It's Time To Forgive George Lucas
October 16, 2010 8:09 PM   Subscribe

Forgiving George Lucas "Among adults of a certain age, it has been accepted that George Lucas has betrayed his fans. Star Wars is the central mythology of the twentieth century..." Gizmodo author Joel Johnson writes a logical, coherent argument for 'forgiving' George Lucas.

Another choice quote:

"If today there are millions of children who, having never seen the original trilogy, are escaping the endless years of youth with telescoping plastic lightsabers and videogames overflowing with Jedi then maybe we older fans can lighten up a little. The old bearded toymaker may not have crafted something as transcendent in middle age as he did in his younger days, but he's still making toys."

My thoughts below:

I'm a big fan of the movies. I was 8 when Return of the Jedi premiered. I had the lunchbox, a lot of the toys, and even had Empire Strikes Back-themed wallpaper in my childhood bedroom. But unlike a lot of other fans, apparently, I moved on.

I have never been able to quite understand the sense of betrayal that so many Star Wars fans harbor toward George Lucas. At the end of the day, these are films. Entertainment. Nobody is putting a gun to your head and forcing you to watch the films, read the books, or buy the toys. You're certainly entitled not to like them. But to carry on and accuse the man of "ruining" your childhood because he dared to include a 9-year old who says, "Yipee!" in his story seems to me the height of arrogance.

At the end of the day, they are one man's art. We all know that art is highly subjective and open to multiple interpretations. As an artist, businessman, and storyteller, George Lucas has no obligation to you (and you have none to him). I'm just grateful that he created stories I'll able to share with my children and grandchildren over the years.
posted by zooropa (22 comments total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: this is too GYOBloggy for MetaFilter -- jessamyn



 
Star Wars is the central mythology of the twentieth century

no, franz kafka was
posted by pyramid termite at 8:14 PM on October 16, 2010 [7 favorites]


don't see how a guy who creates something somehow betrays the fans. the movies just weren't as good--that's all.

having said that, the second and third movies have grown on me over the years, especially the third one. Obviously, my fave is the 4th, Star Wars.
posted by Ironmouth at 8:16 PM on October 16, 2010


Listen, if Freddie Mercury can't get into Star Wars, I can't either.
posted by NoMich at 8:16 PM on October 16, 2010 [3 favorites]


My thoughts below:

You seem to have mistaken MetaFilter's frontpage for your own personal blog.

My thoughts below:

George Lucas is a dick who had one brilliant, world-transforming idea in his youth and then spent the rest of his life sucking every last bit of energy out of it, leaving it a nasty, soulless husk.
posted by felix betachat at 8:18 PM on October 16, 2010 [9 favorites]


It bummed me out to hear that Lucas has put the brakes on the planned Star Wars television series, saying that he didn't know a way to produce the series with the quality he wanted on a reasonable budget. (I have a few ideas, most of which would not be unfamiliar to a younger George Lucas who knew a thing or two about shoestring budgets.)

Hmmmm. Seems like someone's got an ulterior motive.
posted by jeremias at 8:19 PM on October 16, 2010


At the end of the day, they are one man's art business.

And considering Star Wars is a hodge-podge of myths and stories that came before it, calling it the central mythology of the twentieth century is absurd and ignorant.

I can't wait to see what they write about Avatar in 30 years.
posted by dobbs at 8:21 PM on October 16, 2010


George Lucas is a dick who had one brilliant, world-transforming idea in his youth

Yeah, I really dug American Graffiti as well.
posted by NoMich at 8:21 PM on October 16, 2010


What Star Wars prequels? There were only three movies. THREE. Three Indiana Jones movies. And only one Matrix movie. The last Star Trek movie was First Contact.

But the Wookie Christmas Special, I'm afraid that does exist :)
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:22 PM on October 16, 2010 [7 favorites]


"Star Wars is the central mythology of the twentieth century"...

What?? "Star Wars" is a movie...fiction, science fiction.....

and, my wife just told me I'm fucking nuts.... so...who knows...
posted by HuronBob at 8:23 PM on October 16, 2010 [1 favorite]


GET OVER IT.
posted by basicchannel at 8:26 PM on October 16, 2010


Star Wars is the central mythology of the twentieth century

The other day I got my entire The Bible As Literature class talking about how strikingly similar the story of David was to the original Star Wars films.

