The Force of Words

Star Wars in Navajo - Opening crawl

The Word

In many cultures, around the world and across time, the spoken word has been seen as having a power to create and destroy. In the Hebrew Bible, creation is spoken into existence with the words “Let there be light.”

The words of the Diné (or Navajo) people helped to bring an end to World War II. Diné serving in the U.S. Marines developed a code adapted from their tribal language that baffled the Japanese. These “Code Talkers” were able to communicate top secret information to aid the Allied Powers’ efforts in the brutal theater of war in the Pacific.

The Navajo Code Talker program has grown in public consciousness over the last 40 years and has been the subject of many books, documentaries, and even the 2002 film Windtalkers. Yet, with all this focus on what the language accomplished, you couldn’t watch a Hollywood film in Navajo until recently.

 

Star Wars Celebration - SWCA

A New Hope in Navajo

In 2013, Navajo Nation Museum director Manuelito Wheeler embarked on a project with Lucasfilm to dub the original Star Wars: A New Hope into Navajo!

It would be the first mainstream film to be translated into any Native American language.

I learned about this as I was preparing to go to Anaheim for Star Wars Celebration 7 (2015 convention celebrating all things Star Wars). One of the panels that intrigued me most was a discussion and documentary screening about the project.

During this panel, I was surprised to learn that there are a sizeable number of Diné that still speak the Navajo language, traditionally known as Diné Bizaad, almost exclusively. However, their numbers are slowly growing silent as many from the younger generations are no longer learning their parents’ language.

The panelists explained that, despite the admonitions of their parents about the importance of learning to speak their native tongue, the younger generation often see the language as a relic of the past, irrelevant to their lives.

 

Voiceover actor for Star Wars in Navajo
Diné voice actor in the documentary.

Film as a Cultural Force

The excitement that the Star Wars dubbing project generated was multigenerational, drawing voice talent and actors from throughout the Diné community.

When the project was complete, the newly-dubbed film was shown outdoors at rodeo grounds on the reservation. After the movie finished, a Navajo elder, who spoke no English, exclaimed through a translator that it was the best movie she had ever seen! The original 1,500 DVDs sold out quickly with profits going to the Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation Department, which helped fund the dubbing project.

Indeed, this project was amongst recent efforts to blaze a trail for the resurgence of Diné Bizaad on the reservation. The movie has even been used in Navajo language classes for the youngest generation. In the eyes of the youth, it is giving a voice to their language that many find compelling. If a hero like Luke Skywalker speaks Diné Bizaad, there’s no denying that their parents’ language has cultural force!

 

Northern Arizona clouds

A Fresh Perspective

At the end of the panel, we were treated to a viewing of the Navajo-dubbed version of Star Wars.

Being a language geek, I knew that I would find the story behind this project enjoyable. But I was surprised by how moved I was by actually viewing part of the film in the Diné Bizaad language.

Because I couldn’t understand what was being said, I paid more attention. I watched the background and noticed how much the dry landscape of Tatooine reminded me of Arizona and the Navajo reservation. I noticed how objects looked rusty and well worn, like abandoned buildings along the old Route 66.

 

Star Wars opening text in Navajo.
“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….”

I listened to the voices of the Diné voice actors. I was surprised to find out that, in this dubbed version, the voice of C3PO was a woman! But why not? It actually worked really well.

Even Uncle Owen’s words sounded more kindly and thoughtful than his English-speaking counterpart.

As the panelists wrapped up, one of the voice actors from the dub quoted something an older tribal member had said to a younger one, “Remember your language. Use it. One day your language will feed you.”

Words have power. They can start wars. They can bring peace. They have the force to create new ways of seeing.


SWCA

– More Info –

The next Star Wars Celebration convention is scheduled for August 27-30 in Anaheim, CA.

 

Films:

 

Language:

  • According to Ethonologue: Languages of the World, as quoted in a 2017 article in the Navajo Times, there are 7,600 Navajo-only speakers and over 171,000 fluent speakers worldwide.
  • The same article shows a steady decline in Navajo speakers, with U.S. Census data showing that 93% of Diné spoke the language in 1980, but only 51% by 2010.
  • However, there is a movement among some young people to keep the language and culture alive, such as traditional singers Taylor Begay and his brother Dylon Begay.

