Post date: Sep 16, 2011 9:22:54 PM
Like the best of us, I come from the 1970s. Star Wars was my birthright. I waited years in-between the first 3 movies. I thought Darth Vader lied when he told Luke that he was his father. We didn’t have DVD players, or even VCRs back then so every time I saw the movie it had to burn itself deeply enough into my soul that I could draw from that single viewing for years to come. It would be that long before I could even watch each film again. I understand. I was there.
Lately I’ve heard a lot of people my age leveling some ridiculous exaggerations at George Lucas.
He didn’t rape your childhood. He didn’t piss on your childhood. He didn’t take your youth away or ruin your memories. I’m willing to bet he never even laid a hand on you.
Yes, of course, he has made some mistakes. Casting Hayden Christensen was the biggest of them. Indiana Jones 4 was not a good movie. If Greedo shoots first, then Han Solo has no character arc. The Jabba the Hutt scene he added to A New Hope would have made better bonus content than it makes a scene in the actual movie. Luke and Leia sure did do a lot of kissing in the first 2 movies for him to decide in Return of the Jedi that they had been brother and sister all along.
But all of this cynical middle-aged spiteful exaggeration I keep hearing is just silly.
I think we all know the Star Wars movies were not just movies to us. They were revelations of a higher level of reality. It’s hard to exaggerate how important they were to my generation growing up. Even as adults, by the late 1990s a significant number of Britons listed themselves as “Jedi” when registering with the government. (The numbers did drop off after the prequel trilogy were released.) We still laugh together as we quote the lines of the movies at odd times. We still care.
I remember gathering with my friends to see the re-release of the original three movies in the theatres when George first added the extra scenes. We were amazed by some of them. It was great to see more of the Wampa. Cloud City did kinda need more windows. Frankly, I think if he had held off on 3 or 4 specific changes, no one would be complaining at all.
And that’s my point. When George goes in and edits his movies, he isn’t changing the past. We still saw what we saw. Carter was still president. Our lives were just the way you remember them. He’s editing a work of art later in life. He’s getting some things right and some things wrong.
It is a shame that he doesn’t also make a restored and cleaned up version of the movies as they were originally made available on Blue-Ray, but I wonder if all of the ridiculous insults he’s gotten have played a part in his decision? How much would you want to work to please people who accuse you of rape?
Han shot Greedo when Greedo didn’t expect it. A professional like Greedo wouldn’t miss a point-blank shot. Han was the kind of criminal who would kill a bounty hunter in a bar and not think anything of it. I know that and you know that. George Lucas maybe knows it too. He got a little older and worried about what kind of example that scene showed for young children. Maybe he chickened out a bit. He was wrong – but that doesn’t make him a Sith Lord.
It may mean he’s gone a little soft – but is that enough for you to turn against the man who gave you Yoda? Who dreamt up R2D2 and C3PO so you didn’t have to? Who would we even be if he hadn’t told us about lightsabers? Have a little perspective!
So, all six movies are coming out on Blu-Ray this month. George will probably still maintain that Greedo shot first, despite all evidence and logic. We know that. Accept that he’s not going to fix that. If you do still love Star Wars, I hope you enjoy the new release.
If you’ve fallen out of love with Star Wars, that’s okay. It was a long relationship. You’re not a kid anymore. Maybe you don’t find much time to dream about flying the Millennium Falcon these days. Maybe you’ve gotten too sour and downtrodden to even try to reach across your room anymore and hope that finally – this time – you’ll be able to make the remote control fly from the table to your hand. Who can blame you? Growing up is hard and it crushes dreams. But George didn’t do that to you. Life is just hard in the 21st century.
(That actually all started in 1989 when the top tax bracket in the US went from 70% to 35% and the rest of us who make less than a quarter of a million dollars a year had to make up the difference.)
If it wasn’t for George Lucas, you would have had to spend your childhood playing “Star Trek.” And while the prequel trilogy might not be up to the standards of the original Star Wars movies from the 1970s and 80s, can you imagine how much Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise would have hurt if that universe had been all we had?
Let’s not hope he dies and the estate gives us the original versions all cleaned-up. Let’s hope he makes some more movies. Or better yet, just hope he has a good and long life. The man has earned respect and kindness from my generation. Criticize him when he makes mistakes, but give the man what you know you owe him.
And may the force be with you, always.