Hardware Wars: Museum Object and Cultural History
Hardware Wars: Date: 1978. Directed by: Ernie Fosselius, American, born 1945. Written by: Ernie Fosselius, American, born 1945.
The object in the museum catalogue
A short satirical film with the title Hardware Wars. It consists of a single reel of color 16mm acetate film with optical sound. In the form of a movie trailer, the film parodies the science fiction film Star Wars.
In the opening scene, a logo that reads [20th / CENTURY / FOSS] appears on screen, followed by an introduction to the main characters, who are billed as Fluke Starbucket (Scott Mathews), Augie "Ben" Doggie (Jeff Hale), Princess Anne-Droid (Cindy Furgatch), Ham Salad (Bob Knickerbocker) and Darph Nader. Shortly after, a toaster and a steam iron are seen flying through space, with the toaster shooting toast at the iron. The rest of the film continues in this manner, where scenarios and characters from the Star Wars franchise and other films, such as The Wizard of Oz, are parodied as voiceover narration (by Paul Frees) plays in the background.
Materials, dates and provenance
- Date: 1978
- Directed by: Ernie Fosselius, American, born 1945
- Written by: Ernie Fosselius, American, born 1945
- Produced by: Ernie Fosselius, American, born 1945
- Owned by: D.C. Public Library, American, founded 1896
- Type: sound films
- Type: color films (visual works)
- Type: short subjects
- Type: 16mm (photographic film size)
- Medium: acetate film
- Dimensions: Duration: 14 Minutes
- Dimensions: Length (Film): 500 Feet
- Place used: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
- Topic: African American
- Topic: Comedy
- Topic: Film
- Object number: 2017.55.44.1a
- Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Transferred from the DC Public Library
- Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture
Sources and reuse
Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Restrictions likely apply. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
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