 

Museums:

 

Navajo code talkers display
From the Navajo Code talkers display inside Burger King in Kayenta, Arizona.

Inside The Alien’s Head: Paul Blake at Tucson Comic-Con

Tucson Comic-Con banner

Don’t let the fact that Paul Blake is a sweet and thoughtful 71-year-old Englishman fool you. He is enmeshed in one of the biggest cover ups in sci-fi film history: the question of just who shot first, Han or Greedo.

Paul Blake with moderator Patty Hawkins at Tucson Comic-Con.
Paul Blake (right) with moderator Patty Hawkins at Tucson Comic-Con.

You may remember that in George Lucas’s original 1977 Star Wars film, outlaw Han Solo shoots the bounty hunter Greedo to escape capture. When Lucas decided to alter a later release of the film to show Greedo firing his weapon first, fans protested the edit with an outcry of “Han shot first!” and it has been a point of contention ever since.

Greedo
The alien Greedo via StarWars.com

Paul Blake saw it all firsthand from inside his green Greedo mask.

We got to hear Blake’s side of the story during his panel at Tucson Comic-Con 2019.

Paul Blake's panel at Tucson Comic-Con.
Paul Blake’s panel at Tucson Comic-Con.

An Actor’s Life

While portraying an alien from the planet Rodia named “Greedo” may be Blake’s claim to fame, he had a long career as a working actor, which he defines as being skilled enough to get steady work in theater and film, but without “the hassle of being a superstar.”

Let’s step back, for a moment, to 1970s England. At the time, Star Wars was in pre-production. Blake worked with future fellow Star Wars actor Anthony Daniels on the BBC children’s show Jackanory. Daniels was the one who gave him the tip to audition for Star Wars.

Blake arrived so early for the audition that there was no one else around. He poked around the impressive set until a crew member showed up. Blake asked if there was anywhere he could get coffee, and the man offered to bring him some. Shortly afterwards, Blake was mortified to realize that the person who had fetched his coffee was, in fact, director George Lucas!

Despite Blake’s misstep, Lucas still cast him in the role of Greedo, who, at that point, was simply known as “The Alien.”

 

Paul Blake gets into Greedo costume.
Paul Blake being helped into his Greedo costume. Via Nerf Herders Anonymous.

Getting Into Character

Blake’s transition to Greedo began a few weeks later with a “life mask” molding to fit his face and head. He noted, “As in theater, the costume informs your character.”

When he asked for direction on playing Greedo, Lucas simply told Blake, “Play him like an alien in the movies!”

The cantina scene had so many unusual new creatures that inspiration had to come from a wide variety of sources, including (in Greedo’s case) an ad for Birds Eye frozen vegetables with a bouncing green pea.

Despite a stuffy mask that smelled equal part “sweat and chemicals,” Blake was fortunate that the rest of his costume was made of comfortable parachute silk. Shooting his scenes stretched from days to weeks.

 

Han and Greedo
Han Solo faces off against Greedo in the “cantina scene” in Star Wars: A New Hope. Via StarWars.com

The Cantina Scene

The biggest moment for his character, of course, would be his Solo encounter in a seedy space cantina known for being a “wretched hive of scum and villainy.”

To accomplish the effect of him being shot, the production’s explosive technician detonated a small explosive on a fully-clothed dummy of Greedo. With the costume still smoldering, stage hands disrobed Greedo’s dummy and placed the costume on Blake, so the actor could finish the scene.

Unfortunately, the technician was a bit too aggressive with the explosives in one of the first takes, resulting in a fire on the cantina set. The set had to be rebuilt before filming could continue.

After all that, it would be close to a year until Blake found out whether any of his scenes had even made the final cut.

 

Greedo and cantina
Greedo via StarWars.com

Star Wars is Born

Blake, like many involved in its production, underestimated how successful Lucas’ film would be. When Star Wars came out in the summer of 1977, he was working in Greece and didn’t make time to see it. To him, Star Wars was just another gig, some “shitty science fiction thing.”

While relaxing on a beach in Greece, he met some Americans and it came up in conversation that he worked on Star Wars. The Americans were star struck that he was involved in the film, so he figured then it was worth seeing.

