I should preface this by saying that it is not entirely out of left field or out of some desire to establish nerd-cred. A few weeks ago, this article was posted on io9.com, which is a wonderful site for all things geek. And a week or so before that, my brother showed me this video. The article is about the fan reaction to Lucas' actions since the special edition of Star Wars and the video is about the "Han shot first" debate. And these have got me thinking about Mr. Lucas and the impact that he has had on my generation.
One of my first memories is of me, my brothers, and my cousins watching Star Wars. According to my parents, it was just about a daily occurrence. My Dad relates how we would have him read to us the opening lines of the title crawl, including "dot, dot, dot" for the ellipsis (I had to look that up to make sure I was thinking of the right term) at the end. Not "dot, dot." Not "dot, dot, dot, dot." This was important and had to be done right. I remember our cousins owning what seemed like thousands of Star Wars toys, including the Falcon and an X-Wing. I remember sitting on the bus when some jerk kid spoiled that Darth Vader was Luke's father (I realize that I didn't put a spoiler alert in that myself but it's been two decades and four films; I think you've had time to see Empire Strikes Back by now). I remember reading Splinter of the Mind's Eye, one of the first (if not the first) of the Star Wars novels, and the first book I read on my own for fun. Star Wars has had a huge impact on how I view heroism, the importance of narrative, and even how you should organize the Church (change "Master" to "Elder," "Knight" to "Deacon," and "Padawan" to "Layperson" and you pretty much have an ideal setup for making disciples). All of that is to say that this battle from a long time ago and a galaxy far, far away is a very large part of my life. I feel indebted to George Lucas and this funny little idea he had of a fantasy space opera. Which is why I feel bad for the man.
Now I realize how odd it is that I, a 28-year-old unemployed man living with his parents, feel bad for a 60 or 70 year-old-billionaire whose work has had a global impact. So let me explain that a little. There was a time long ago and far away where there was a guy named George who made movies. He had all these stories he wanted to tell, personal stories. The problem was that before working on all those other personal stories, he made Star Wars and it forever dominated his destiny. I don't know how Mr. Lucas feels about Star Wars, if he thinks it is the greatest story he could tell or just an easy way to make money. But whatever he feels about it, Star Wars owns Mr. Lucas. If anybody else surrounded themselves with as much Star Wars memorabilia as he does, we would call them obsessed, imbuing a love of Star Wars with religious fervor. We would pity them for not being able to differentiate between real life and fantasy. At the very least, we would say that they were stuck in the past.
The fan reaction to his new work doesn't help in the slightest (as illustrated in the io9 article). I don't know how you feel about the new trilogy but I hope that you can agree that the fan reaction is more than a little over the top (I don't know what surprises me more, that the term "George Lucas raped my childhood" exists or that it has been used so much). I won't say that I love the new trilogy. I don't. But I don't hate it (and actually, after reading the novelization of Revenge of the Sith [yes, I watched the movie and read the book; sue me], I appreciate what the overall story was accomplishing much more; I might even say that I liked it…might). I certainly don't feel any of the vitriol that so many of my fellow nerds feel. But I think I understand it.
I remember reading some article around the time the prequels were announced that put forth the argument for a sequel series instead. By this point, dozens of books following the adventures of Luke, Han, Leia, and company had been published. There was a wealth of source material to draw on for a sequel and the original actors were still available and young enough to take part in the endeavor. The prequel could be explored through other means, whether books, TV or some other media. It was a convincing argument to me, a chance to see something new. Instead, Mr. Lucas went back to scripts supposedly thirty years old. He was stuck in the past.
So, that is why feel bad for the man: he is a slave to his own success, shackled to a monument for over thirty years, and very alone. What is the Gospel for him? Jesus is not just bigger than your sins, bigger than your failures. He is bigger than your success. Bigger than your fame. Bigger than your ego. Bigger than Star Wars. And He won His battle a long time ago and very far away.
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