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Today is the 165th birthday of Bram Stoker. Fitting that the birth of the creator of Dracula would land in my own personal "Holy Week" (from Halloween, October 31, to Carl Sagan Day, November 9. Yes, I know it's technically longer than a week. Shut up). Also fitting that I use today to veer off the beaten path and talk about Star Wars, and George Lucas in particular (although I'm not wandering very far from the path. Star Wars references tend to pop up here and there, and sometimes in sneaky ways. The picture of Dracula on the left is one of them).
It's fitting because, when I think of the great minds that have given us the heroes and villains that make up our modern mythology, certain names come to mind: Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, JRR Tolkien, Stan Lee, Gene Roddenberry, and George Lucas, to name but a few. Each of these artists created characters and stories that have permeated our culture, and have influenced our thinking. We may not consider each of these people on the same level of greatness or talent, but such judgments may be a matter of one's personal preferences in the end. What is inarguable is the effect people such as these (and others I didn't mention) have had on us. I wanted to write about George Lucas in particular since I heard the news that he sold Lucasfilm (and, consequently, Star Wars) to Disney for an amount of money totalling over a sagan (4.05 billion, to be precise). Naturally, the Internet has been all over this.
Lucas has been the target of a lot of criticism long before this transaction with Disney. He's been in the crosshairs since, well, since beore 1999, when The Phantom Menace was released. The criticisms began to mount when the "Special Edition" of the original Star Wars trilogy was released in 1997, and only got worse as time passed and the trilogy got even more "special," with more changes made: the most egregious of them being Han Solo's not shooting first. This led to an ideological Rebellion against Lucas' Empire in which millions of outraged Star Wars fans (myself among them) proclaimed in one unified voice:
[via HorrorShirts.com]
To be certain, George Lucas has made his share of foibles: the ridiculous-looking Yoda puppet in Episode One; having the Trade Federation give off a serious "are you making fun of asians?" vibe; the overuse of CGI in the new trilogy; the introduction of midi-chlorians; the two-headed announcer at the pod race; and motherf%#king Jar Jar Binks. I'm definitely not saying George Lucas can do no wrong. There were even mistakes in the original trilogy: even though the Expanded Universe has brought him back from the dead, Lucas killed off Boba Fett in the most chump-like fashion ever. And seriously, who can take the Battle of Endor seriously? Imperial Stormtroopers versus the Carebears? Come on.
Still, I can't be too hard on George Lucas. He created something much greater than himself, much greater than he thought it ever would be. Naturally, mistakes are going to be made along the way. People say Lucas is old now, and he's lost his creative vision. Even if those criticisms are 100% legit, Lucas is still the man who gave us this modern mythology, who changed our culture forever back in 1977. I think Lucas felt the weight on his shoulders of the magnitude of everything Star Wars has become, and tried to create something new for people that would help them continue the journey. Does the new trilogy compare with the old? Of course not. But who thought it would? Keep in mind that we had been waiting for new Star Wars movies since 1983. Absolutely nothing can live up to close to two decades worth of anticipation. And while the new trilogy isn't the Star Wars we remember, for the next generation, that is Star Wars. If we look at the films without the bias that comes with being part of the generation that experienced the power of the original films, we see that, yeah, the new trilogy is okay, and it still carries with it some of the wonder and energy that made the original trilogy so great. I've heard it said a few times through the years that the new trilogy would be better sci-fi movies if they weren't supposed to be Star Wars movies. I think there's some truth in that.
When Lucas sold Star Wars to Disney, I felt a genuine sadness, and not because I think Star Wars: Episode VII is going to be terrible. Actually, I think it's going to be great. I felt a sense of loss. Star Wars was Lucas' baby, his vision and creation. To see him give it away hit me "right in the feels." I was witnessing the end of an era. But I understand why he did it, and I'm glad he did it. He gave Star Wars to the future. As Lucas said, "It's now time for me to pass 'Star Wars' on to a new generation of filmmakers." And the fact that Lucas gave the 4.05 billion to charity shows not only that Lucas knows he doesn't need the money, he didn't give up his cherished creation for money. Lucas' giving away the money is also an indication that Lucas understood the need to pass Star Wars on. And I don't care how rich a person is, giving four billion dollars to charity is an act of good.
And if we're lucky (and if Kevin Smith gets his wish), we might even get to see more of this guy in the future:
[source]
When I think of Boba Fett, what comes to mind are Fett's own words: "He's no good to me dead."
— Dead-Logic
