I have watched the early George Lucas of THX 1138 (and his student film on the same theme).
As did I. THX 1138 suggests that there was once a guileless director there, one with some degree of vision. It's a serious science fiction classic by its own right, with some very powerful subtext and aesthetics to it; a fine spin on the Iron Heel / Brave New World / 1984 type dystopia, no doubt enriched by elements of a certain Platonic allegory. I haven't watched it in over a decade now, so it will be interesting to see whether it passes the test now. Or, maybe, I better keep the favorable impressions of my youth intact.
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As for the rant, Shane, I couldn't agree more. It has long reached a point where this causes me nothing but disgust. But we must realize that, to some, these series of consumer products - evergreens, perhaps? - sustain that delicate balance between their living a satisfying life in their own retreat from reality and being forced to face a world we know is unbearable to them. There's a protecting veil of fantasy that must be kept intact, otherwise the consequences could be quite catastrophic from a social and economic standpoint.
But it was our industrial age - our commercial age - that spawned this breed of geeks and nerds with their bizarre consumerist habits and inability to adjust. If anything, I feel compelled to regard them as victims; theirs being a complex condition displaying many similarities with, for instance, the widespread dependency on prescription drugs.
