Hollywood used to be the place where ideas flourished.
Again, folks, it pains me to – ahem – “sound old.” Yes, like many, I’ve grown a bit long in the tooth over the past few decades writing about entertainment – mostly from the point of view of an online and self-styled critic but also as one who kinda/sorta respects cultural history – but that old axiom about there only being seven original stories gets proven true with each passing year. While creativity once was king, it’s increasingly difficult to see any inspiration in just about anything on screens big or small these days; and it’s indeed a dark day when even our beloved Star Wars franchise appears to have lost the luster that propelled audiences to that galaxy far, far away for so long.
“Is Star Wars dead?” many wonder.
Well …
Reality suggests that, yes, “It’s dead, Jim.”
Toys are not selling. Movies are underperforming. Disney+ streaming shows show alarming trends as viewers abandon ship for other pursuits. Franchise stars like Ewan McGregor and Temuera Morrison are begging fans to demand Lucasfilm write them blank checks for more seasons of digital programming audiences seem to have shunned. Storytellers like Rian Johnson and Patty Jenkins can’t seem to get stories off the ground … and, yet, there are those who would have you believe that all is good and green in the Outer Rim territories. You don’t have to be an industry analyst to see that the opposite is more likely true … that is unless you’ve been convinced otherwise by the mainstream media’s outright propaganda proclaiming that The Acolyte – the latest Disney+ attempt to redefine Star Wars for a new generation of devotees – is the best thing ever.
No, no, and no: this is not going to be a review of The Acolyte.
In fact, I cancelled my subscription to Disney+ the day after Star Wars: The Bad Batch finished. That Dave Filoni program started out interesting in its first season, developed modestly in its second, and I wanted solely to see how it all wrapped up in its finale. Its third and finale season was uneven, at best, feeling rushed in some places and vastly too predictable in others. Like some fans, I long ago believed that Filoni had, at least, good intentions with his perceived stewardship of the George Lucas creation, only then to be horrifically disappointed when he introduced covens, time travel, and intersectional feminism to the timeline. Gone was the sense of wonder; and – in its place – gender politics took root. I had hoped for a great finish to the Bad Batch, but it, too, let me down. Enough was enough, and I bowed out.
So, no, I’m not reviewing The Acolyte.
As an interested party, I did follow a good deal of the show’s reception and criticism, and I read assessments that were both positive and negative just so I could kinda/sorta keep up with what was going on. Without getting into specifics, I will say that I saw far more cogent arguments made by The Acolyte’s critics than I did by its supporters: when celebration appears predicated largely on whether or not we’ve seen something before, followers rather plainly ignore assessing whether or not a new character, planet, circumstance, or device was authentically needed in the first place. Starting from a supposition of “let’s make The Jedi the bad guys” might seem a novel concept to some, but it rather deliriously ignores the reality that The Jedi were canonically established by the previous owner as the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy. None of this seemed to matter to Star Wars’ new fan contingent, and they embraced The Acolyte with Sith-like glee.
So … ? Ignoring a franchise’s tenets is now a good idea? A marketable brainstorm? Even a solid plan?
Folks, I’ve met people like this; and I’ve debated thinkers like this – as have many of you – for years. They’ve existed on the fringes of fandom, often times committing serious ink to their latest, greatest fantasies in hopes of landing a book deal or, at least, their own place in pantheon of fanfic gods. They’re the same people who once insisted that what Star Trek’s Starfleet needed was a Vic Mackey type, the fictional antihero of FX’s popular Crime/Drama The Shield. Mackey made being bad look good, and he did it for seven victim-filled seasons. (Important note: Mackey left victims wherever he tread, not survivors.) Well, these people finally got their way with 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness; and how did that work out for the franchise? The script by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtman, and Damon Lindelof upended the vastly superior treatment of similar material – namely Harve Bennett and Jack B. Sowards’ Star Trek: The Wrath Of Khan (1982) – by making Starfleet complicit with the bad guys and turning some of the franchise’s best original moments into little more than winks, nods, and groans. Into Darkness was a Bizarro creation where Spock yelled ‘Khan’ instead of Kirk, Kirk died instead of Spock, and the villainous Khan had the Federation’s blessing (of a sort) instead of its disdain.
Again, folks, it pains me to – ahem – “sound old.” Yes, like many, I’ve grown a bit long in the tooth over the past few decades writing about entertainment – mostly from the point of view of an online and self-styled critic but also as one who kinda/sorta respects cultural history – but that old axiom about there only being seven original stories gets proven true with each passing year. While creativity once was king, it’s increasingly difficult to see any inspiration in just about anything on screens big or small these days; and it’s indeed a dark day when even our beloved Star Wars franchise appears to have lost the luster that propelled audiences to that galaxy far, far away for so long.
“Is Star Wars dead?” many wonder.
Well …
Reality suggests that, yes, “It’s dead, Jim.”
Toys are not selling. Movies are underperforming. Disney+ streaming shows show alarming trends as viewers abandon ship for other pursuits. Franchise stars like Ewan McGregor and Temuera Morrison are begging fans to demand Lucasfilm write them blank checks for more seasons of digital programming audiences seem to have shunned. Storytellers like Rian Johnson and Patty Jenkins can’t seem to get stories off the ground … and, yet, there are those who would have you believe that all is good and green in the Outer Rim territories. You don’t have to be an industry analyst to see that the opposite is more likely true … that is unless you’ve been convinced otherwise by the mainstream media’s outright propaganda proclaiming that The Acolyte – the latest Disney+ attempt to redefine Star Wars for a new generation of devotees – is the best thing ever.
No, no, and no: this is not going to be a review of The Acolyte.
In fact, I cancelled my subscription to Disney+ the day after Star Wars: The Bad Batch finished. That Dave Filoni program started out interesting in its first season, developed modestly in its second, and I wanted solely to see how it all wrapped up in its finale. Its third and finale season was uneven, at best, feeling rushed in some places and vastly too predictable in others. Like some fans, I long ago believed that Filoni had, at least, good intentions with his perceived stewardship of the George Lucas creation, only then to be horrifically disappointed when he introduced covens, time travel, and intersectional feminism to the timeline. Gone was the sense of wonder; and – in its place – gender politics took root. I had hoped for a great finish to the Bad Batch, but it, too, let me down. Enough was enough, and I bowed out.
So, no, I’m not reviewing The Acolyte.
As an interested party, I did follow a good deal of the show’s reception and criticism, and I read assessments that were both positive and negative just so I could kinda/sorta keep up with what was going on. Without getting into specifics, I will say that I saw far more cogent arguments made by The Acolyte’s critics than I did by its supporters: when celebration appears predicated largely on whether or not we’ve seen something before, followers rather plainly ignore assessing whether or not a new character, planet, circumstance, or device was authentically needed in the first place. Starting from a supposition of “let’s make The Jedi the bad guys” might seem a novel concept to some, but it rather deliriously ignores the reality that The Jedi were canonically established by the previous owner as the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy. None of this seemed to matter to Star Wars’ new fan contingent, and they embraced The Acolyte with Sith-like glee.
So … ? Ignoring a franchise’s tenets is now a good idea? A marketable brainstorm? Even a solid plan?
Folks, I’ve met people like this; and I’ve debated thinkers like this – as have many of you – for years. They’ve existed on the fringes of fandom, often times committing serious ink to their latest, greatest fantasies in hopes of landing a book deal or, at least, their own place in pantheon of fanfic gods. They’re the same people who once insisted that what Star Trek’s Starfleet needed was a Vic Mackey type, the fictional antihero of FX’s popular Crime/Drama The Shield. Mackey made being bad look good, and he did it for seven victim-filled seasons. (Important note: Mackey left victims wherever he tread, not survivors.) Well, these people finally got their way with 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness; and how did that work out for the franchise? The script by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtman, and Damon Lindelof upended the vastly superior treatment of similar material – namely Harve Bennett and Jack B. Sowards’ Star Trek: The Wrath Of Khan (1982) – by making Starfleet complicit with the bad guys and turning some of the franchise’s best original moments into little more than winks, nods, and groans. Into Darkness was a Bizarro creation where Spock yelled ‘Khan’ instead of Kirk, Kirk died instead of Spock, and the villainous Khan had the Federation’s blessing (of a sort) instead of its disdain.
Taking what works and inverting it thematically isn’t original writing. At best, it’s gimmicky. At worst, it’s outright creative laziness. It really takes no freshness and very little effort to flip a switch. Indeed, anyone can do it – that’s why switches were invented, for Pete’s sake – so while some might suggest that the idea of making The Jedi Order into a clan of secretly shady men and women privately covering up their own corruption while simultaneously maintaining law and order is innovative I’m telling you here and now it’s just a rather obvious attempt to talk politics instead of spin fairy tales.
Ultimately, Star Wars is for kids. That’s something I truly believe each of us should accept. And, yes, I mean that it’s even for the kid inside each of us who are older. Kids excel with fairy tales. Have you ever tried telling them a bedtime story about the Clinton impeachment? The Mueller Report? The Warren Commission? If you have, shame on you! If you haven’t, then you’re my kinda people.
Star Wars a grand mythology of an imaginative type that feeds something in the recesses of our brains where we’re always – always – hungry for inspiration. Spaceships fly – even those that look like a hunks of junk – and warriors clash in battles of good versus evil. Droids are real, and they can talk with us, guide us, aid us, and even antagonize us with their own robotic quirks. Blasters ping, sizzle, and zap. Lightsabers hum. Landspeeders soar on clouds of air, and twin suns blot every horizon. Even magic exists, and we’re constantly reminded that it can be used by forces of any philosophy.
However, knowing that these stories are essentially products for the young (or the young-at-heart) tells me that Lucasfilm has lost its way in greenlighting something that was so obviously opinionated and controversial as The Acolyte. This isn’t to suggest in any way that Star Wars cannot have a political message because even the Grand Master himself – George Lucas – has stated that is far from the truth. While Lucas has alluded to his views on American policy and the Vietnam War influencing his scripts for the Original Trilogy, one would be hard pressed to identify just when and where these messages were ‘dialed up to eleven’ on the screen. Instead, they were woven delicately into the fabric of the story, perhaps making them inseparable on even a cosmic level. Also, if George ever spoke about it in interviews of the day, I can assure you that – having lived through that era and hungrily watched any coverage I could find – his politics were never a sticking point. Think what he may have at the time, Lucas never spiked the football in the endzone because he believed he scored a Progressive, Libertarian, or Conservative talking point. It just never happened.
Now … flashforward to Kathleen Kennedy parading her willing conspirators around with their infamous “The Force Is Female” t-shirts, and I think might understand why the art of subtlety has been lost for the modern generation.
In today’s radically charged climate, narrative ideas come second; and what matters most is politics. Ideology is incorporated all too often, leaving things like characters, journeys, and themes acceptable only if they support the agenda. In fact, I’ve even read and shared stories wherein directors and screenwriters are privately rewarded for their D.E.I. contributions to entertainment, meaning that they can earn industry bonuses for including whatever contemporary social justice theories to indoctrinate audiences on systemic racism, gender fluidity, and climate change. Why, I’m old enough to remember a time wherein a boy unknowingly kissing his sister (i.e. Luke and Leia) might’ve produced a few good-natured laughs; by contrast, today’s revered creators might possibly celebrate including such incestuous couplings in hopes that they’d be branded ‘revolutionary’ if not just ‘brazenly taboo’ by a fawning media.
This is how far we’ve come.
Correction: this is how far we’ve fallen.
We need a return to those days wherein ideas – not politics or ideology – flourish again, but – sadly – I don’t see that happening within the worlds of Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel, or even Doctor Who. As we’ve seen, these franchises have embraced a creative lifestyle embraced by a small percentage of the viewing audience, and their dismal ratings and box office show their efforts aren’t bearing fruit. These charlatans have left the business of entertainment behind, now openly favoring whatever pet cause these niche groups are pushing for time being.
What we need is a cultural renaissance … one that is presently long overdue.
-- EZ
Ultimately, Star Wars is for kids. That’s something I truly believe each of us should accept. And, yes, I mean that it’s even for the kid inside each of us who are older. Kids excel with fairy tales. Have you ever tried telling them a bedtime story about the Clinton impeachment? The Mueller Report? The Warren Commission? If you have, shame on you! If you haven’t, then you’re my kinda people.
Star Wars a grand mythology of an imaginative type that feeds something in the recesses of our brains where we’re always – always – hungry for inspiration. Spaceships fly – even those that look like a hunks of junk – and warriors clash in battles of good versus evil. Droids are real, and they can talk with us, guide us, aid us, and even antagonize us with their own robotic quirks. Blasters ping, sizzle, and zap. Lightsabers hum. Landspeeders soar on clouds of air, and twin suns blot every horizon. Even magic exists, and we’re constantly reminded that it can be used by forces of any philosophy.
However, knowing that these stories are essentially products for the young (or the young-at-heart) tells me that Lucasfilm has lost its way in greenlighting something that was so obviously opinionated and controversial as The Acolyte. This isn’t to suggest in any way that Star Wars cannot have a political message because even the Grand Master himself – George Lucas – has stated that is far from the truth. While Lucas has alluded to his views on American policy and the Vietnam War influencing his scripts for the Original Trilogy, one would be hard pressed to identify just when and where these messages were ‘dialed up to eleven’ on the screen. Instead, they were woven delicately into the fabric of the story, perhaps making them inseparable on even a cosmic level. Also, if George ever spoke about it in interviews of the day, I can assure you that – having lived through that era and hungrily watched any coverage I could find – his politics were never a sticking point. Think what he may have at the time, Lucas never spiked the football in the endzone because he believed he scored a Progressive, Libertarian, or Conservative talking point. It just never happened.
Now … flashforward to Kathleen Kennedy parading her willing conspirators around with their infamous “The Force Is Female” t-shirts, and I think might understand why the art of subtlety has been lost for the modern generation.
In today’s radically charged climate, narrative ideas come second; and what matters most is politics. Ideology is incorporated all too often, leaving things like characters, journeys, and themes acceptable only if they support the agenda. In fact, I’ve even read and shared stories wherein directors and screenwriters are privately rewarded for their D.E.I. contributions to entertainment, meaning that they can earn industry bonuses for including whatever contemporary social justice theories to indoctrinate audiences on systemic racism, gender fluidity, and climate change. Why, I’m old enough to remember a time wherein a boy unknowingly kissing his sister (i.e. Luke and Leia) might’ve produced a few good-natured laughs; by contrast, today’s revered creators might possibly celebrate including such incestuous couplings in hopes that they’d be branded ‘revolutionary’ if not just ‘brazenly taboo’ by a fawning media.
This is how far we’ve come.
Correction: this is how far we’ve fallen.
We need a return to those days wherein ideas – not politics or ideology – flourish again, but – sadly – I don’t see that happening within the worlds of Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel, or even Doctor Who. As we’ve seen, these franchises have embraced a creative lifestyle embraced by a small percentage of the viewing audience, and their dismal ratings and box office show their efforts aren’t bearing fruit. These charlatans have left the business of entertainment behind, now openly favoring whatever pet cause these niche groups are pushing for time being.
What we need is a cultural renaissance … one that is presently long overdue.
-- EZ
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