The above GIF is drawn from what may be the most famous broken video clip in pop culture. It’s an image of Princess Leia, (played by Carrie Fisher), sending a distress message in the movie Star Wars. “Help me Obi Wan Kenobi. You are my only hope,” she says. The message repeats.
It’s probably not accurate to think of this broken clip as a proto-GIF—the earliest GIFs were much more simple, looping animations—but its appeal and long standing presence in the cultural consciousness exists for many of the same formal reasons GIFs are so popular today. The short hypnotic loop repeats at the exact moment of tension, keeping the viewer’s attention indefinitely.
As many readers will have already read, Carrie Fisher died today at the age of 60.The cause was heart failure. Fisher will be remembered for both playing strong-willed female characters who could take care of themselves, and conducting her own life in the same manner. Today, we post this single GIF in homage to Fisher’s life and work. May her spirit endure forever.
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