Coming to terms with Star Wars

I was sat at work today, a little bit bored, trying to retrieve data from a broken flash drive. (I failed, it’s lost forever, condemned to a hellish non-existence in an untouchable electronic limbo, 1 GB in size enclosed within 10cm of cheap plastic) when all of a sudden I realised I had come to terms with Star Wars.

That probably sounds like a pretty odd thing to say, (I get that a lot) but it seems the most fitting phrase.

See, like many people, Star Wars has had a biiiiig impact in my life. I’ve watched the films many many times. I’ve queued outside cinema’s dressed as a jedi, I’ve been on National TV in a feature about a Star Wars fanfilm I was involved with making. Read the books, sampled the merchandise, you get the picture, I am a bit of a nerd about Star Wars.

Unlike many of the die-hard Star Wars fans, I didn’t get angry about the prequels. I didn’t think they were that bad really. In fact, Revenge of the Sith was positively brilliant. Overall the prequel trilogy wasn’t as great as the original, but could it ever be? Without getting too much into a long examination of it, the original set a pretty high standard to reach, and benefits from being looked at with a great deal of nostalgia. The prequels had to live up to that standard, impress people who’d grown up yet still be a kid’s type film and live up to everyone’s imagined version of the story they’d been creating in their heads since they saw the originals. See, that’s a long time to be cultivating your own ideas of how Anakin became Darth Vader, so is the movie ever going to be able to live up to that? I, like many others spent so many years dreaming up the various events that could have surrounded Anakin’s fall to the dark side and the histories of the other characters. We yearned for these stories to be told. And when they were and the crashing waves of anger and disappointment then arrived, it kind of marred the experience a bit. I should have taken the view that ultimately, it was Lucas’s world and characters and he was free to take this story in whichever direction he wanted. After all, it seemed a little odd the way most people reacted, as if he’d personally insulted them by not making the film they’d imagined. Like George Lucas was contracted to create the stories we’d personally expected, rather than the story he wanted to tell/wanted to sell more toys with.

Obviously only a small number reacted in this way, but the media being what it is, this was given a much magnified amount of coverage. I guess rabid nerds baying for Lucas’s blood is more interesting than nerds shrugging and saying ‘it was ok, not quite what I’d imagined.’

So to a young impressionable Star Wars fan, this was confusing. I was seeing examples of these extreme reactions, all through the media and negative reviews. I honestly thought I was doing it wrong! Had I missed the point of the originals? Did I not 'get' Star Wars?

So after some time worrying about this, I began to over-analyse the films a bit. Well, a lot. I'd look for inconsistencies, lines of dialogue that weren't right, anything that I could sit back and say to myself 'aha! That's what I was missing, this proved it's terrible! I shall go and set fire to George Lucas immediately!' but I never could.

Eventually I reasoned that I couldn't see it because I hadn't 'connected' the 2 trilogies yet. Maybe they didn't feel like the same series to me? Then the originals were released on DVD, and the brilliant clean-up on the picture and the little additions really tied it in with the prequels for me. The once Revenge of the Sith was out, I really did feel like it was six films not two trilogies. And I still couldn't get angry or upset when watching Episodes 1, 2 and 3!

So when the Clone Wars animated movie came out last year, my default reaction was to get excited. Then I saw a trailer. Man, they made me think of Shrek! (it's something in the walk) And I thought, I really don't think I am going to enjoy this.

So I just didn't go see it. Still haven't. Is it some sort of cowardly hiding from disappointment? Am I afraid to become the angry militant fan who wants Lucas's beard?

Nope, I'm just really not too fussed. It might be good, it might be bad, it's Lucas's stories to tell, if he thinks he's got tales then I'm not going to object to him telling them.

TAnd today I realised why that is. It's because I've come to terms with Star Wars. For me, it's those six films. For me, regardless of what other people think. Hey, if I enjoyed the prequels that's fine. Well, I still didn't like Jar-Jar much. And to be honest I stray to the skip button for some of the Naboo scenes in Attack of the Clones. But generally, I'm more than with the six films as is. That's not to say I'll never watch future Star Wars projects, and if I like them I may revise this. But if I don't that's fine, they can't be to everyone's taste and I've got these six here.

It's like a bizarre calm inner peace. About Star Wars.

It's also a good example of why you should not worry about what everyone else thinks and formulate your own opinions, but I was young and stupid. I will be interested to see, when viewed as six films in order by new viewers with no pre-conceptions of Star Wars, will the prequels be judged the same way?

I won't mind either way!

Actually, is this inner peace, or just apathy???