More on Star Wars and the Passion of the George Lucas Bashers

My brother recently pointed out a set of articles by sci-fi writer David Brin who presented a large number of his critiques of Star Wars (SW). It was written in 1999 after Phantom Menace was released, but everything still applies two movies later. He provides a good read and a solid and damning indictment of George Lucas (GL) to be sure. Frankly there wasn't much I found to disagree with him on. The morality flaws in the SW are pretty striking when laid out in the way Brin presents them. I admit, GL does not do “preachy” very well and it only got worse by the end of Episode III.

Even though I agree that David Brin is right about SW, his perspective as a science fiction novelist, which does give him a degree credibility, also reveals his "sour grapes" problem and that he is not a neutral observer. Brin's Hugo and Nebula awards have won him a place in the science fiction elite who collectively hate Hollywood science *fantasy* (which is what SW is, not science *fiction*). They hate them because the films get compared to the novels they write (and take very, very seriously and rightly so), which are not as *popular* (not that popularity necessarily equates to *good*). Brin's only movie was The Postman which nobody saw because it sucked and was a huge flop. I've seen it at least twice. It's slightly less depressing than THX1138 or 1984 or any of the dark future movies of that vein. Even if The Postman flopped because of the classic "they ruined the book" critique that is always touted, the reality is that it had an academy award winning director, a proven box office star (Costner was still huge at the time) and a Lucas-scale budget and it *still flopped*. It flopped because story itself was completely uninspiring. Therefore, if David Brin is human being, then he definitely has sour grapes.

This does not weaken his attack on why SW is flawed in my mind. Rather it reveals why indeed he has written so much on this topic. SW, with all of it's flaws, has inspired him to do *something* much like the legions of original SW trilogy (OT) fans who are furious with the prequels and are "inspired" criticize, vent and rant every chance they get. Criticism isn’t bad nor is having and individual opinion and preference. I have a list of shows that I don’t like but I don’t feel *betrayed* by their respective creators for doing something I didn’t like. I don’t rant about how much Joss Whedon sucks because I didn’t like Buffy and can’t sit through a single episode. If I did, I would have never watched and enjoyed Firefly. I liked the Star Gate movie but I can’t stand the two spin-off series. So what? I’m not inspired to rant on them. I just change the channel.

I have been trying to figure why so many of my peers hate SW so passionately. Especially the ones who call themselves fans and love the OT. I have often heard “I want my childhood back, George.” This has always baffled me. There is a strange expectation that SW and GL *must be* perfect in order to be enjoyed. Read all of Brin’s articles. There is a very clear and powerful subtext: “George, why can’t you make Star Wars perfect like I want it to be? It could have been perfect, George. Why didn’t you just do what I wanted you to do?” Everyone who hates the prequels wishes they were better. So few hate the movies and let it go and do something else with their time. It grates on them that they can’t like the new SW the way they liked the old SW. It is such a strange mix of love and regret. It’s like they are watching a member of their family make poor decisions with their life and they are powerless to do anything about it. What difference does it make to *anything* or *anyone* if you hated the prequels? I haven’t gotten a good explanation from any of them.

I have a guess though. I think it has something to do with inspiration, illusion and disillusionment. Most people need some degree of illusion in their life where they draw inspiration (if you think I’m wrong, stop by any sports bar on any night where there is a big game on). This is not the religious or greeting card inspiration. This is the type of inspiration that makes you want to pick up a pen or a camera after you see a movie you got jazzed about. There is just something completely satisfying about taking in a fantasy you enjoy and getting inspired by it. It can be a hobby, a sport, an idea, an art, a craft, a type of fiction or anything. These things usually have some kind of illusion attached to them that captures your imagination. The illusion becomes the well and the inspiration we take away from it becomes the water from that well.

Disillusionment is when you find out the sewer is seeping into the well. When the well has turd in it, that specific source of inspiration runs dry and you start looking for something new. This is the “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain moment” from the Wizard of Oz. When we see the Wizard for what he really is, all the hopes and expectations we pinned on the him comes crashing down and all that is left is contempt for the wizard for fooling us in the first place and wasting all our time on the journey. For too many former SW fans the prequels are the point in time when they see the feet of the man behind the curtain. GL can’t bring unlimited inspiration to your imagination like he could when you were eight. Unfortunately, it is a lot easier to inspire the imagination of an eight-year-old than a thirty-something who has seen a lot and done a lot and looks at the world with a very different set of eyes.

If you haven’t seen Fever Pitch yet, check it out on DVD. The pattern of fandom for the Red Socks for the Jimmy Fallon character is very similar. He begins his fascination with baseball as a child and carries into his adulthood. Soon he discovers that the thing that captured his imagination as a kid had become incompatible with his needs as an adult. He comes to a point where he has to make a choice and the disillusionment sets in. Watch it to find out what happens in the end. I also learned it takes a lot more loyalty to be a Red Socks fan than a Star Wars fan.

I, the defender of GL to the last, must agree with David Brin that if you look at SW like a morality play it has flaws and plot holes-a-plenty. But I don't like it any less. SW is about 6:00 am on Christmas morning in 1980 and tracing every bump on the Millennium Falcon with my fingers. It's about losing action figures in mud pits in the back yard and digging for hours to find them. It's about getting to do something cool with your dad when your parents hate each other and are getting divorced. It's about letting your brother's Greedo action figure fall to the street and get run over by a car and still feeling crappy about it when your 30. It’s about a long line outside and your very own bucket of greasy popcorn. For me, Star Wars is family. It shows up at holidays and get togethors and you try to pretend like nothing is wrong or say anything too critical to avoid a argument. With family, you have to like them for who they are, not what you wish they would be.

-- Dan P.