On updating a classic (Off-Topic)

by CruelLEGACEY , Toronto, Wednesday, April 17, 2019, 16:44 (2045 days ago) @ Robot Chickens

I like the thinking, but distilling what is essential about something is going to vary from person to person. Things that are essential to me about Star Wars are weighted much more in the original trilogy. However, that may be very different for someone who grew up watching the Clone Wars series.

It's a version of the no-true-Scotsmen conundrum mixed with relativism that makes essentialism in this matter fairly impenetrable.

Great points. The trick with any “what is Star Wars?” train of thought is that the whole “the medium IS the message” concept plays a big role. I like to dig down into the substructure of these stories, but that runs the risk of discounting the fact that movies are an extremely visual medium. From 1 perspective, lightsabers and TIE Fighters and Vader’s helmet are utterly superficial, yet from another perspective there is nothing more “Star Wars” than those visual elements. Then there’s the audio and music, the cinematography, the swashbuckling adventures, the corny dialogue... they all go together to forge a cohesive identity.

All that said, I think there are important limits on the relativistic elements of this discussion. I don’t think anything becomes as popular as Star Wars unless there is something fundamentally real and true at the core of it. When we watch the original trilogy, we see a portrait of the human experience that rings true in ways that we can’t fully describe or understand it, but we know it when we see it. It jumps out at us. And when later Star Wars movies fail to ring true, that jumps out at us too. That’s why midiclorians are so hated by Star Wars fans. It’s not that it’s a silly idea (there’s plenty of silly in Star Wars) it’s that the very idea runs completely counter to message of the original trilogy. The Force runs through EVERYONE and EVERYTHING, and learning to follow the good side of its nature will transform you, for the better, in ways that seem impossible. This takes the form of superpowers for dramatic purpose, but the moral and message in that story is absolutely true. There are countless ways that a storyteller might try to tell that story (at their core, The Matrix, Harry Potter, Wonder Woman, Star Wars... they’re all the same story), and different people will click with different tellings, for countless different reasons. But when something like midiclorians comes along it sticks out like a sore thumb because we all know it is WRONG, as far as the moral and message of the story is concerned. Lucas took this ever-present, universal “force” that touches everyone and everything and changed it into something that only some people can feel because of something they’re born with and everyone else is SOL.

As you pointed out, someone who grew up watching The Clone Wars May have a different take on what Star Wars “is”. But kids who grew up watching Clone Wars are not in generally crazy in love with Star Wars. Clone Wars was not a cultural phenomenon. People watch it and enjoy it, because it seems to be a generally well made show (I’m only vaguely familiar with it). But it hasn’t grabbed a generation by the heart. For many in that specific generation, it was Harry Potter. Or maybe Lord of the Rings.

I’m not trying to argue that fans who prefer the Clone Wars aren’t “real fans” or any nonsense like that. I’m just observing the fact that at a certain point, cultural phenomenons speak for themselves to a degree. There’s a lot of top notch storytelling out there, but almost none of it becomes “timeless”. Star Wars might not be timeless. It’s waaaaaay to soon to tell. But, IV-VI have already proven they have more staying power than most movies. And I don’t think it’s too much of a reach to say that the franchise to this day is running off the fumes of those 3 original movies. Nobody perfectly understands why. But we can look at the few other franchises that have had similar impact, and notice some key similarities. They have something in common that speaks to people in a profound way.

Ultimately, creators playing with the universe are going to have to make decisions that some will find acceptable and for others will be a bridge too far. This happened to me with Halo 4. They couldn't just remake Halo again- the formula was pretty worn out. But the choices they made rendered the things I loved about the franchise unrecognizable and I parted ways with it.

I had a similar experience. Most Halo players did. And that’s where subjectivity and relativism start to wash away. Plenty of us have our own personal likes, dislikes, agreements, and disagreements around a game like Halo 4. But there is no questioning the simple fact that it failed to connect and resonate with gamers the way Halo CE did. Maybe that’s impossible. Maybe what Halo “is” (whatever that is) just isn’t as impactful anymore. But I’m not so sure. I’ve had moments playing other games in the past 5-6 years where I feel like something hits me in the head and I realize “holy crap, this is Halo. There is a mission in the Titanfall 2 campaign that feels more “Halo” to me than anything in the Halo 4 or 5 campaigns. There’s something there I think. I don’t exactly have the language or understanding of it to describe it (much less make it!). But I’d bet money that sooner or later, either intentionally or by accident, some developer will make a game that instantly and undeniably jumps out to us as the new “Halo”. And I’ll bet that game will be a huge hit :)