From Christian Toto, comes the new trailer for The People vs. George Lucas, another in the infinite series of Star Wars documentaries.
The film analyzes the battle between Lucas and his fans over ownership of the franchise – just who does it belong to now? Is it Lucas’ to license and do with as he pleases, or does it belong to the two or three generations that have come since, that have been raised on the movies in some crypto-psychotic fashion akin to a more passive A Clockwork Orange?
The original trailer had several themes that were interesting. Some of Lucas’ friends relate the story and film ideas he had which have never been realized because he has had to tend to this monster.
What isn’t interesting is yet another documentary focusing on the fan worship and societal impact. I get it, the guys who draw The Simpsons and write Family Guy love Star Wars. Some people get a kick out of You-Tubing their own lightsaber exploits. But as an all-encompassing social phenom, I’m ready to let it go.
My generation came to be during the Star Wars peak, but obsessives weren’t running around school in their Jedi outfits, or having fistfights over who pretended to be Bobba Fett on the playground. It was a movie, a toy, maybe a lunch box or a t-shirt, but it hardly ruled the lives of my middle-class elementary school. I can’t honestly remember one Star Wars-related conversation prior to high school. This media obsessiveness is pure nostalgic invention and revision.
Maybe some of it is marketing, maybe its just coat tails. There is a built-in relate-ability for Lucas’ ubiquitous creation, and latching onto it is a good way to get yourself attention. The prequels began just as the Internet was becoming a force in everyday lives.
Not that all the examinations are bad. What was refreshing about Red Letter Media’s review of The Phantom Menace was it strayed from the usual geek-speak, the obsession over who shot first or the other fanboy frivolities. It focused on the film as a piece of work and the problems therein. Given the film’s wide wake, its tailor made as an example of film making or film criticism.
But do we need another exercise in legend-making? Once Lucas’ own studio tried tying his films into epic myth, thanks to a recent History Channel documentary, that is as far as it could go. Sure, watching Newt Gingrich wax philosophical about the totalitarian tendencies of the Empire and the Soviets is fun, but we’re attaching a lot of importance to what is essentially early 20-somethings running around in their underwear while waving fake swords.
Not to sound bitter, but I can’t watch the films anymore. As one who finds it difficult to watch anything on modern television, a two-and-a-half hour popcorn chewer should be the tonic, but it isn’t. As film and as fun, Star Wars has been completely drained.
Worse, try escaping the inbred affectations Star Wars has heaped upon modern film making. Escaping it means putting something in the DVD prior to 1977. Thank you, Turner Classic Movies.
As a cultural work, it’s time to let Star Wars go.
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If you really wanted to let it go, would you have posted?
And if you’re less interested in the opinions of the franchise why not focus on how the the Star Wars phenomenon’s cultural momentum can be used to push points of view. For instance, as the final Star Wars movie was released, US Governmental bodies pushed for more restrictions to internet usage. (just this month they’ve continued their lobbying to force ISPs to record 2 years of people’s destinations: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10448060-38.html?tag=newsLeadStoriesArea.1) But in 2005, because of the Revenge of the Sith leak, the FBI/ICE through recently installed Congressional legislature and a newly installed Assistant Attorney General was able to jail and fine several US citizens. A year later George himself would be in Congress pushing for Free Unlimited internet access to all schools and libraries. Also in the time frame of the release of Sith, George’s company cease and desisted an individual who reused the Revenge of the Sith trailer to have 133t subtitles. A few years later that same company allowed Star Wars Uncut to have the entire first Star Wars movie available on the website. Yes things are changing quickly, and many of these decisions might still make sense.
If your curious, there is a video mixtape documenting the recorded perception of the Star Wars phenomenon at the time of Revenge of the Sith, which will have it’s five year anniversary this May.
http://www.noneinc.com/tBSWM/tBSWM_Video.html
The projects FAQ expands upon what is viewed, since many topics don’t get recorded coverage.
http://www.noneinc.com/tBSWM/tBSWM_FAQ.html
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By your logic someone can’t post their opinion on how they wish something would just go away because by posting they are keeping it around.