In the theater, he was gripped from the opening crawl! He still didn’t know whether or not he’d appear in the film or if his scenes had been cut out. So when Greedo did show up on screen, Blake jumped out of his seat in the middle of the theater and exclaimed, “That’s me!!”

 

Greedo and Greedo cosplayer
Paul Blake answers a question from a fan cosplaying as Greedo at Tucson Comic-Con.

Behind the Mask

One of the fans at the panel said that Blake has a reputation for being generous and caring. I would have loved to learn more about the things he’s done over the past forty years, like performing Shakespeare, working in Hong Kong, and supporting his son, Paul John Blake, who is a Paralympic champion!

Yet I also understood what brought Blake to our corner of this galaxy.

A member of the 501st Legion Mexican Garrison and a young fan from The Galactic Academy Kamino Campus México traveled to the Con from Hermosillo, Sonora specifically to meet him. They presented him with an honorary membership on behalf of The Galactic Academy, an international costuming group for kids.

 

Sonora trooper with Paul Blake
Fans from Mexico with Paul Blake and the certificate they presented him.

To the world, he’ll forever be known as Greedo. Paul Blake definitely couldn’t have imagined the path that life took would take him on when he put on a stinky mask and a smoldering jumpsuit over forty years ago. With irony and humor, he has embraced the time he spent in a galaxy far away and has enjoyed the ride ever since. So while Han may have shot first in 1977, at Tucson Comic-Con, Greedo brought the house down.

Greedo and phillip in cantina set
Phillip at a Phoenix Comicon Cantina Scene set.

We received media passes from Tucson Comic-Con.

AZIFF Showcases What’s Exceptional About Festival Films

AZIFF at The Screening Room

AZIFF marquee

Film Festivals Past

Last year, Stephanie and I happened to be in Tucson at the same time as the Arizona International Film Festival (AZIFF) and were able to squeeze in a viewing of the film Given but nothing else. We decided to return to see more films this year.

AZIFF - palo verdes

It was the first film festival I’d been to in a long time. During college, I studied Judaism and got a chance to attend several Jewish film festivals in the Phoenix area.

What I came to appreciate about many of these (usually foreign) films was how they challenged the viewer in ways that I was not used to seeing in American movies. Even the comedies had existential bite.

For example, one English comedy was about an adopted man raised in a Jewish household, who finds out that his biological father is an English pig farmer. While it had its funny moments, it also had some deep reflections on identity.

AZIFF - last dance q+a

Present

As I sat in the theater watching films for the AZIFF this year, I felt my brain being stimulated in much the same way.

The first screening I saw was a group of short documentaries on Sunday, April 22. Not only were the films entertaining, there was an intentionality and originality to them that I seldom find in mainstream cinema.

AZIFF at The Screening Room

Short documentary is an incredible medium for communicating.

No matter how good a film is, I’ll often get restless about an hour into it, so a short documentary is perfect.

Cor de Pele

Cor de Pele

Cor de Pele was one of the standouts for me. This 16-minute film about Kauan, a boy born with albinism in Brazil, encapsulates what documentaries can do so well: make the viewer relate to someone (or something) that is far outside your own experience. The breathtaking views of his Brazilian city transport me. But the stories about how Kauan is both sweet and “annoying” bring me back, humorously reminding me how boys can act around the world, regardless of genes or nationality.

 

Lost and Found film

Lost & Found

One of my favorite feature films was Lost & Found. It’s told as a series of interconnecting stories centered around a train station in Ireland. The entertaining and highly original film is laugh-out-loud-funny at points and heartachingly moving at others.

 

Sin Cielo film

Sin Cielo

More sobering – and timely – was the short film Sin Cielo from writer and director J.S. Maarten. The emotional and cultural immersion into the terror that women have experienced during the drug wars in Mexico was relentless. The fate of one character was frustratingly ambiguous at the end. In this way, it was true to life.

While not necessarily political, the film explores the consequences of political decisions made at the highest levels. It deserves a wide release.

 

Future

If you’ve never been to a film festival before, I think the AZIFF would be a great introduction.

For those of us who live in Arizona, it has the advantage of being close! Yet, don’t let its proximity fool you into underestimating the type of talent it attracts. Filmmakers and others travel from all over the globe to attend. We met film artists from Canada, England, Ireland, and South Korea.

