Rant of the Month (March 2015): Who REALLY ruined Star Wars?

The universe that sprouted from the once fertile mind of George Lucas has become synonymous with pop culture since we first journeyed into that galaxy far far away in 1977.  It is as much a part of humanity as any historical moment ever.  Millions upon millions of people are influenced every single day by this story, and we all have an intense passion for this part of our culture.  

And yet, the confidence in Disney's quest to make the seventh theatrical installment to the Star Wars saga is slim to none.  The more perplexing part is the fact that many of these naysayers are people who swore that the Prequel Trilogy was great and perhaps even superior to the Original Trilogy.  My question is why?  Why are people quick to demonize Disney for The Force Awakens, even when they have done a brilliant job with the MCU so far.  Our fan base has become so divided that I fear that even if Episode VII is indeed worthy of our expectations, we will simply throw it aside because of our general need to be popular or just a complacency that has settled in for all of us.  

But that brings up an even bigger question.  With all of the warring, trolling, and absolute chaos that the words "Star Wars" bring about, why did this happen?  Who is the person most responsible for the chaos that plagues this fandom?  How can we all love a film when no matter what happens, there will always be some big mouthed A-Hole who will say that the film isn't as good as the Prequels or the OT?  The answer might actually surprise you....

The answer is...YOU!  

That's right, you.  The person reading this post at this very moment.  If you are a fan of Star Wars, you are responsible for what it is today.  This includes me.  This includes anyone who has sat through all six films and has liked even a small part of the story, effects, characters, or themes.  

Now how can I come to this conclusion, you may ask.  How can I sit here and say that we're the ones responsible for the destruction of Star Wars when we had little to no part in the making or the conception of these movies and this universe?  The answer to that is pretty simple:

Star Wars was supposed to be Nothing!

Though future circle-jerking self promoting documentaries would say otherwise, George Lucas initially intended for Star Wars to be another American Graffiti.  A film that would allow him to get people to notice him and what he was trying to do with himself as a writer and filmmaker.  It was a story that was too complex to be told in one movie, but it would pretty much be a basic Sci Fi movie with some magic in it.  But nothing paradigm changing.  

The people who flocked to the theaters to see Star Wars in 1977, the ones who turned it into the most successful movie of all time, are the reasons that a fanbase has become so divided and so split.  They gave their children and grandchildren their love for a movie that in all fairness, would not have done squat at the box office a few years earlier or later.  A movie that is ethically flawed, technically marvelous, but told so oddly and in such a clunky manner that it would never have gotten made had it not been for people seeing the potential in Lucas.

Sure you can blame George for his failings as a director, but he is a damn good business man.  Just like another free thinking filmmaker who wanted nothing more than to push the boundaries of his technology further than ever before.  I am of course talking about:

 Walt Disney

In an audio interview taken of Mr. Disney during the 1950's, he explains how after a while of attempting to make better and better films that were less than welcomed warmly by the world, that he actually began to detest his crowning achievement, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  When both Pinocchio and Fantasia bombed at the box office in 1940 and Bambi followed in 1942, the American public's opinions resonated with, in Walt's own words:

"The one I did after Snow White was Pinocchio.  And it didn't to as well.  People said to me, "There's no dwarfs."  And it really made me begin to hate Snow White,"

This is one of the most cryptic messages I've ever heard about a man who wanted nothing more than to push the boundaries of technology.  But it also instantly made me think of another man.  George Lucas.  I'll admit I get on George Lucas's case too much for what he did to the Prequel Trilogy and all of his unnecessary additions to the plot, but I'm in no way sucking up to the man.  But here's why it made me think of George when I heard of Walt's quote.  

After Return of the Jedi ended, George Lucas went on to do an assortment of other movies including continuing his work on the Indiana Jones series, but he also worked on films like Willow and Howard the Duck.  Both films are, at best, mediocre.  But the backlash Lucas received for these films was unfair.  Sure the films weren't good, but I feel people owed George the benefit of the doubt.  Why?  Because of what transpired after The Last Crusade.  George began to become autonomous and began to care less and less about what people wanted and more and more about what he wanted out of his films.  Case and point, the Special Editions.  

While I don't believe the Special Edition of the OT was the most offensive thing in the world, as it did do a bit to improve some of the especially bizarre special effects in the movies, they did keep doing things that made you want to scratch your head.  Like the unnecessary scene with Jabba at the Millenium Falcon, having Greedo shoot first, or just changing the songs in Jabba's palace and the Ewok celebration.  

George has constantly berated his fans, calling the Expanded Universe "Glorified Fan Fiction" and complaining about their critiques of his movies, most notably the Prequels.  For an independent film maker, who should be able to accept criticism, he has a hard time dealing with it.  That is one of the reasons I bash him so.  He acts like he is above criticism, when he is in the medium that demands criticism.  But he wouldn't be like this if he had been given some leash with his movies that he made after Star Wars.  

The Fans are also to blame for one other thing.  That is overrating and overly bashing on aspects of the films.  That is why I don't hate on Lucas for Jar Jar, that's why I don't have as much against the cheap acting from star actors.  I criticize the things that need to be mocked and tormented in the same ways I criticize films like The Lion King or Iron Man for their misgivings and flaws.  But people tend to harp on the same things with these films, both good and bad, while failing to see both the good and bad in the other respective series.  Which is something that irritates me.  If you are able to point out the flaws in the Prequels, you better be able to point out the flaws in the OT.  The same goes for the good things.  Which is something the internet trolls from around the world have failed to understand.  The world is chock full of opinions, but no one is able to voice it correctly or accept criticism.  This reason, right here, is why Star Wars will continue to disappoint us, no matter how positive we are in Episode VII.  We are all already saying this film will suck without even giving it an opportunity to please us.

In conclusion, I hope we can all learn to appreciate the good, bad and ugly of all the films in the saga.  Because the more we demonize a film, the less enthused we will be for the next installment.  Thank you all for listening...