What is Star Wars?
Is Star Wars just a movie franchise? To a lot of people, it might be, but to me and many others, it is a massively built story that covers several millennia. It is an epic battle of good verse evil where many have wielded awesome swords of light and connected to a mystical energy known as the force. There are established laws and principles that are a foundation for great stories that capture the imagination and drive people to want to know more.
Star Wars has been an inspiration to many helping those who were sick get through hard times, giving hope to many who were struggling through personal issues, bringing people from all walks of life together over a shared love, inspiring new stories and ideas, a moral guide showing us being good is an exciting adventure, and touching many of us in a deep way that will affect us for the rest of our lives.
After Star Wars came to theaters many fans wanted more and of course, many kids got the toys which we played with losing lots of pieces making so many rare today. Then, West End Games gave us something that allowed us to add to our love of Star Wars. The RPG was not well known but gamers found it and developed character concepts inspired by the movie that allowed us to be a part of the far far away galaxy. In time novels were written, some better than others, and we got to again go to the epic saga in our minds and be inspired by new and old heroes alike. Video games came out based on the movies and though some were horrible they were bought so we could wield a lightsaber or pilot a starship.
After Return of the Jedi, many never gave Star Wars another thought. But some of us were playing video games, creating fan fiction, or just reminiscing. Then in 1991, Timothy Zahn reinspired masses with the most amazing series of novels that picked up a few years after the events of Return of the Jedi. To me, this was the point that brought back Star Wars to many others minds and many books came out along with comics. Lucas did something next that made some mad and others get to see Star Wars on the big screen for the first time. He made tweaks to the movies we loved and many complained. Okay, some things were unnecessary, others were not right (Han did not fire first, he was the only one who fired), but I love that some things were added. The idea that Han and Chewy chased the stormtroopers for a distance then stopped and change direction made so much more sense when it was a huge room of more troopers that they ran into. Also, I loved the scene with Jabba in A New Hope. The worst was changing Anakin at the end of Return of the Jedi to Haden Christiansen, Which was much later, but I still hate that it makes no sense. Then why not revert Obi-Wan to Ewan McGregor?
Sorry got off on a tangent. The Prequels are said to be messed up real bad movies, but that is a bogus opinion held by movie fans, not the die-hards. I am not saying it was flawless, but there was a lot to love in them. The prequels did so much to establish what the force is and how people tap into it. It explained so much and changed the way we viewed the Original Trilogy. It also connected a lot of pieces of the expanded universe to the canon. Like JJ Abrams tried to show love to a lot of fans of the Original Trilogy, Lucas showed love to a lot of fans of the expanded universe. Mace Windu was a character in a module from West End Games, Aylaa Secura was a comic book character created by Dark Horse comics, and several other nods to books and other things that were brought to life outside of the movies showed us Lucas approved of our love and desire to expound on Star Wars.
Over the years parodies of the movies popped up making us laugh without insulting what we love. Space Balls, Robot Chicken Star Wars, Family Guy Star Wars, are some of the greatest. Only one horrible parody that has no place in the Star Wars fandom (The Last Jedi) which is by far the worse parody that insults us on so many levels, but that conversation is for another post.
So, “What is Star Wars?” It is a saga that captivated many, it is a culture that inspires heroism, it is a deep love held by many and deserves to be treated with love. That is why we hate The Last Jedi. Because we love Star Wars. It is a part of our lives and when people try to say “It’s just a movie.” or its fantasy so it doesn’t have to make sense, or when they try to pull out any other BS statement in defense of the garbage Disney is creating there are a few things we learn about them.
1 They are not true fans and don’t understand what it means to be a true fan.
2 Their opinions are not valid because they are not fans of what Star Wars is and only are defending “Just a Movie!”
3 They obviously have not thought about what they have seen, because it is so horribly written they can’t even put a book together of it without adding to it to fix it.
On so many levels The Last Jedi insults us, gives us the finger and says you don’t matter to Star Wars. Well, I call bull shit. True fans who love what Star Wars “is” matter more than Disney. Just because they are rich evil capitalists who are profiting from creating weapons (bad stories) that many are using against each other does not mean they have the right to do it.
