My theory on Star Wars: Lucas is philosophically a liberal and created, quite accidentally, a right-wing space fantasy. In his attempt to resurrect a lost era of romanticism, he brought back the virtues associated with it: larger than life characters, black and white moral tropes. He created a free market (Han) anti-government (rebels), pro-religion (Force) space opera. He allowed others to run with the world he created (Empire Strikes Back) but when he re-asserted control with Jedi he began to impose his personal philosophy onto the work even though hed created something with a DNA quite foreign to him. So he imposed an anti-Vietnam analogy with indigenous Ewoks defeating the evil Empire, etc. An element that undercuts the final movie in that trilogy. He also began to have an urge to ridicule and infantilize the universe he created, adding fart jokes and belches, etc. The Special Editions saw Lucas coming back to the movies to tinker. He just wasnt satisfied with the originals, they didnt live up to his vision, etc. I think this is a rationalization of his growing unease that the movies dont align with his philosophical beliefs. He does not like his movies and cannot explain why. he tells himself that he was limited technologically and he could rid himself of his nagging doubts if he could just get more aliens in the shot or more spaceships, etc. The most telling change is Han shooting first-- Lucas was compelled to rip that out not because it makes a better story but because his personal philosophy cringed at the action and its implications. In the prequels, he started trying to rip the right-wingedness out of his own franchise, removing the religious aspects (in favor of materialism and midichlorians, etc), adding anti-Bush notes (Youre either with me or youre against me / Only a sith deals in absolutes, etc) and imposing politics on his franchise in smug little digs (like calling an evil character Nute Gunray. Newt/Reagan, get it?). The result has been a rejection of the Lucas-helmed installments and widespread fan outrage. Not because of any explicit political issue but because it just doesnt feel like Star Wars and people cant put a finger on the problem. I think it really is a phenomena of a creator accidentally creating a world whose universe he disagrees with, who ever after finds himself saddled to it and feels compelled to mock it and fiddle with it because his fundamental convictions are opposed to his own creation.
Posted on: Wed, 04 Jun 2014 06:23:21 +0000
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