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Six feature films, three spinoff films, five television series, plus video games, books, and merchandise, plus a big chunk of the internet, all devoted to the Star Wars universe. There will always be movies with fans, but those who identify with Star Wars are so numerous, so prolific, and so vociferous, they redefine what it means to be a fan. For those of you who enjoyed the movies, but aren’t rabid Star Wars fans (I’m more of the Star Trek type), here are some clues to how they feel. Andrey Summers summed up what makes Star Wars fans so different in The Complex and Terrifying Reality of Star Wars Fandom.
If you run into somebody who tells you they thought the franchise was quite enjoyable, and they very-much liked the originals as well as the prequels, and even own everything on DVD, and a few of the books, these imposters are not Star Wars Fans.
Star Wars fans hate Star Wars.
Let me count the ways…
Those who love the Star Wars universe the most spend an inordinate amount of time criticizing the movies. The biggest complaint is continuity. Although no one would have preferred the series to have been delayed twenty years, real fans cannot forgive George Lucas for producing movies before he had the whole story written. In 1977, Lucas said he had a grand plan for nine chapters. By the time Return of the Jedi was released, it was apparent he didn’t start with a complete outline for the story arc.
Luke and Leia
We didn’t know which of the two heroes would get the girl in the first Star Wars movie. Lucas’ choice in this matter was neatly explained away by making Luke and Leia into siblings. Eww. Episode Four never looked the same after you knew that. And it wasn’t possible to edit out their earlier attraction. You’d think Obi-Wan would’ve said something, but he apparently forgot who the princess of Alderan was.
Han Shot First
In the first Star Wars movie, Han Solo kills a minor character named Greedo. When the 1997 Special Edition was released, this was changed to show Greedo shooting first. Lucas wanted Solo to be seen as a more of a hero and less of a rogue, because after all, he eventually got the girl. Fans saw this as rewriting history, like whitewashing your own Wikipedia entry, and cried foul. The explanation that Greedo shot first and missed (at point blank range) was unacceptable. When Lucas was spotted wearing a Han Shot First t-shirt, fans reacted with delight.
Chewbacca
Chewbacca is a freedom fighter who is friends with Jedi Master Yoda in the prequels, but later is found to be a mercenary sidekick with no noticible familiarity with Obi-Wan or the Jedi. You can explain using the familiar characters R2D2 and C3PO in the prequels by having their memories erased, but that won’t work with a Wookie. Check out more continuity problems here.
Comic Characters
Star Wars fans hated the Ewoks, because they were so cute and heroic, their entire reason for existence appeared to be toy sales.
The character Jar Jar Binks took fans over the edge. Lucas denied that Jar Jar was a racial stereotype, but that’s how he came across.
Mitichlorians are microscopic characters first mentioned in The Phantom Menace. It seemed like a way to turn the supernatural Force into a biological science project. What’s the fun in that?
Technology
The implausibility of the technologies in the Star Wars universe isn’t such a sore spot with fans as the continuity and character problems, but fans have fun deconstructing the science and technology of the movies. Even NASA has thought about the possibility of hyperdrive. Forums debate the physics of lightsabers. Jay Garmond figured up the neccessary power for the Death Star laser. The million-to-one shot that destroyed the first Death Star not only stretched the limits of credulity, but led to conspiracy theories, as in Was the Death Star Attack an Inside Job? And McSweeney’s explained the Implausibility of the Death Star’s trash compactor.
In the end, Summers sums up how a Star Wars fan really feels:
Maybe I’ll put it like this. To be a Star Wars fan, one must possess the ability to see a million different failures and downfalls, and then somehow assemble them into a greater picture of perfection. Every true Star Wars fan is a Luke Skywalker, looking at his twisted, evil father, and somehow seeing good.
Comments (15)
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Great post! Thank you. BTW, Real SW fans know how to spell “wookiee”. Also, glad you included that link of GL wearing the “Han Shot First” t-shirt. I ordered mine a month ago and it still hasn’t shipped. :-(
posted by Scott A. on 8-30-2007 at 7:39 am
I really like the theory that R2 and Chewie are undercover agents of the rebellion from their first appearances in Episode IV. You can find more about it by doing a Google search for R2 mastermind. Check it out.
posted by Jack on 8-30-2007 at 8:22 am
Star Wars fans love the Robot Chicken Star Wars stuff at You Tube. My personal fav is when The Emperor takes a collect call from Vader, who tells him the Death Star has been destroyed.
