Re: 'Star Wars' as the complete saga
Oct. 10th, 2017 10:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
swiftsnowmane Or, what the term means (and does not mean) to me
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It’s been a while since I posted anything about this subject, as I have long-ago said my piece on the so-called ‘sequels’, and have no wish to dwell on negativity or rain on anyone else’s parade. But since the topic has come up again, I figure I might as well try to explain my current views in a bit more detail in case anyone is curious.
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It’s been a while since I posted anything about this subject, as I have long-ago said my piece on the so-called ‘sequels’, and have no wish to dwell on negativity or rain on anyone else’s parade. But since the topic has come up again, I figure I might as well try to explain my current views in a bit more detail in case anyone is curious.
As is no doubt obvious by now, I do not accept Disney’s post-RotJ version of events as a legitimate continuation of Lucas’ saga. While I’ve already gone over my reasons for feeling this way in great depth in previous posts here, here, and here, I’ve included some additional thoughts below:
For anyone who might not already be aware, I was utterly devastated by TFA. After I saw it in cinemas, I honestly thought that Star Wars was lost to me forever. The only way I can describe it is that it felt like someone had actually reached back into the past, physically wrenched my childhood and youthful happiness out of my heart, and replaced it with a black hole of despair. It took me almost a year to try to erase that film from my mind. But after spending a great deal of time writing and thinking about how I personally define Star Wars, what it means to me, and why, I have been able to live happily ever after in my preferred version of the SW universe that ends after RotJ...as it always has, and always should, really. :')
I wish I could muster up even a small scrap of enthusiasm about the Sequels, even just a tiny bit. But I can’t. I have tried, believe me. My life would be so much easier if I could. But every time I have to see or even think of the main 'characters' in it, or anything about it really (it happens, cause it's everywhere), the feelings I experience range from total apathy, to bored annoyance, to extreme unease and a sense of looming dread....sometimes even to the point of making me feel sick to my stomach.
It's hard to explain. It's like there is this huge disconnect in my mind between what Disney *says* is ‘real’, and what my heart knows to be true... and this aspect of 'SW' simply does not feel real to me. I don't *believe* in these characters or scenarios, at all. It’s like someone has wrapped something counterfeit in the outer trappings of something real, and is trying to pass it off as the real thing. The other day, someone mentioned the upcoming sequel film to me in passing, and it took every ounce of my willpower not to immediately blurt out: "You mean the FAKE sequels?" ;p I just can't take it seriously as a genuine part of Star Wars—neither as a legitimate continuation of the Skywalker saga, nor even as a valid entry into the SW universe—and probably never will.
And honestly, at this point, it doesn't even matter if the subsequent sequel films are 'better', in an objective sense, than TFA—the damage is done. How can you retcon something that is itself nothing but negative retcon? There's no fixing it. Nothing that might or might not 'happen' in the upcoming films could ever make what was supposed to have happened between RotJ and TFA any different. And since THAT is where my biggest issue lies, there's just no way of getting around it. And therefore, I simply cannot like or even remotely warm to characters who are supposed to exist in the context of a situation the very basis of which I completely disagree with and do not believe would ever have happened, under any circumstance.
But I’ve already discussed the details of why TFA just doesn’t work for me as a continuation of the Star Wars saga. Over and over. So why, then, am I still going on about it? Well, after talking with many different people (some who enjoy the sequels, some who do not), each with their own approach to Star Wars, it became clear to me that there was, perhaps, an important distinction that needed to be made.
What it boils down to, I have come to realize, is the definition of ‘Star Wars’, and the perception of what that title means. I bring this up not because I think my definition is the only possible definition. Nor is it my aim to try convince anyone to feel the same way I do. For some, ‘Star Wars’ might now simply be whatever Disney says it is. For others, it might be the Original Trilogy only, and nothing more. For many long-time fans, it is Lucas’ saga *and* their preferred elements of the Expanded Universe, all combined. Everyone is of course free to define it as they will. But I feel it is important to specify what I, personally, am referring to when I write about ‘Star Wars’ and ‘what it means’.
As we know, Disney have now provided their own definition—they have done so by their delineation of what makes up the ‘New Canon’. But despite the constant stream of content they continue to churn out and try to shove down our throats, we are not bound by that definition. We are not. Why suddenly, is their definition of canon the only valid one? Just because they are they ‘keepers’ of the new ‘official’ content? How is that even fair, or just? I refuse to bow to that, especially when certain entries they now mark as ‘canon’ do not even make sense to me. For instance, as much as I might enjoy such material, I will personally NEVER view a comic or a tie-in novel as being on the same level of ‘canon’ as Lucas’ saga. Nope, sorry. It just ain’t happening, folks.
Disney’s definition may be ‘official’, but it is still, ultimately, arbitrary.
And it is still, ultimately, up to everyone as an individual fan to define what ‘Star Wars’ means to them.
