Photographer Uses Toys to Illustrate the "Hardships" of War in Star Wars

[StewShearerOld]

Photographer Uses Toys to Illustrate the "Hardships" of War in Star Wars

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Photographer and war correspondent Matthew Callahan has created a series of photos using toys to illustrate the lives of Star Wars soldiers.

If there are two things that go together in this world, it's Star Wars and toys. Since the earliest days of the franchise, its creators and partnering toy makers have never wasted an opportunity to make toys out of anything and everything that could possibly be made into a toy. Fans, in turn, have been more than happy to buy them, spending billions on action figures, model kits Matthew Callahan though, the toys of <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/star%20wars?os=star+wars>Star Wars are more than collectibles or playthings. They're tools to tell stories.

A lifelong Galactic Warfighter. It's a project that began when we he was practicing for his job as a combat correspondent. "I started photographing a six-inch Stormtrooper when I was in Maryland studying for my job," said Callahan. "Since then, my toy photography has evolved and formed into something that carries meaning." Using an expanding variety of Star Wars action figures, Callahan has uses his skills to create images aimed at showing what the experience of war would be like for "the rank-and-filed ground troops of [the] Star Wars" universe. "Conflict generally has been one of the biggest informants in the way pop culture creates stories. Galactic Warfighters is a snapshot that tethers the real and fictitious worlds more closely to each other."
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According to Callahan, the time it takes to actually take these photos can vary wildly from shoot to shoot. That said, he confirmed that for every image he keeps there are "at least a half dozen failures that came before it." To help further imbue his images with a real world sensibility, Callahan also writes short vignettes to accompany many of his photos. Often done from the perspective of the soldiers pictured, it's his hope that they help to add a taste of the "experiences and hardships real men and women" encounter in war. We're going to go ahead and say that they more than get that job done. Take a look at his photos and let us know what you think.


Photos reprinted with permission from Matthew Callahan.

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[Dragonlayer]

Now those are awesome and I expect at least a dozen of the infinite Star Wars films that are being produced to take a leaf out of their book: conventional future warfare and ordinary soldiers are infinitely cooler then warrior monks with glowing penis extensions as weapons.

Although that picture of the droids being extracted for intelligence seems like a stretch.

 

[Areloch]

Now those are awesome and I expect at least a dozen of the infinite Star Wars films that are being produced to take a leaf out of their book: conventional future warfare and ordinary soldiers are infinitely cooler then warrior monks with glowing penis extensions as weapons.

A Black Hawk Down-style movie set in the star wars universe would be pretty amazing.

Although that picture of the droids being extracted for intelligence seems like a stretch.

I dunno, droids can clearly be uploaded with critical intel and autonomously deliver it to it's destination. That was the entire point behind Leia loading up R2 with the distress beacon and the like in Ep 4.

 

[josemlopes]

A Black Hawk Down-style movie set in the star wars universe would be pretty amazing.

Republic Commando 2 would be exactly that if they ever got to make the damn thing.

 

[Areloch]

A Black Hawk Down-style movie set in the star wars universe would be pretty amazing.

Republic Commando 2 would be exactly that if they ever got to make the damn thing.

So, so true. Alas.

 

[Jadak]

Although that picture of the droids being extracted for intelligence seems like a stretch.

I dunno, droids can clearly be uploaded with critical intel and autonomously deliver it to it's destination. That was the entire point behind Leia loading up R2 with the distress beacon and the like in Ep 4.

Err.. I think he meant the part where it was setup like a physical interrogation as opposed to hacking the thing.

Then again, RotJ established that giving droids pain sensors and physically torturing them is totally a thing, so why the hell not, I guess...

 

[Areloch]

Although that picture of the droids being extracted for intelligence seems like a stretch.

I dunno, droids can clearly be uploaded with critical intel and autonomously deliver it to it's destination. That was the entire point behind Leia loading up R2 with the distress beacon and the like in Ep 4.

Err.. I think he meant the part where it was setup like a physical interrogation as opposed to hacking the thing.

Then again, RotJ established that giving droids pain sensors and physically torturing them is totally a thing, so why the hell not, I guess...

Ooh, I gotcha. I'd read that scene as them just having rounded them up for extraction to a place where they can pull the data(such as a home base, or their star destroyer) rather than an interrogation situation. It does specify in the image comment that they herded the droids and are waiting extraction, after all.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Nice. Very nice. Those are pretty impressive pictures. I wish the movies would capture moments like those. The prequels had such a huge chance to learn and build off of Hoth and Endor, and yet...ugh.

I like how he took the picture right as the sand was exploding near the toy to make it look even more real. Well done.

 

[The Enquirer]

I find it hard to believe these are toys. I know they are, just it looks like something you'd see actually for a movie promo with real actors.

 

[Bobular]

Now those are awesome and I expect at least a dozen of the infinite Star Wars films that are being produced to take a leaf out of their book: conventional future warfare and ordinary soldiers are infinitely cooler then warrior monks with glowing penis extensions as weapons.

The animated episodes that focused on the clone troopers were always the best episodes, and a whole movie done like that would be awesome, would also make the Jedi more mythical and special if most of the cast isn't a Jedi or Sith or some form of force sensitive.

I want an epic war movie set in the stars, with cool battles like Hoth.

 

[Dragonlayer]

Now those are awesome and I expect at least a dozen of the infinite Star Wars films that are being produced to take a leaf out of their book: conventional future warfare and ordinary soldiers are infinitely cooler then warrior monks with glowing penis extensions as weapons.

The animated episodes that focused on the clone troopers were always the best episodes, and a whole movie done like that would be awesome, would also make the Jedi more mythical and special if most of the cast isn't a Jedi or Sith or some form of force sensitive.

I want an epic war movie set in the stars, with cool battles like Hoth.

I've seen a few episodes of that animated series whenever it was on, and I did very much approve of the focus on the regular Clone grunts fighting on the frontline. So yes, something more like that, with additional hellish gore and nightmarish fighting, grimdark 40K-style, would be superb.