Saturday, October 1, 2011

A plea for Star Wars redemption

To my one time deity and idol Sir George Lucas, whom I have “knighted” in my own mind.

I’m going to attempt to begin my point with this perspective, let me paint you a picture, look at artist Leonardo Da Vinci, and his famous painting the Mona Lisa. This painting has been debated about for generations. People speculating whether she smiling or frowning? Looking for confirmation as to who "Mona Lisa" is? These mysteries captivate us as beholders. This intrigue is the reasons we love this painting and hold it as a treasure. The piece leaves the viewer wondering and asking questions, making assumptions, and discussing its meaning with others. Imagine after decades of all this debate, Da Vinci went back and made the Mona Lisa smile. You could argue the mystery and intrigue of this painting that once drew people together, is gone.

Why? I believe the question is obvious with my simple one word question. Why are you destroying the empire you have single handedly spent your like creating? You are taking apart brick by brick a world and annihilating the love of fans worldwide with your edits and snippets to what was once a great masterpiece.

This is how I feel about what has happened over the years:

I’m at a point where I pretend Episode 1-3 don’t exist. Yes, they may be considered entertaining, but I think they are heaping pieces of crap in regards to the franchise. With a star studded casts, mediocre acting, and a moderately decent plot, the saving grace is the special effects and brand. But, if I want a movie with all these qualifications, I’ll watch Transformers. The eye candy is much better and I don’t cry from disappointment afterward.

Please stop making these unnecessary changes! Here’s the thing, I own 5 different copies of the saga. My favorite is an original which I can’t watch unless it’s on a VHS player. I recently bought the set on Blu Ray despite the 900+ negative reviews on Amazon. I’m scared you’re turning into the grandpa I used to love and adore, who would tell me most amazing stories growing up. Now he tells me the same story over and over again, every time changing something different. At this point when he begins to ramble on the same ole story, but it's awkward and disappointing, similar to watching a new version of A New Hope. Just the other day I faked sick to stay home and watch Star Trek (Not really, never).

A real artist is never REALLY satisfied with their work. If it was appropriate, they would always go back and change something, but it's not appropriate. This is a characteristic that makes one an artist (of any medium), the art is never really done. When you make something, and then let it be shown or observed by others, it is no longer yours, it’s the beholders, it’s everyone else’s but yours. In my opinion you no longer have the right to change it. By doing so you are trying to shape its impact on the user, and that action “takes away” from the original message of the piece. I didn’t want to see Hayden Christiansen at end of Jedi. Nor did I need to see a slimmer more attractive Jabba the Hut in A New Hope, who care's if a Jawa falls off some new never before seen creature, we didn't need more creatures in the Cantina. I didn’t care before and I don’t care having seen them now. As a matter of fact, none of the changes made me feel good or better about the movies. The quirky things that used to make up my favorite parts of the movie (Greedo/Han) now lack luster. Who doesn’t smile to themselves when they used to see a “Greedo shot first!” t-shirt? C'mon!

Star Wars helped innovate and revolutionize movie special effects forever; it revamped the sci-fi genre, setting the bar higher than ever before, and exposing it to a new generation of super fans. But it’s time to pass the torch. No offense, but it is okay to sit on the throne and relax. I’m begging you to stop making ridiculous changes. Stop adding new art, a new documentary, re packaging it and selling it for $80+. I want to continue to appreciate your stamp on this world. You have achieved much more than most of us could dream of, and you will be a part of history for your accomplishments. I beg that you make no more changes. I would hate to see you become the crazy grandparent everyone avoids because you tell the same story at every family gathering.

That is that…..