I’ve spent the better part of the last two years thinking about this, and it’s clear to me that my own definition and understanding of what Star Wars is (and what it is not) is simply not in line with Disney’s definition. For me, 'Star Wars' is the Skywalker saga… aka, the story of Anakin Skywalker. His rise, fall, and redemption. That's it. That's Star Wars. Everything else is not *technically* ‘Star Wars’, but rather stories set in the Star Wars universe. This is an important distinction. And one that explains why Rogue One worked so well for me, and why I can handle an animated series like Rebels—neither of these things is claiming to be Star Wars, as in the actual saga, itself.
Lest anyone think I am simply point-blank against any new additions to the Galaxy Far, Far Away, I can assure you that this is far from the case. In fact, I *welcome* new stories set in the SW universe. I welcome new characters. Anyone who has followed this blog can attest to my unending admiration for the wonderful world-building and expansion of the SW universe in The Clone Wars series, and my endless slew of feels for non-saga characters such as Ahsoka Tano from TCW, and the Ghost crew/Spacefamily from Rebels. There is plenty of room for them, both in my heart, and in within the scope of the greater SW universe. I simply do not agree that the main saga— Lucas’ saga, the Skywalker saga—can, or even should be ‘continued’ in any ‘official’ way beyond Return of the Jedi.
(As an aside....wouldn’t it have been *great* to have a NEW saga, about an entirely new set of characters, with their own mythic journeys, and their own ‘family drama’? This would have been much more freeing (and compelling, imo) than trying to stretch and twist and retcon away most of the prequels and original trilogy and then shoehorning the existing saga-characters into a concept that is unoriginal, repetitive, OOC, and needlessly destructive to all that came before.)
And yet of course, the Sequels are claiming to be a continuation of the original saga. But in my opinion, that is simply an impossible claim to make, and is likely why the whole scenario those films are based on feels so contrived and ‘false’ to my heart and mind. Because the Skywalker saga IS complete, and has been complete for over a decade now. It is done. Finished. Two trilogies that mirror and compliment each other in the most beautifully poetic and satisfying way, and which, when viewed together, form a complete and coherent myth. A whole entity—no matter how much Disney might try to convince us otherwise. Because despite what many seem to think these days, the Original Trilogy was not left unfinished or in need of some kind of ‘completion’ or continuation. The Original Trilogy was completed, not by any ‘sequel’, but by the Prequel Trilogy, which was carefully and meticulously constructed by Lucas to perform that very function—to make the saga whole.
And thus, in my own understanding and personal definition, the mythic space-fairytale that is ‘Star Wars’ ends with—and is entirely resolved by—the death and redemption of Anakin Skywalker in the final scenes of Return of the Jedi. The Skywalker saga is Anakin’s story, and, to quote Matthew Stover, “it is already over. Nothing can be done to change it.”
~
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***originally posted here
For anyone who might not already be aware, I was utterly devastated by TFA. After I saw it in cinemas, I honestly thought that Star Wars was lost to me forever. The only way I can describe it is that it felt like someone had actually reached back into the past, physically wrenched my childhood and youthful happiness out of my heart, and replaced it with a black hole of despair. It took me almost a year to try to erase that film from my mind. But after spending a great deal of time writing and thinking about how I personally define Star Wars, what it means to me, and why, I have been able to live happily ever after in my preferred version of the SW universe that ends after RotJ...as it always has, and always should, really. :')
I wish I could muster up even a small scrap of enthusiasm about the Sequels, even just a tiny bit. But I can’t. I have tried, believe me. My life would be so much easier if I could. But every time I have to see or even think of the main 'characters' in it, or anything about it really (it happens, cause it's everywhere), the feelings I experience range from total apathy, to bored annoyance, to extreme unease and a sense of looming dread....sometimes even to the point of making me feel sick to my stomach.
It's hard to explain. It's like there is this huge disconnect in my mind between what Disney *says* is ‘real’, and what my heart knows to be true... and this aspect of 'SW' simply does not feel real to me. I don't *believe* in these characters or scenarios, at all. It’s like someone has wrapped something counterfeit in the outer trappings of something real, and is trying to pass it off as the real thing. The other day, someone mentioned the upcoming sequel film to me in passing, and it took every ounce of my willpower not to immediately blurt out: "You mean the FAKE sequels?" ;p I just can't take it seriously as a genuine part of Star Wars—neither as a legitimate continuation of the Skywalker saga, nor even as a valid entry into the SW universe—and probably never will.
And honestly, at this point, it doesn't even matter if the subsequent sequel films are 'better', in an objective sense, than TFA—the damage is done. How can you retcon something that is itself nothing but negative retcon? There's no fixing it. Nothing that might or might not 'happen' in the upcoming films could ever make what was supposed to have happened between RotJ and TFA any different. And since THAT is where my biggest issue lies, there's just no way of getting around it. And therefore, I simply cannot like or even remotely warm to characters who are supposed to exist in the context of a situation the very basis of which I completely disagree with and do not believe would ever have happened, under any circumstance.
