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Writer's pictureGeorge Shaw

E.T. must be a Jedi


I recently watched Steven Spielberg's E.T. at the Hollywood Bowl with the LA Philharmonic playing the soundtrack along to the movie. I can't say how much John Williams has been an inspiration to me, and this is one of those iconic scores of his that was a big part of my childhood.

Watching it this time around, I realized that E.T. must be a jedi, or at least have some jedi training. Clearly he has force abilities like levitation, force healing, plus his force connection to Elliot where they can experience each other's feelings.

I'm not sure how agile he is at wielding a lightsaber with those stubby arms, but he certainly recognized Yoda, and his species is seen in a scene of the galactic senate of Phantom Menace. Given that he knows Yoda who dies in Empire Strikes Back, and that takes place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, he must have traveled a long way through hyperspace, where he would have aged at a much slower rate than the universe around him, arriving in California in the 1980's. Anyways, that's my speculation, but some digging on the internet gave me this meme which totally supports my theory!

The concert itself was phenomenal, amazing to hear the music with such clarity that you don't necessarily hear when the orchestra is buried under dialogue and sound effects in the film's mix. Definitely an amazing experience I hope to have again with another beloved movie!

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