Well it was bound to happen; I've watched a doc I didn't understand. I knew eventually I'd reach a film that was over my head or full of information I couldn't relate to. I just thought it'd take more than 3 weeks to reach it.
First off, I have to take issue with this film's name. It lured me in with its Star Wars reference and then did not deliver. It had nothing to do with it. At all. (I just want to stress how disappointed I was).
What it was about was stars and energy and space. Beyond that, I was lost. My scientific education stopped around sophomore year of high school, once I learned I was too tall to be an astronaut. After that science lost all importance to me.
What I liked: The parts I could follow were very interesting. In the 1950's American scientists believed that the Soviet Union was testing nuclear weapons on the moon. Why they were so worried I don't know. Anyway they started examining heat and energy sources in space and instead found readings that were way more powerful than any bomb could produce. The rest of the film explores the different theories about what's causing these power surges.
What I learned: "If you took all the stars in all the galaxies in all the quasars and everything in the universe and put them all together in one point at the distance of a gamma ray burst it would not be as bright as the gamma ray burst." A mind-blowing quote. If you took everything that is and put it together, it's still not enough??
What I didn't like: I didn't dislike any of it, it was just too advanced for me to follow. It assumed I knew more than I did about basic science, using words like 'gamma rays' and 'neutrons' freely.
All in all, not a bad film. I wish they hadn't got my hopes up about Star Wars, but you can't blame them for sensationalizing it a bit. If you are more scientifically minded than I, I bet you're get a kick out of it. In fact, I bet you'd make fun of me for my laughable lack of basic science-knowledge. Anyway you can watch it here:
http://freedocumentariesonline.org/the-death-star/
Till I get smarter about science, I'll just stick to They Might Be Giants Songs for all my science needs:
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