“What the hell is an Aluminum Falcon?!”
posted by Johnny Cat on 8-30-2007 at 11:46 am
my husband loves star wars. i can’t stand it. we decided it came down to the fact that i saw the movies all together as an adult, and he saw the first three as a kid when they first came out. kids tend to be a lot more forgiving of their entertainment. but he certainly does hate a lot of things about the movies he loves!
posted by lindsay m on 8-30-2007 at 2:03 pm
i hate jar jar binks with a passion.
posted by katie on 9-2-2007 at 8:54 pm
I was on some site a while back with the picture of GL wearing that Han Shot First shirt, and until now I had always wondered what everyone was creaming themselves for.
Now I know the answer and I’m still wondering what everyone was creaming themselves for.
posted by Jo4nny on 9-24-2007 at 7:50 am
I am just going to say it. The prequels should have never been made. Episode 4 was great and a land mark in history. Everything after tainted it’s magic. Its a franchise and no diffrent then Star Trek, Indiana Jones, The Matrix, Jaws, and on and on and on.
posted by Plan9er on 1-30-2008 at 11:55 pm
Concerning your theory about the final destruction of the Death Star being an inside job:
Even with the million-to-one odds of making a successful shot on the station’s thermal exhaust port, the Force proved to be all powerful by guiding Luke’s torpedo to its intended target.
Also, most of this post doesn’t sound very appreciative of the Star Wars movie saga. If you claimed to be a true Star Wars fan, you would appreciate the movies for what they were and what they meant to people despite their minor shortcomings.
posted by Urge on 4-24-2008 at 6:27 pm
You know, I am sick and tired of people saying that the prequels should never had been made. Get over it already!!!!!!! They were great movies, especially the lightsaber duels(which were really lame in the original, and much more to the style of sword play in the prequels) Yes Jar Jar sucked but as with any movie, you need to have some comic relief. Plan9er, you are saying that ep. 4 was the best and everything after sucked, right? So what about 5 and 6? Kinda need those to complete the story. In every series there are inconsistencies, continuity problems and impossibilities. Even in books, magazines and everyday life when you try to tell a story. If you have a problem with anything I am saying, and want to take issue personally, please email me at silverhawk2384@yahoo.com or come see me in Florence, Colorado. and we can discuss it like adults, or if are very childish, we can strap on the boxing gloves and ‘duke’ it out.
posted by Joel Cook on 12-14-2008 at 12:13 am
Joel, people are entitled to their opinions just like you are. Get over it already.
posted by crocostimpy on 1-23-2009 at 1:45 pm
I always heard that the reason Lucas made Greedo shoot first in the Special Edition was because Hans shooting first would up the rating to PG-13.
posted by Sam on 1-23-2009 at 1:58 pm
Thanks for posting this! I never realized there was so many issues with the movies as in the case of Han shooting first. I like Star Wars but I am more of a Star Trek person.
Johnny Cat is right, the Robot Chicken Star Wars specials are hilarious! If you haven’t seen them you should. I do love the scene when the Emperor gets the call from Vader. You can buy the shows on iTunes or watch on YouTube.
posted by Gina on 1-23-2009 at 3:18 pm
I don’t see what’s so bad about mitichlorians. I think it’s fun to try and figure out the science of Star Wars…but I guess that’s about all I like about Star Wars. I think the Force is awesome, but as for the rest of it, I don’t really care. So I spend all my spare time trying to figure out how the Force works. Yeah, I’m really weird.
posted by Elizabeth on 1-23-2009 at 5:43 pm
Want something to hate? The new tv series “The Clone Wars” Drives me insane but the kids love it
posted by Lorelei on 1-25-2009 at 7:43 pm
People who got an emotional link to Star Wars, mostly in childhood, are fan freaks.
But being freak doesn´t mean that we have to forgive these continuity errors, or the fact that ewocks can beat stormtroopers, or Jar-Jar, or The new Clone Wars.
Talking about TCW, Lucas eagereness for endless merchandise money was able to
destroy all the drama of Anakin´s fall he´s created.
Let´s listen some rock music to forget it all!
We´re slaves to the emotions, after all.
posted by Alex Perex on 10-20-2009 at 12:18 pm