AZIFF sign

At AZIFF, there’s a surprising amount of light (yet thoughtful) films, in addition to the more intense and serious ones you might associate with independent cinema.

Also, the hosts were great. Many of the staff at The Screening Room are volunteers. They do it for the love of the art of cinema.


Photos 5-7 via their respective films. Other photos by Phillip.

Stephanie was a guest of Arizona International Film Festival. 

7 Things to Love About High Speed Rail

Luggage on train

[Some thoughts Phillip wrote down during our journey from Rome to Venice on a high speed Italo Treno train. –S]


Italo Treno

How do I love thee high-speed train travel? Let me count the ways!

After my first trip on high speed rail in Italy, I’m a believer!

View from train in italy

Here are some things I loved about traveling on a train instead of flying:

1. You don’t have to check your luggage, so it’s way less likely to be lost.

2. Quick boarding and deboarding time.

Luggage on train

3. You can move around. Since there’s no turbulence, there’s no “fasten seatbelt sign,” and you can get up and down whenever you want.

4. No extreme pressure changes.

5. No taxi time or Air Traffic Control delays. (For example, when we were traveling back to Phoenix, our plane was stuck on the ground close to 40 minutes at JFK airport).

Luggage on train

6. You can keep your phone on. No need to put it in “airplane mode” on a train.

7. Still very fast (250 kmh/150mph). A plane travels around 500 mph, but with all the extra time and hassle at the airport, it might still take about the same amount of time to get to your destination.




We were guests of Italo Treno.

Smithsonian: Air and Space Museum and Mitsitam Café

Smithsonian American Indian Museum
Cafe at Smithsonian American Indian Museum

Cafe at National Museum of the American Indian

While I could have easily spent a full day at the Smithsonian American History Museum, a D.C.-area friend had recommended the Mitsitam Café at the Smithsonian American Indian Museum as a “little known gem.” I decided to make my way there for lunch.

Mitsitam cafe
Smithsonian Native American Museum

The cafeteria serves native-inspired foods that span the American continents. I got a buffalo burger and fry bread.

Smithsonian Native American Museum

The menu also includes options like wild rice and ceviche.

DC Museum cafe

This is definitely a place I’d like to come back to and try more things!

Smithsonian space museum

National Air and Space Museum

When I walked down Independence Avenue to the south entrance of the Air and Space Museum, I was discouraged to see a line over 100 feet long to get in. I had started back toward our hotel, when I looked back and saw that the northern entrance – along Jefferson Drive – didn’t seem to have a line! Sure enough, about five minutes later I was in the museum!

Air and space museum

So keep in mind that there is more than one entrance, especially since, as Stephanie later told me, the Air and Space Museum is the most popular of the Smithsonian museums.

Amelia Earhart

Immediately upon entering, I saw display spaces festoooned with replica and original air and space craft – a lunar landing module, the “Spirit of St. Louis,” the front half of the fuselage of a 747, rocket nozzles as big as my living room.

Smithsonian Air and Space Museum: plane

In the past I had wanted to be an astronaut, so I was particularly intrigued by the exhibits showing relics of the U.S. space program in the 60s and 70s – toolkits, suits, windowed hatches, flight manuals, and the like. There’s even a very official and ornate “certificate of merit” presented to the first chimpanzee sent to space by the U.S., which I found both ridiculous and moving. While I was certainly impressed by the spacecrafts themselves, oddly, it was these historic bits of ephemera that captivated me the most.

image

The guided tour moved a bit too slow for me, so I bailed out to cover more ground.

Smithsonian Air and Space Museum

Marty met up with me about an hour into my museum visit, so that was a nice surprise. We toured the World War II fighter aircraft exhibit together. I especially appreciated the naval aircraft display that replicated both the deck and interior of an aircraft carrier.

Air and space museum

Unfortunately, our time soon ran out at the Air and Space Museum. We went to the food court with the biggest McDonald’s I’d ever been to. There was a large seating area and lots of windows to let in light. Fortunately, we went as the day was winding down, so we didn’t have to wait in line long.

National Mall sunset

I enjoyed sitting in the gradually-emptying mega-McDonald’s and debriefing the museum sights with Marty.