I’ve made no secret what I thought of the movie earlier this year, when I ripped-apart the fandom in my entry for Star Wars Defined. I feel bad in hindsight, as I don’t really think it was the movie or the fanbase’s faults. A combination of overhype and personal expectation (or lack thereof), like with Ready Player One, led to disgust over the backlash. It might’ve been “bad”, but it was a movie. And it was being treated as a blight. Naturally, I overreacted.
As anticipated, I put it out of my mind after writing my thoughts and moved on. It wasn’t until I started Season 1 of The Mandalorian on Disney+ that I realized why this bothered me so much. It wasn’t because I don’t like The Mandalorian, because I do. EU fanfic material aside, which it feels like at times, the show is solid Star Wars content. Rather, my issue stems from a deeper, more-pressing concern that Star Wars fans keep forgetting:
Expectation.
Late last year, Patrick Willems took flak for an earlier statement he’d made about the franchise. He’d mentioned that Star Wars was “a movie about space wizards intended for children”, a sentiment he thought was self-explanatory, but others found hypocritical when he criticized the most-recent entry. To be fair, he walked right into that, I won’t lie. But I also think his original statement holds truer than he may have realized. Especially when you think about what George Lucas’s original vision was.
Star Wars, like superhero comics, is an inherently dumb concept. It’s basically the grungy, science-fiction version of a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, one with no set rules that’s gone on for decades. The dungeon master keeps changing, the active party roster keeps evolving and the lore’s become so massive that it’s too big to summarize even with a purge of half of its continuity. And it’s been active for two generations, so it’s bound to get messier.
I mention this to show how flexible Star Wars lore is. I remember once hearing there’s enough content to have an Avengers-style showdown even with its side-stories, but I think it goes further. As much of a cop-out as this might be, Star Wars can get away with practically anything, so long as it adheres to the grunginess that came before it. I really mean that.
Think about:, the ideas presented in Star Wars were already pretty far-out there: the original POV characters were two robots, one of whom couldn’t talk. The story didn’t introduce its protagonist on good terms, and his mentor was a hermit who could manipulate space Nazis with a wave of his hand. Even the big baddie, a hulking guy in a black suit who always shouted, could use that power, as evidenced by him choking a subordinate. Factor in the hairdos, bizarre-looking aliens and constant references to magic in aggressive terms, and you’re left with something definitely out there.
I mention this to show how flexible Star Wars lore is. I remember once hearing there’s enough content to have an Avengers-style showdown even with its side-stories, but I think it goes further. As much of a cop-out as this might be, Star Wars can get away with practically anything, so long as it adheres to the grunginess that came before it. I really mean that.
Think about:, the ideas presented in Star Wars were already pretty far-out there: the original POV characters were two robots, one of whom couldn’t talk. The story didn’t introduce its protagonist on good terms, and his mentor was a hermit who could manipulate space Nazis with a wave of his hand. Even the big baddie, a hulking guy in a black suit who always shouted, could use that power, as evidenced by him choking a subordinate. Factor in the hairdos, bizarre-looking aliens and constant references to magic in aggressive terms, and you’re left with something definitely out there.
Every subsequent addition has only gotten more bizarre: want the big baddie to look creepy? Show the back of his disfigured face and have him serve an emperor with an even more-disfigured face. Want his master to be scary? Make him sound like he’s on a respirator and give him lightning abilities. Want to defeat said master? Throw him off a cliff like a deadweight and watch him explode…assuming he’s dead at all.
Even the prequel expansions make stuff up constantly. Like how space magic lives inside your bloodstream. Or how you can use it to create a Jesus child. Or how you can clone someone’s DNA to create an army of super-soldiers, only to have them turn on you with a codeword. Or even how your Jesus character can turn evil, suffer third-degree burns and wind up on life support, setting the stage for the original movies.
The sequels add to this even more. Not only has the campaign been around long enough to be meta-textual, but its core concepts are still being fleshed out: that princess who was implied to be a magic user? She’s now a general who has heart attacks when someone dies, and she can also fly in space. The big baddie from the original films? He’s worshipped like a god by his grandson. Even the new final boss gets dispatched halfway through, only to be revealed as a clone created by the guy who was presumed dead earlier. Oh, and the main character’s his granddaughter now…somehow.
Even the prequel expansions make stuff up constantly. Like how space magic lives inside your bloodstream. Or how you can use it to create a Jesus child. Or how you can clone someone’s DNA to create an army of super-soldiers, only to have them turn on you with a codeword. Or even how your Jesus character can turn evil, suffer third-degree burns and wind up on life support, setting the stage for the original movies.
The sequels add to this even more. Not only has the campaign been around long enough to be meta-textual, but its core concepts are still being fleshed out: that princess who was implied to be a magic user? She’s now a general who has heart attacks when someone dies, and she can also fly in space. The big baddie from the original films? He’s worshipped like a god by his grandson. Even the new final boss gets dispatched halfway through, only to be revealed as a clone created by the guy who was presumed dead earlier. Oh, and the main character’s his granddaughter now…somehow.
Basically, Star Wars works not because it makes sense, but because it doesn’t. And that’s okay. The dumb, nonsensical role-playing game keeps getting add-ons and retcons, yet somehow still functions. This is despite basic parts of its campaign directly contradicting one-another. Because it still resonates with its core audience: pre-teens.
I’m not sure what else someone could want. Sure, it’s also a commentary on American imperialism. True, it alludes to Nazi Germany a lot. And yes, its writing’s heavily-repetitive. But even when it tries being clever, which does happen sometimes, it’s still aware of that and rolls with it. I can’t say that about many franchises these days.
That’s also why, even on a bad day, I appreciate it for what it is: a Dungeons and Dragons campaign that’s never-ending. Will it always be good? No. Will it always be clever? No. But so long as it keeps being itself, it’s guaranteed to maintain relevancy.
I’m not sure what else someone could want. Sure, it’s also a commentary on American imperialism. True, it alludes to Nazi Germany a lot. And yes, its writing’s heavily-repetitive. But even when it tries being clever, which does happen sometimes, it’s still aware of that and rolls with it. I can’t say that about many franchises these days.
That’s also why, even on a bad day, I appreciate it for what it is: a Dungeons and Dragons campaign that’s never-ending. Will it always be good? No. Will it always be clever? No. But so long as it keeps being itself, it’s guaranteed to maintain relevancy.
And that’s fine. Star Wars only has to appease its core audience. And all it needs to do that is be dumb, silly fun. What’s so wrong with that?
I’ll end by referencing The Cosmonaut Variety Hour. In one of his Star Wars videos, he mentions that Star Wars is, by its nature, a series of bad movies. The acting sucks, the storytelling’s messy and none of its internal logic makes sense. But that’s okay, because a lot of care and talent routinely goes into making it look “not bad”. I think that couldn’t be truer, so long as you also accept the lack of consistency.
Now then, about The Mandalorian’s release schedule…
I’ll end by referencing The Cosmonaut Variety Hour. In one of his Star Wars videos, he mentions that Star Wars is, by its nature, a series of bad movies. The acting sucks, the storytelling’s messy and none of its internal logic makes sense. But that’s okay, because a lot of care and talent routinely goes into making it look “not bad”. I think that couldn’t be truer, so long as you also accept the lack of consistency.
Now then, about The Mandalorian’s release schedule…
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