My close acquaintances know of my detailed knowledge and opinions of the Star Wars saga films (the 9, for those counting).
I approach the films as I do to Homer’s Iliad:
With utmost respect.
Despite thousands of years apart, both are excellent examples of prototypical-western literature, as it is through their metaphor that shape generational social perceptions and identities more than some literal actions of that same time.
Still, my relationship with the films is rather love-hate.
Plot holes loosely covered; Different directors choosing different lighting spectrums; separate script writing selections of different idioms, Scenes that contribute little to the main story but clearly added in to make children laugh– Don’t even get me started on whatever market research was completed to ultimately produce the Naboo natives. Bad decision, and could have been better.
In my opinion, Homer had to create, memorize, and depict all with words (all in dactylic hexameter!) an epic story of origin of the listener’s own culture– but George Lucas created and told an epic origin story of entire culture that never has, doesn’t, nor will, exist – not in metered words but with film’s special effects.
True, Star Wars is not written or read in any meter, but, trust me, if you were to line up from start to end each film and play them all at the same time, the First films, the Second films, and the Third films, they are so similar in structures it’s as if they follow a meter, as does each triplet set of films and as does the entire saga. It’s a poem.
Like all good fantasy epics, be it by Rowling, Lewis, Martin, Tolkien, Asimov, or Lucas:
Their greatest contribution to our lives is that we can put those fantasy stories down anytime we want, and use what we have gained to benefit our actual reality stories as well.
Until then, some fun memes I write when bored:
A robot built by the galaxy’s greatest villain, who was transported through hyperspace to build an army of aliens, and who served alongside the galaxy’s greatest hero: #StillLame #C3POForever
A robot that swears so often they just bleeped out every line. Astrodoids are quite out of hand.
More to come!