If you have read this far, you probably love Star Wars. Maybe even more so than your’s truly but I doubt that. Having a strong passion about anything creative and inspiring is a wonderful thing and should be encouraged.
But what happens when someone comes along and strays slightly from your perfect vision? What happens when you see the latest instalment of your favourite franchise and it fails to live up to your euphoric sense of nostalgia? This, Ladies and Gentleman, is a core element of the Star Wars fandom.
Lucas, the ‘Fallen Idol‘
Let’s start with the fandom’s first victim, the maker, George Lucas. Star Wars is his creation and love child. He wanted to perfect his vision of a ‘Galaxy Far’ Far Away’. From releasing the remastered trilogy with updated special FX to the home release of Revenge of the Sith, Lucas couldn’t move for constant criticism of what is his baby.
The remastered trilogy was my ticket to the core worlds and opened my mind to the Force. I don’t understand the problem with a man adjusting and hoping to improve parts of a trilogy of films that he poured his heart and soul into.
The “Who shot first?“ argument within the fandom is somewhat of a joke to me now. It amazes me how hung up some people get over the smallest of things that doesn’t make a blind bit of difference. The additional scenes such as the approach to Cloud City in Empire only add to the immersion of Landos latest money maker. I will agree, the musical number In Return of the Jedi should be killed with Mandalorian fire gauntlets, but no one or no thing is perfect.
Then came the delivery of the prequel trilogy. From Anakin’s wooden acting to Jar Jar Binks existence, George Lucas was cast down as the guy who ruined Star Wars. I just don’t agree.
Poor Poor Jar Jar
The prequel trilogy (I-III) was aimed at kids, did you know Star Wars is a kids series? The hordes of 30+ year old men moaning online because they didn’t feel the magic as they did as kids is nothing short of pathetic. I’ll be the first one to say it, kids love Jar Jar and it helped bring millions of enthusiastic young fans to The Phantom Menace and the franchise proper.
Combat choreography was second-to-none and illustrated the eight forms of lightsaber combat beautifully. Granted, the prequel trilogy felt a little too clean, going against the ‘lived in’ aesthetic the original trilogy followed. I’ll be the first one to admit that Episode II focused too much on the love interest between Padme and Anakin. I felt a genuine ‘Corrie in Space’ vibe from the first half of the film but it still worked.
Darth Maul was quite possibly the coolest antagonist in any fandom to date, with demand seeing him appear in the Clone Wars and Rebels animated series. Oh, and serving as a brilliant cliffhanger in Solo.
Oh, You Like Lucas Again Now
As soon as Lucas sold up shop to Disney, the fandom almost forgot about all their hate towards the father of Star Wars and started to hold him in high regard. Fans even wished for Lucas to return once The Force Awakens was released. How the hell does this happen or make sense? It’s ridiculous and something I’d like to separate myself from.
Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best’s acting career was more-or-less left in ruins following fan backlash towards the clumsy Gungan. Why is it OK to treat other humans like this? The guy was hired to do a job and was an original pioneer in motion capture acting, he deserved some respect. He is however returning to the franchise as a Jedi in Jedi Temple Challenge which is due out next year.
A New Low
The worst tragedy of The Last Jedi was the abuse and threats made towards Rose actress Kelly Marie Tran. A number of fans quickly grew frustrated with the role her character played to the point of finding her personal social media accounts and sending threatening, abusive messages.
1: No-one deserves the horrid feeling cyber-bullying brings, especially for just doing their job.
2: Even if many agree agree that the character is poorly written, how the hell is that the actor’s fault? She was hired to play a part, get over it.
3: These are the same fans that will claim Disney stole their childhood and completely overreacted to Luke’s hand disappearing when he dies.
They Opened an Ear and Poison Floweth. Por Shame.
I am a die hard and true Star Wars fan who will always look for the good in any new content. Negative and poorly-done work throughout films, novels, comics etc. can be discussed constructively. Creators of many franchises have said time and time again – they want our feedback. And it’s a shame to see so much anger and hate head towards a franchise that has given its fans a voice and a platform.
If any of that behaviour rings a bell, I have just one request: before you spew your bile, remember that that’s a human being who probably loves Star Wars as much as you do.
Those actors, writers and directors want to give a huge number of existing fans the media they will love while inspiring a new generation. Those younger fans have different icons and heroes to you. They dream of different scenes but they live in the same universe as you do.
