Yesterday US conservative web site PJ Media ("Voices from a free America...") ran an article by Canadian conservative pundit Kathy Shaidle entitled, "Five Reasons Star Wars Actually Sucks". (See my previous post, below.)
Reaction to the piece has been massive, and to my mind a little surprising. Perhaps it's what Americans would call my "liberal" bias, but I had expected the conservative readers of Shaidle's post to laugh and taunt along with her. Some did. But quite a few others disagreed, some subtlely and some less so. Here are some examples:
You make a fairly good argument, but instead of getting to the heart of the issue – you just make vague over-generalizations about Star Wars fans. You might have some nice points, but your argumentative, mud-slinging tone causes it to not hold a lot of water.
I am a fan because Star Wars shaped my childhood from the time I was 6. I loved the original trilogy; every clunky phrase and awkward fight scene. I cannot separate it from the history of my life. Now I agree that the prequel trilogy was terrible, but I love the way that it fleshed-out the rest of the story – a story that needed to be fleshed-out. You know, how the actual hero – the one that restores balance to the universe – is the one who you thought was the bad guy all along… Which is a completely original and unique plot point to a kid who started paying attention to it when he was 6. And the marketing – don’t even get me started on the marketing.
But what really threw me off about your blog is how you believe that all Star Wars fans are unsuccessful lumps – And that is not at all the case. I am a successful I.T. manager. Many of my friends who are fans are also very successful in their respective fields. We are able to collect the things that we do because of that success. If we have the money, and it makes us happy, then who does it hurt really? Many fans were inspired by the movies to do really great things like become actual movie makers themselves, writers, scientists, musicians… you name it!
You have the right to believe that Star Wars sucks. Art is subjective. But just because we disagree doesn’t make me less of a person.
I would like to respectfully disagree on some of these points, Ms. Shaidle.
Yes, there are plenty of people who do go over the top with some of these things. But there are also plenty of people who enjoy the films for what, at the bottom, they originally tried to be–a story about a young man’s evolution from irritating, whiny farmboy to an adult with something to believe in. A certain amount of indulgence in fantasy and fiction is hardly something rare: we have records of “hero’s journey” stories predating paper, for goodness’ sake. The Epic of Gilgamesh was pretty much the same thing–fights, beautiful women, people getting curbstomped, magic and more fights. Star Wars isn’t a seminal work of fiction, but I think in itself it’s essentially harmless, if nothing new.
I’d say the problem is not with Star Wars specifically, but with overindulgence in it to the detriment of other interests–to which I could argue that you find such examples in pretty much any organized fan group. I saw similar things when I worked at a renaissance fair. And if the idea of grown men attending Star Wars conventions worries you, I hope you never get an eyeful of some of the anime or JRPG fan groups.
I’ve always enjoyed your writing, and I’m definitely going to keep reading your columns here. But I think on this one, there may be more to the issue.
The Mark Steyn, World of Warcraft line is just dirty pool. We are not all going to be Mark Steyn’s in this world. Nor will we all be paragons or captains of industry. Great men of the world or giants in any field. I am for instance an electrician, I am a very good electrician, I am considering starting on my master’s license later this year. But, that is all I am likely to ever be. And that is enough for me. It provides more than enough for me to care for myself, my family and my home. And if I spend my downtime when out of work, between one 14hr a day job and another, playing WOW and making wow jokes to my friends, what difference does it make to anyone but me? Now, don’t think for a moment that your over theme of delayed adulthood and permanent adolescence was lost on me. I am not dressing up as a night elf while living in my parent’s basement, or going to “cons”. I do understand that there is a large and growing subculture of overgrown man-children who can neither care for themselves or others. They cross all sorts of sub culture lines. From the comic book man-child to the pop culture man-child. I just think it was a bit narrow sighted to lump WOW in as a major cause. (BTW, I like Mark Steyn, and all I can say is, if he wanted, he would make a kick ass rogue. He has a way of sneaking up on ya and going for the kill.)
And now, all you nerds—just stop being nerds! It is verbotten to be both nerdish and conservative! Conservatives don’t have hobbies! If they do have hobbies, it’s something properly conservative, such as playing golf, or—or—or—hmmm, can’t think of anything else that’s properly conservative. Boating? Buckley owned a yacht, didn’t he?
/The above is /Sarc.
“Successful, mature men do not play computer games, attend “cons,” and get excited about overrated science fiction movies from the 1970s.”
Yep, that’s right, we get to play with toys and hang out with our friends, or even those other kids from somewhere else who are into the same cool thing we are.
The really best part of it though is how much it drives “responsible” people crazy with jealousy because they won’t let themselves come out and play with us, and are stuck inside doing boring “grown up” stuff like writing in their diary about how silly we are then posting it on the internet for everyone to read. That part is a real hoot.
Sure, Star Wars is kinda lame, but that’s because Lucas ruined it. The worst thing the fans ever do is spend money on his junk and make him think he’s a competent film maker. (Well, that and letting people with inappropriate body types wear Slave Leia costumes in public. *SHUDDER*)
90. erico
In 1977, I was nine years old living in a small town outside Albuquerque, passing the time wandering through the desert in and beyond the back yard looking for scorpions, stink bugs, skinks, anything really, of interest, usually finding nothing. That summer, as a treat, the family went to see Star Wars with family visiting from out of town. When Luke looked out at the double sunset on Tatooine, and the voilin strings strained away, that was me! Here on the big screen was a movie that had good guys, and bad guys, and gunfire, and adventure. Star Wars was a revelation! It seemed to comport with my nascent Christian faith, handed down to me through my parents, and the promise that there was some way to live it out in the world. Something awaited. Metaphysical bliss.
The later movies, with all the hemming and hawing on the shades of grey in the world (the growing imposition of the Campbell system), stereotypes in place of characters (much of it was originally supplied by good actors rather than the script), the loss of the sense that something was really at stake, all the endless extrapolation of different worlds, creatures, cultures, lost the thread, that there was something transcendent, and calling, in each of our futures. The system subsumed all that was once thought to be transcendent, including the force. Was it some Jungian system? Who cares. When that final piece, the force, was taken away through some materialist mumbo jumbo about mitichlorians (?) in the blood I had been broken.
And thankfully I am done with all that. My kids don’t seem so very interested in it, except that Dad was once a big fan, so they have tried to take an interest, but it isn’t lasting, because Star Wars is now just a force of culture, not of the individual, as I first received it. So I’m rather glad for the kids, for their sniffing out what is worthwhile from what is not.
“Help us Kathy Schaidle, you’re our only hope.”
My view, for what it's worth, is there there is a fair bit of truth in Shaidle's post, but much to be said for some of the critical replies, too. Star Wars--the phenomenon, not the films--is surprisingly complicated.
For more comments and reaction, follow the link below.
PJ Lifestyle: Geek Rage: Star Wars Comments of the Day
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 9:40AM