But I’ve already discussed the details of why TFA just doesn’t work for me as a continuation of the Star Wars saga. Over and over. So why, then, am I still going on about it? Well, after talking with many different people (some who enjoy the sequels, some who do not), each with their own approach to Star Wars, it became clear to me that there was, perhaps, an important distinction that needed to be made.
What it boils down to, I have come to realize, is the definition of ‘Star Wars’, and the perception of what that title means. I bring this up not because I think my definition is the only possible definition. Nor is it my aim to try convince anyone to feel the same way I do. For some, ‘Star Wars’ might now simply be whatever Disney says it is. For others, it might be the Original Trilogy only, and nothing more. For many long-time fans, it is Lucas’ saga *and* their preferred elements of the Expanded Universe, all combined. Everyone is of course free to define it as they will. But I feel it is important to specify what I, personally, am referring to when I write about ‘Star Wars’ and ‘what it means’.
As we know, Disney have now provided their own definition—they have done so by their delineation of what makes up the ‘New Canon’. But despite the constant stream of content they continue to churn out and try to shove down our throats, we are not bound by that definition. We are not. Why suddenly, is their definition of canon the only valid one? Just because they are they ‘keepers’ of the new ‘official’ content? How is that even fair, or just? I refuse to bow to that, especially when certain entries they now mark as ‘canon’ do not even make sense to me. For instance, as much as I might enjoy such material, I will personally NEVER view a comic or a tie-in novel as being on the same level of ‘canon’ as Lucas’ saga. Nope, sorry. It just ain’t happening, folks.
Disney’s definition may be ‘official’, but it is still, ultimately, arbitrary.
And it is still, ultimately, up to everyone as an individual fan to define what ‘Star Wars’ means to them.
I’ve spent the better part of the last two years thinking about this, and it’s clear to me that my own definition and understanding of what Star Wars is (and what it is not) is simply not in line with Disney’s definition. For me, 'Star Wars' is the Skywalker saga… aka, the story of Anakin Skywalker. His rise, fall, and redemption. That's it. That's Star Wars. Everything else is not *technically* ‘Star Wars’, but rather stories set in the Star Wars universe. This is an important distinction. And one that explains why Rogue One worked so well for me, and why I can handle an animated series like Rebels—neither of these things is claiming to be Star Wars, as in the actual saga, itself.
Lest anyone think I am simply point-blank against any new additions to the Galaxy Far, Far Away, I can assure you that this is far from the case. In fact, I *welcome* new stories set in the SW universe. I welcome new characters. Anyone who has followed this blog can attest to my unending admiration for the wonderful world-building and expansion of the SW universe in The Clone Wars series, and my endless slew of feels for non-saga characters such as Ahsoka Tano from TCW, and the Ghost crew/Spacefamily from Rebels. There is plenty of room for them, both in my heart, and in within the scope of the greater SW universe. I simply do not agree that the main saga— Lucas’ saga, the Skywalker saga—can, or even should be ‘continued’ in any ‘official’ way beyond Return of the Jedi.
(As an aside....wouldn’t it have been *great* to have a NEW saga, about an entirely new set of characters, with their own mythic journeys, and their own ‘family drama’? This would have been much more freeing (and compelling, imo) than trying to stretch and twist and retcon away most of the prequels and original trilogy and then shoehorning the existing saga-characters into a concept that is unoriginal, repetitive, OOC, and needlessly destructive to all that came before.)
And yet of course, the Sequels are claiming to be a continuation of the original saga. But in my opinion, that is simply an impossible claim to make, and is likely why the whole scenario those films are based on feels so contrived and ‘false’ to my heart and mind. Because the Skywalker saga IS complete, and has been complete for over a decade now. It is done. Finished. Two trilogies that mirror and compliment each other in the most beautifully poetic and satisfying way, and which, when viewed together, form a complete and coherent myth. A whole entity—no matter how much Disney might try to convince us otherwise. Because despite what many seem to think these days, the Original Trilogy was not left unfinished or in need of some kind of ‘completion’ or continuation. The Original Trilogy was completed, not by any ‘sequel’, but by the Prequel Trilogy, which was carefully and meticulously constructed by Lucas to perform that very function—to make the saga whole.
And thus, in my own understanding and personal definition, the mythic space-fairytale that is ‘Star Wars’ ends with—and is entirely resolved by—the death and redemption of Anakin Skywalker in the final scenes of Return of the Jedi. The Skywalker saga is Anakin’s story, and, to quote Matthew Stover, “it is already over. Nothing can be done to change it.”
~
~
***originally posted here
