of of tens of millions of views and a susceptible expertise with Web tradition in its infancy. Most of us have in all probability seen the video sooner or later, whether or not it was being homaged on South Park, riffed by discuss present hosts, as a plot level on Arrested Growth, or perhaps even the unique video from 2003. However, tens of millions of viewers didn’t see the story behind the viral video, Ghyslain’s story. Star Wars Child: The Rise of the Digital Shadows reveals the untold story behind the notorious “Star Wars Child.”
Ghyslain’s story begins with a easy video he made to assist his pal in an AV class at highschool. With out Ghyslain’s data, his classmates posted the video on-line, making it floor zero for some of the recognizable memes in Web historical past. Immediate stardom and heavy rejection comply with Ghyslain because the video transports him from on a regular basis life right into a world of cyberbullying and undesirable fame. Now 20 years faraway from the unique put up, Ghyslain seeks to create a dialogue of empathy within the age of social media.
“…the untold story behind the notorious ‘Star Wars Child.’“
Star Wars Child completely captures the early Web ethos that thrust “the Star Wars Child” to screens worldwide. The documentary enlists a gallery of popular culture gurus, meme historians, and web consultants to research the importance of the Star Wars Child meme and the broader Web tradition within the early 2000s. Director and Co-writer Mathieu Fournier clearly understands cyberculture from a contemporary and historic sense, weaving the movie’s themes as related in 2023 as they have been in 2003.
Fournier and Ghyslain focus on every theme of the documentary with ardour and empathy. The pair search dialog over lectures diving into cyberbullying, Web security, and consent within the age of social media. Every subject is dealt with properly, although with so many themes hitting directly, typically the movie’s construction will get just a little misplaced within the shuffle. Ghyslain’s back-and-forth with college students in a classroom is nice for organising themes however doesn’t ship the identical nuance as his different conversations within the movie. Regardless of the few hangups, the message of making a greater era of digital residents is obvious all through the documentary, climaxing with poignant readability.
Ghyslain’s purpose is to assist the world replicate on ourselves as individuals and who we’re on-line. Star Wars Child reveals the highs and lows of self-reflection, that includes Ghyslain’s joyous acceptance by the nerd group at Comedian-Con to the extraordinary rejection of the remark sections within the net’s darkish corners. These on the lookout for a enjoyable stroll down reminiscence lane by way of the filter of the younger Web ought to look elsewhere. Nevertheless, these wishing to replicate and be taught the unseen story of the Star Wars Child can have a lot to achieve from this insightful documentary.
Star Wars Child: The Rise of the Digital Shadows screened on the 2023 Cinequest Movie Pageant.
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