Hah... I should explain (Rogue 1 Spoilers) (Gaming)

by Kermit , Raleigh, NC, Tuesday, March 20, 2018, 15:51 (2444 days ago) @ cheapLEY

I just wanted to step in and say that I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to come off as dismissive as I probably did.

I’ll be watching the movie again soon when it gets released in a week (can’t wait to get my hands on the UHD version). Maybe I’ll have some better thoughts then.

I will say, you present good arguments. To be honest though, saying you just can’t believe character motivations (or lack thereof) is a much stronger argument than bringing up gender politics for me. I can’t and won’t deny that there are undoubtedly gender politics in the film, but you are reading into that much more than I am. And it’s very difficult to decipher intent, I think, so it’s an area of debate I just don’t find particularly compelling or beneficial.

Also, I must admit, I’m just not very critical in general. Lots of people look at Luke’s attitude and depiction in TLJ and can’t reconcile how he got there from the Luke we saw in the OT. I’m totally willing to just accept that unseen and largely unexplained character development. Just like I’m willing to accept Snoke just being another dude that seized the opportunity in the power vacuum.

My confession: I did like it better on second viewing. After my first viewing I was confused and ambivalent. It's the best looking Star Wars ever, but it wouldn't let me turn off my critical brain. It seemed calculated to frustrate expectations, maliciously so. And I just couldn't buy Luke, whose instincts to help and pursue the good had been so intrinsic to who he was. What the second viewing bought me is a clearer understanding of the plot. That helped me enjoy it, but I thought a lot about one of the first posts I made here about it, where I said I don't know why they're making these movies now, and they don't seem influenced by Joseph Campbell's work on archetypal stories the way the first one was. Star Wars got me interested in Campbell, and then Jung, and many other things besides. And I was reading something recently about archetypal stories that made this point: you remember them! That's how they got to be archetypal stories in the first place. I have trouble keeping TLJ in my mind. There are many reasons that could be. I understand why people like the movie. I especially understand why people who haven't cared that much the universe before now like it in that it's being topical about things they care about right now.
I care about those things, too (although I might not agree on the diagnoses or prescriptions). For me Star Wars was always about something bigger, more fundamental to the human experience than our current named obsessions. It was both an escape from 1970s ennui, and a reminder of higher, more transcendent values. We have such an divided culture right now. I guess part of my disappointment was not wanting Star Wars to become another thing we fight over--another weapon in the culture war.