Whoring Out your Art pt. 2

Going back to the whole George Lucas post from last week:

I suppose it's easy for us to heap all the blame on him. After all, he's the "mastermind" behind it all. He's the one selling out the galaxy for some extra green.

But who's putting all that green in his pockets?

It's us.

I went to see all the prequels in theaters, several times, knowing full well that they weren't great films. Then I bought the subsequent video games, and those weren't great either, but I played them 'till I beat them. Then there's the books, some of them are great, some are decent, and some a re just plain terrible, but I don't apply the same judgement to SW related things that I do with everything else. Because the original Star Wars holds such a place in my heart, I'm willing to accept a lot of mediocre crap just because it carries the SW banner.

I'm guessing I'm not the only one out there who feels the same way, and as much as I hate to admit it, we're part of the problem...



[Wild horses couldn't drag me away]

Whoring out your Art

Oh, George Lucas, you leave me speechless at times....

It was released today that there is a new animated Star Wars series in the works, but this time, it will be aimed at a much younger demographic. How much younger? Try Kindergarten and preschool.

This makes me sad for many reasons.

First: Why do preschoolers and Kindergartners need a Star Wars cartoon aimed specifically at them when the movies themselves (4-6, mind you) are widely appealing to all age groups?

I remember watching "A New Hope" before I could tie my shoes. There's nothing really lost in translation there; it's a very simple "Hero's Journey" story which every human innately understands regardless of age, and there's no doubt that young kids would prefer the original movies to this "Jedi Babies" cartoon, which cheapens the original movies and sullies the entire SW canon.

I return the the question: Why do young kids need a Star Wars television show aimed specifically at them? They don't.

George Lucas does.

I'm finding it harder and harder to defend this man, I don't think I can anymore. I'll simply thank the 1977 version of Lucas, shake his hand, tell him how much I appreciate his contribution to my love of Sci-Fi, Filmmaking, and Princess Leia, and be on my merry way. Fast forward to Lucas 1999-Present: Green screens, contrived storylines, terrible dialogue ... Jar Jar... and now this.

Oh, George, why must you put Star Wars out on the corner? Whoring herself out so you can make a couple (million) extra bucks.

Though, I suppose we should have seen it coming.


Final thought: Parents and future parents, I urge you to show your kids the original Star Wars trilogy before they are exposed to anything else SW related. After viewing the originals, they'll be better able to decipher what aspects of the ever-exapanding Star Wars galaxy are True, and what are just wanton attempts to acquire cash.



[I drove to New York, in a van, with my friend]