living in isolation unsure of helping the Resistance, is not the evolution they expected of their
childhood hero, accent on childhood. But the bigger fault seems to be that this new trilogy is not
befitting of their childhood memories. “It ruined my childhood!” is the consistent mantra on their
mantel.
All this talk and criticism of the new Star Wars movies not fitting into certain fans’ fancy of their
collected memories of their childhood is puerile and helps nobody. It all started in May 1999
with the most hated “Star Wars” flick of all time, “Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace.”
It was a case of nitpicking in ways I had not heard of before that prequel’s reception though I
have seen plenty of it since. The overall feeling of that bloated, ostensibly mediocre and messy
prequel (which still had its moments of oomph) and the CGI-creation of that talking amphibious
creature, Jar Jar Binks, (some consider it an abomination) was that it was an affront to their
childhood and their precious memories of Luke, Han and Leia’s superior space-opera adventures
with everyone’s favorite nemesis, Darth Vader. The nitpicking began with their assessment of
the opening scroll mentioning trade routes and political mumbo-jumbo (most of which have not
found their way into the new trilogy). The lightsaber fights were still dazzling, the transformation
from Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader was stunning but the prequels could never measure up
to anyone’s expectations, not when many fans waxed on that after 16 years they would utter
inanities like, “this is the best you could come up with, Mr. Lucas?” I suppose fans had their own
theories on what Anakin Skywalker went through, from his transition as an overbearing tot to an
angry twentysomething where the Dark Side was strong with him. Maybe they hated that he built
C3PO (talk about irony when Lord Vader was searching for Threepio and R2D2 in “A New
Hope”) or maybe it felt too computerized and lacking much emotion (that is true with “Phantom
Menace”).
Well, after the prequel trilogy ended in 2005 with “Revenge of the Sith,” Lucas pretty much gave
up, realizing that fans could never be happy no matter what he did. When it was announced that
he sold Lucasfilm to Disney who in turn was interested in reigniting the franchise, fans screamed
bloody murder. Mickey Mouse was dominating the saga? “The Force Awakens” turned out
better than expected but fans again screamed bloody murder. The filmmakers killed Han Solo,
how dare they? That was the moment that some hated what was being churned out by the likes of
J.J Abrams and Rian Johnson, the director of “The Last Jedi.” Luke has now joined Yoda and
Obi-Wan Kenobi as a force ghost and this was also seen as an affront. My collective memory of
that 1983 screening of “Return of the Jedi” when Yoda threw in the towel did not include any
sighs from the audience – it seems they understood the 900-year-old Yoda would eventually pass
on. Of course, Yoda had only been introduced in “The Empire Strikes Back” and there were no
Star Wars films before 1977’s “Star Wars” and no Clone Wars until long after the “Sith” movie.
These movies were new then, new to everyone’s experience. Aside from the sci-fi serials like
“Flash Gordon” and “Buck Rogers,” there was nothing to base it on.
Why does Star Wars cause such a ruckus and such negativity with my peers and younger folk? I
am not sure, and I do not see how Lucas and his forebears have “raped their childhood,” one of
Notes Magazine
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