As you can tell I am writing about Star Wars because I love Star Wars and Disney just wants to profit off the name, the established franchise that is bigger than any other in history. They did not know what Star Wars was and are trying to make it something new. Then why not create something new? Stop trolling us! Stop insulting our intelligence! Stop saying Star Wars was not diverse and for everybody! Stop lying to defend your true goal, to push a crappy agenda and to try to take all our money. Give Star Wars back to the fans!
I had no idea that Mace Windu originated from a West End Games module. Thank you for that bit of trivia!
Took me longer than I anticipated to read your thoughts on Star Wars because of life but I had it on my favourites tab. And I agree with all that you said here.
The only thing I did object to about the Special Editions in the cinema myself, was Han Solo not shooting first (the only shot as you say) because that spoiled his ‘redemption arc’ for me a little!
I guess George Lucas changed his mind on how pragmatic and ‘real’ he wanted his lovable rogue to be and was probably worrying about the moral message to the kids of a guy who gets the drop on a killer sent to bring him to Jabba the Hutt dead or alive and preferably dead?
But this cynical, dry and fairly hard bitten Han Solo from A New Hope, who only works for credits and is prepared to shoot Greedo first in the Mos Eisley Cantina, worked better for me because he gets redeemed by his meeting of Ben, Luke and especially Leia during the trilogy.
He turns from a cynical, self motivated and world weary rogue to a literal Hero of the Republic that will fight for his love and her cause by Return of the Jedi!
The Special Editions took that edge off him a bit.
But Lucas was using those Special Editions to get Star Wars back in the cinema and the public eye and to test the digital effects for the prequels to come.
It was inspired pragmatism for a guy who was funding the movies from his own company and I read that indeed he almost ran out of financial liquidity to pay his crew shooting in Australia at one point?
For myself, I don’t get the trend for prequel hating? And indeed ‘trending’ seems to be a big part of it?
Clunky boring politics about the Trade Federation, the just as boring comedy antics of Jar Jar Binks and some wince inducing romantic dialogue between Anakin and Padme were all I had issue with really? I enjoyed the prequels immensely because they filled out the Star Wars universe so much and had some amazing new characters and set pieces.
Not to mention quotable lines that even the prequel haters use often themselves!
The midichlorian ‘thing’ was a bit of a slack plot device to identify Jedi and Force sensitives, but it was kinda let go of by Lucas himself later on and it certainly doesn’t break the whole Star Wars universe, like The Last Jedi just did by weaponizing hyperspace for instance!
Completely agree about Disney and indeed I’m starting to see a horrible pattern of nihilism, deconstruction and subversion lying behind everything they have done to George Lucas’s original creation and his cast of heroic characters?
Even the recent novelisation of The Last Jedi portrays a sad and suicidal old Luke Skywalker dreaming of a ‘what if’ scenario of him being married to one of his old ‘friends’ from Tatooine called Camie Marstrap and living life as a moisture farmer like his uncle Owen?
This, from the same Luke that used to look wistfully at Tatooine’s twin Suns and dreamed of adventure? Who dreamed of getting off planet and being a pilot in the Academy more than anything?
They couldn’t even give him his own girl because Camie Marstrap was already the girlfriend of one of his buddies – And if you watch the deleted scenes from A New Hope she doesn’t exactly treat him very well?
Hell, the Extended Universe books gave Luke the incredible Mara Jade as a wife and a son Ben to her.
But not the new Disney canon… Here he gets to be a sad old loser and coward who dreams of what if’s involving him not rescuing the princess ( his sister Leia) and leaving her to be executed while the Empire and it’s Deathstar destroy worlds and crush the Rebels?
What a complete character assassination passing itself off as ‘fleshing out’ Lukes state of mind etc., on the Ach-to island!
Meh~ I’ll stop ranting here, but I think we are certainly on the same page over Disney Star Wars! ^^
I feel you. My friends now joke that if it gets quiet in discord just say “Wasn’t The Last Jedi great?” and you can hear Sath rant for an hour or two. I understand the feelings about the special editions cause nothing needed to be changed. I just like that “deleted scenes” were added cause I like seeing what was missed. I have not read the Novelization of The Last Jedi and never will. I am done with Disney Wars. With what you say on how they talk more crap about Luke makes me think that the conspiracy theory might not be a theory but true. Disney needs to apologize to Mark Hamil.
Anyway, thank you for reading my thoughts and sharing yours, much appreciated.
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