...the lone Biblical scholar in the class did not appreciate it.
posted by griphus at 8:27 PM on October 16, 2010 [2 favorites]


I think that RobotVoodooPower and I live in the same universe. It's a lovely place, where the only television shows that were ever adapted for feature films are The Addams Family and The Brady Bunch, and there are no direct-to-video Disney sequels. I invite anyone to join us if they wish.

All your GYOB content in your post aside, zooropa (I like the screen name, BTW), I think that the Plinkett review of Episode I pretty much sums up what is wrong with that movie. I'd spent years with this odd inexpressible dissatisfaction about that movie (which does have elements in it that I like), but when I watched that (the whole monstrous thing), I really finally understood what it was that made me dislike it.

Sometimes entertainment isn't just entertainment. It has a deeper function to fulfill. And sometimes even the best of ideas can be poorly crafted. Anyone who has ever sat through a lame-ass community theater production of a major award-winning Broadway hit play knows what that's like.

Sadly, Lucas wasn't up to meeting the bar he'd already established as to what his "entertainments" should achieve, either in story or execution. I give him credit for having shaped a mythos which continues to influence me, but I also have to give him credit for being blind and greedy when it comes to that creation.

I can still love the man's work without having to love all of it.
posted by hippybear at 8:28 PM on October 16, 2010 [1 favorite]


George Lucas is a dick who had one brilliant, world-transforming idea in his youth and then spent the rest of his life sucking every last bit of energy out of it, leaving it a nasty, soulless husk.

THX 1138? American Graffiti? Raiders of the Lost Ark? He wrote or cowrote them. Or as a producer: Kagemusha, Body Heat, Twice Upon a Time, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, Labyrinth, Powaqqatsi, Tucker: The Man and His Dream.

Don't let your sense that he has somehow betrayed you undermine the man's very real contributions to film.
posted by Astro Zombie at 8:32 PM on October 16, 2010 [3 favorites]


I lined up for those movies for hundreds of hours. Made some great friends. George Lucas made some great movies, but stopped before I was in grade school. It's not about hating or forgiving, it's about knowing whether a movie is any good or not.

And boy, it would have been interesting if there had been a continuation of that Matrix film. A second Pirates of the Caribbean would have been interesting, too. One can but dream, of course.
posted by SMPA at 8:36 PM on October 16, 2010 [1 favorite]


I watched (and greatly enjoyed) the remastered version of THX-1128, but of course in that case, Lucas didn't feel the need to add a poorly-rendered CGI version of a character that we later see as a puppet...
posted by muddgirl at 8:40 PM on October 16, 2010


It's Time To Forgive George Lucas

No, it isn't.
posted by Melismata at 8:43 PM on October 16, 2010 [1 favorite]


Star Wars Trek is the central mythology of the twentieth century...

FTFM
posted by BitterOldPunk at 8:46 PM on October 16, 2010


Star Wars is the central mythology of the twentieth century, second only to Lord of the Rings,

Gordie Howe is the greatest hockey player of the twentieth century, second only to Wayne Gretzky.

I don't even understand what this sentence construction means.
posted by Combustible Edison Lighthouse at 8:50 PM on October 16, 2010 [2 favorites]


What Star Wars prequels? There were only three movies. THREE. Three Indiana Jones movies. And only one Matrix movie. The last Star Trek movie was First Contact.

Someday this meme ("To demonstrate my dislike of this media product, I will now commence to jocularly pretend it does not exist, a-hurf-hurf-hurf.") will vanish. I look forward to that day.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:51 PM on October 16, 2010


What the hell is this?
posted by dirigibleman at 8:51 PM on October 16, 2010


Speaking of the Plinkett reviews, it seems that after a brief diversion with Baby's Day Out and Star Trek (2009), he's going to be tackling Episode III next.

I look forward to that. I truly do.
posted by hippybear at 8:54 PM on October 16, 2010


I mean, just think about when Lucas started the prequels. 1999?

That’s nearly two seven-year cycles ago. Wow.
posted by mazola at 8:56 PM on October 16, 2010 [1 favorite]


« Older Zombie Vs. Kids   |   This post is all wet Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments