The worldwide phenomenon of Star Wars has been a part of
popular culture for 35 years. In fact it’s hard to imagine a time when we
weren’t aware of a ‘galaxy far, far away’, or had no idea who Darth Vader or
Boba Fett were.
The original Star Wars films are universally accepted as
being more beloved than the prequels, or ‘new’ trilogy, even after 7 years have
elapsed since the last film ‘The Revenge of the Sith.’ Why is this? Why, given
that we live in an age that elevates special effects more than ever? The
reasons are, I believe, numerous.
Firstly, the context that both sets of trilogies were
released in differed greatly. In 1977 the ‘New Hollywood’ films of the star
directors were everywhere. Scorcese, De Palma, Coppola, Bogdanovich and all
those visionary filmmakers of the 70s were delivering their artistic, personal,
and often pessimistic films that, whilst critically successful, presented
audiences with a realistic and gritty experience; the time was right for a more
fanciful movie full of spectacle to allow the audience an escape from these
realistic movies, and in a sense, their own lives.
What’s more, two year earlier, George Lucas’ friend and
fellow nerd Steven Spielberg released Jaws,
which set the standard for all blockbusters that came after. The tide was
turning, and studios were searching for big budget epics that would strike a
chord with audiences and make huge profits.
By the time the new trilogy came around with ‘The Phantom
Menace’ in 1999, the context had changed considerably. Rather than setting a
new trend like the originals, Lucas now releases Episode One amongst other
films like ‘The Matrix’, and the soon-to-be-released Lord of the Rings trilogy;
audiences were now used to seeing spectacular effects-laden movies, so Star
Wars now had competition. Obviously this new prequel trilogy was going to be
successful, that was a given, but George Lucas could no longer automatically
assume that a more tech-savvy audience would respond to Star Wars in quite the
same way this time.
However, it is not just a case of different contexts in
which both trilogies were released. The simple fact is that still, the original
trilogy is more beloved. Why? Well, there is the obvious argument that the new
trilogy is just not that good. It has
been noted that the main characters simply do not have the same chemistry that
the original trilogy have. Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher shine
in scenes together. None of the numerous
characters in the prequels, real or CGI, have quite the same chemistry, if any
at all. The Force just isn’t as strong with this one.
Another big factor, I believe, is the age-old theme of how
good and evil is presented. It is possible that the original trilogy is more beloved
by audiences everywhere because we are under no illusions as to who’s good, and
who is bad. A huge towering figure clad in black and a wrinkled old cloaked
pensioner leave nothing to the imagination for people to identify with; the blue-eyed,
blond young kid and the princess clad in white surely personify our perception
of ‘good’. But in the new trilogy, the clone troopers, those equivalent forms
of storm troopers, can now switch loyalties. What’s more, we know that
throughout the course of the prequels, the main protagonist will grow up to
become the series’ chief antagonist.
Maybe we just want our heroes to be heroes and our villains to be uncomplicated
villains for a film series to become beloved.
Lastly, to be slightly cynical for a moment, George Lucas
was accused of pandering to the toy market in Return of the Jedi with the addition
of the Ewoks, or, ‘those bunch of muppets.’ Serious fans of the series up to
that point must have felt slightly aggrieved that kiddies were now being
force-fed characters who were ready-made for the toy market. So how much more
would these same fans respond to Jar Jar Binks? Beloved is surely not a word
they would use for who, in their eyes, is one ‘cutesy’ character too far.
Though less beloved by fans than the original trilogy, and
containing more stilted dialogue, more effects and more confusing taxation
sub-plots, does still not warrant the claim that George Lucas stole millions of
childhoods worldwide. Maybe when those younger fans of the newer trilogy grow
up, the context then may be different and ‘Attack of the Clones’ might be
regarded in the same way ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ has been for 3 decades. But
I doubt it.
