Cawatrooper's Unofficial Guide to Constructive and Healthy Discourse When TROS Releases

Hey Thretosix,

Looks like @FN-3263827 has responded to the latter half of your post already, but just as a follow up to how you feel about this thread- I'm sorry you feel this way.

I definitely don't intend for this to in any way justify any stifling of criticism, and I hope that I had originally made that clear. If not, I apologize, and I'll try to find a way to better express that.

This is definitely intended as advice for both sides of the aisle, though I do admit that it leans a little to the "try to enjoy things" side. It is a movie created for entertainment, after all. As fans, we shouldn't have to be mired in pessimism when trying to appreciate something we love. I think that the "Have Some Joy" section covers my thoughts on that pretty well, so I won't go further into that here.

Anyway, we have about a month and a half until TROS comes out. Hopefully it's a movie we both have a great time watching.

I like that. I think parts of it fit with "Have Some Empathy", but I think you cover some new ground there in denoting that people can be quick to rush to assumptions about others.

To fit my "Have Some..." formula (because I'm pretentious and need to fit this to my craft ) maybe something like this:

Does that sound pretty reasonable for what you were going for?

I tried to make it pretty balanced for all parties involved, as I think it's definitely been used by both "sides" in the past.

If that sounds good, maybe a mod can help edit that into my original post, since I cannot edit it any more.

 

A week out from the release of TROS, and I wanted to share this article.

I want to be clear that I don't completely agree with what's written here, but I think it makes a decent case for why TLJ was so divisive, and why some people take their defense/critiques of the movies so incredibly seriously.

And most of all, I want to be clear that I think, in general, those people aren't here.

There's one passage that really stuck out to me, and I admit it's a bit controversial, but I agree with it wholeheartedly:

Note that the author here certainly isn't saying that fans with these critiques are the Nazis etc, but by focusing on certain critiques that resonate with them, they're "throwing their hat in" and validating these groups in some ways.

Really, I think that is a bit of a harsh way of putting it, to be honest. But I'd say it's not entirely wrong, either.

I guess where I'm going with this is simply this: With TROS coming soon, keep in mind that such a big movie is quite certainly going to be a battleground in the "culture war". If you don't see that, I'd urge you to pay attention. You obviously can hold any opinion of the movie that you like, but your vocalizations of certain aspects do add to the din of this, and it's possible they could embolden certain groups that you personally don't agree with.

Basically, it's a Star Wars movie. It's highly unfortunate how context have made these things that should be fun so political, but that's the world we live in. I really don't think that anyone here is actively part of the trolls who have hijacked the TLJ culture war discussion, but I do think that awareness of this could help avoid feeding into it in the future. So please be responsible.

 

Well, we're almost a couple weeks past release now. While I haven't been on these boards since the release, I know the discourse has been... well, not what I expected (though certainly not all bad, by any means!).

I have to say, it's nice to see fans like @Bandini and the many others I've seen find something to love in Star Wars again after this film. Really, that above all has been my favorite thing to see these past couple of weeks. So happy to see so many have their passion reignited for this series!

There has been some dissenting opinions, particularly in the circles I find myself in online. And like with TLJ, I definitely agree with many of the criticisms of it, while also still immensely enjoying the film.

In fact, I consider myself extremely lucky to consider all three of the sequel trilogy films among the best Star Wars has to offer.

For those who didn't enjoy The Rise of Skywalker, particularly those who had enjoyed The Last Jedi, I'm sorry. I wish things had worked out in a way that you'd have enjoyed more.

But I've seen some vitriol that seems to be quite similar to those who hated TLJ two years ago, much of it from those who so staunchly defended Episode VIII for so long.

So, I guess I'd like to add one final suggestion for those who find themselves disliking The Rise of Skywalker:

Have Some Peace, if You Need It.

If you've watched the movie with an open mind, gave it a fair chance, and still disliked it, that's okay. No one would expect you to compromise your own opinions just to pretend to like a movie.

But I'm sure regardless your opinions on this one film (or the trilogy as a whole, if you liked none of it): you still likely love Star Wars itself.

So please, don't drag the fandom down with pessimism and the Dark Side.

There has been a ton of great Star Wars this year- outside of The Rise of Skywalker, we've gotten The Mandalorian, Resistance S2, Jedi: Fallen Order, books, board games, comics... and on the horizon, even more with stuff like Lego Star Wars, Clone Wars, and more Disney + Shows.

Recognize that maybe not everything is for you, and focus on what you like instead. It's far healthier.

And don't fall for the fallacy that because you and whatever accidental echo chambers you've fallen into online share the same opinions, that these are universal. As of writing, this is the SWNN poll of the favorite movie in the trilogy:




That's a pretty even three way split, if ever I've seen one. I think it's more than fair to say that these movies can offer different things to different people.

So please, consider that the film you're preparing to rip apart online might actually hold some pretty significant meaning to someone else, and ask yourself- is this vitriol really worth it?