So I couldn’t say I wish Tom Cruise would quit making Mission Impossible movies because by doing so I just hype Tom Cruise and the new MISSION IMPOSSIBLE IV (appearing soon in a theater near you)?
It’s an old ploy used by people who try to use the logic employed by parents who tell their kids that if they just ignore the bully he will eventually become tired and go away. This may be true eventually but more than likely you will get the crap kicked out of you first.
If you want to sit back and get pummeled by Star Wars this and Star Wars that until the money cow runs dry then fine by me. I for one won’t stand for this parade of faux Nazi junk dressed up and called an evil empire or the republican party (depending on which crappy movie you are watching at the time). I will fight this dreck that is being foisted upon us as entertainment! WHO’S WITH ME?!? YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
(Do we have a secret handshake, or cool, treehouse/clubhouse where we meet?)
I have a Christmas tree fort in the vacant lot up the street from my parents house. It kicks ass.
I think it’s fair to say that Star Wars grew, but never grew up. That is, Lucas never relented control of the sandbox so that others could tell stories in that world and build on what he created (with a few notable exceptions). He was then egged on by the hardcore fans that never grew out of adolescence and wanted their beloved childhood memories to be frozen in carbonite.
The creatively aborted prequels were the killing blow for Star Wars and its cultural influence. I remember the resurgence it had in the late 90s and that wave that Phantom Menace rode in on. Lucas, by feeding his ego, squandered a chance that wouldn’t come to him again in his lifetime. That isn’t to say that it won’t continue to be a large sub-culture or have influence on popular media, but it won’t be a hallmark of childhood–the way it was even for my generation–and continue to have the same sway. That’s gone.
The one exception to Lucas creative stifling has been the “Old Republic” era, where a spate of comics and games have been set. That’s largely been left alone by Lucas, as game developers and comic writers have told some pretty damn good stories; much better than the prequels and recapturing a lot of the old spirit.
I’m sure Star Wars will continue in some fashion after Lucas passes, but I think people will eventually tire of its current ubiquity. It’s become a bit of a cultural language. Watching shows like South Park and Family Guy, we no longer communicate based in shared experiences but in pop culture references. I’m sure there are creative juices that could flow and bring the franchise back to what it was, but right now it would be nice to take a break.
Exactly. It’s no longer a shared experience, but a trope. It’s become ironic and “meta” because it’s lost its mystique. We’re in something of a post-Star Wars era, where what we’re seeing are the dregs and leavings. What we’re now seeing is a fan base that can’t get over its obsession and a culture working it out of its system.
Maybe it’s just because I’m an open geek and always have been, but I remember *lots* of Star Wars conversations prior to high school (I was 10 when it came out). It is hard to overstate what a huge cultural phenomenon it was at the time. It was talked about endlessly on TV, on the radio, there were songs about it, the double-album soundtrack went platinum, preachers gave sermons for and against it, eventually other preachers attempted to use aspects of it to get across concepts to their listeners. There were endless network news stories about the phenomenon. The damn movie played in my local cineplex for SEVENTY-EIGHT WEEKS! 66 of those were ‘held over!’ The movie was so popular that it had to be re-released *DURING* its initial run because the original prints were falling apart from overuse.
So either Mister Toto is misremembering the mania that swept the country, or else he grew up in the northern Yukon speaking Ukranian or Frisian or something, and was completely in a cultural vacuume as a result.
That said, I do agree that it’s time to let it go. It’s outstayed its welcome, it’s tedious, it’s done, and it’s only about perpetuating itself at this point, not about telling stories.
The bad news is that we’re basically canaries in a coalmine about this: There’s a live-action series starting in a year or two, they’re hoping to eventually have multiple live-action series running concurrently, much like the terrible 90s Star Trek.
You’ll have to pry Star Wars out of my cold, dead hands…