![]() In Dale Pollock's book, Skywalking, Lucas told the author, "I had always been interested in the phenomenon of radio and originally wanted to do the film with Wolfman Jack, but I didn't know where he was. Although Hudson is featured in the 16-mm student project, the DJ was not Lucas' first choice for the part. Many people who've viewed this film find it to be Lucas' most enjoyable student effort. The film is filled with a cool rock soundtrack of early sixties classics. The film, in a jokey manner, comments on the background and popularity of the sarcastic DJ at KFWB and the idea that radio is a fantasy. The B&W, 24 minute, film is an opus to Bob Hudson a very talented veteran southern California disc jockey. In 1973 he told Seventeen magazine, "Radio creates a fantasy that doesn’t exist at all except in your own mind." He first explored this theme in his 1967 USC student film, The Emperor. In the past Lucas has said he found people's familiarity with technology particularly radio, to be intriguing. Once there he probably chose to chase another dream: writing THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL. In the post script we learn after college he migrated to Canada to avoid being drafted into the Vietnam War. At the end of Graffiti, Curt realizes the futility of the pursuit. He becomes passionately committed to the unattainable. ![]() Once Curt sees the blonde he is pulled into an emotion doomed to frustration and a desire impossible to satisfy. Both the blonde in Graffiti and the green light in Gatsby are recognized as representing all of the protagonist's wants and desires which includes the elusive American Dream. In the story Gatsby sees the green light as hope for a relationship with Daisy. Some film scholars have pointed out the similarities between the blonde in the T-Bird and the green light at the end of a pier in The Great Gatsby. Nobody really seems to know who she is and each person thinks she's somebody else. Therefore, people tend to think of the '50s as a time of innocence. After all, compared to the impending buildup of American troops in Vietnam only a few years later, the United State's, involvement in other country's affairs was of no big concern to most-especially teenagers. Although this viewpoint about cars and foreign policy seems to stretch the metaphorical element a bit thin, it is certainly worth considering. ![]() "As the film's real star, the car provides emotional security and physical protection, serving as a metaphor for American Society in the 60s, as complacent, naive, and isolationist in foreign policy," says Levy. Lobby card of '55 Chevy & '32 Coupe dragging the main. In his book "Cinema of Outsiders," Levy notes that in Graffiti, the car window is a convenient shield to the outside world. Writer Emanuel Levy is a good example of this viewpoint. Some film scholars have identified cruising and particularly the car itself, in Graffiti as representing protection from a larger society. Through car windows young people communicate acknowledgements and flirtations. George Lucas has described cruising as a teenage mating ritual, where interaction takes place between the opposite sex. ![]()
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