Is Simplicity the Hallmark of Star Wars?

Disney is the Hallmark of Star Wars now .

 

What I am already seeing in The Force Awakens is that they are inverting familiar themes and storytropes as a setup for VIII. I don't think the ST trilogy has to be darker, though it would make sense because the sequel trilogy is the third and final act of the Skywalker saga. I actually think that even though being quite dark, The Force Awakens was the most intimate and emotionally resonant movies in the saga. If they keep some of that intimacy in the next movies. Empire Strikes Back was very dark but also very intimate. I think that the makers of the ST have decided to take Empire Strikes Back as a point of reference and start building from there, basically because it is the most critically lauded movie of the saga. The Force Awakens strengthened and magnified the quintessential themes of ESB. The latter's theme was as you know 'friendship'. The theme of the Force Awakens is most and foremost 'belonging'. Both are not particulary dark or negative themes.

As for the EU and the prequel trilogy: the premise was 'let's pretend the prequels never happened', which is a smart thing to do because consigning the PT to oblivion is the only way you can revalue the originals and decide what was so good about them. The PT will only hamper you. This is similar to the EU. There was much to like about the EU, but from a narrative perspective it was an unstructured mess lacking any form of direction (Lucas simply did not bother). It was a mixture of confusing narratives and conflicting story elements. The sequel trilogy and the story groups new direction will help to streamline the eu to the movie and therefore make the former more relevant to the actual saga. That is a good thing. But I don't think the EU will play a significant role in the story of ST, simply because that would be too conflicting for uninitiated audiences. Everything needs to be explained internally, in the narrative structure of the PT itself.

I do however expect them to re-value some themes and aspects of the prequels in the long run with the ST. Resonant themes like the 'chosen one', 'Anakin's betrayal', 'Darth Plagueis' and the 'Force ghosts'. Those kind of things which add narrative depth and substance to mysterious themes like the 'Force' and the 'dark and light side'.
All the other stuff from the prequels will be dropped, simply because they get in the way of telling a story which connects the originals with the sequels.

 

Pretty soon our "simplicity "will become SW DCOM Specials .

 

That means Atar Wars is slowly going to spiral as a business over time and it's unfortunate thT Disney has control so much now .

 

I also like it when the movie makes you wonder and leaves some myth and mystery in place. Some people would say that such things are 'plot holes' but such lacunae always have a narrative purpose. Remember how awesome Obi Wan's dialogue about the end of the Jedi, the Clone Wars and the empire was in episode IV. And how mysterious Yoda's exposition about the Force was in Empire Strikes Back. Many of those things which made you wonder and which stimulated your imagination were pretty much ruined by the prequels. The prequels provided too much back story and too much closure. The prequels' exegesis on the force pretty much ruined its mystery: midichlorians etc. And we all knew that Anakin's fall was never going to satisfy our own imagination of the birth of Darth Vader.

I hope that with the new movies they will include new lacunae which will make us imagine, wonder and fantasize for generations to come.

 

You're absolutely right and well said! I will remember that quote of yours!

I remember that at the time of the prequels I wanted to know everything about the backstory and expended universe. But now I aknowledge that it was a mistake and that the mysteries and things you don't know is what makes Star Wars so engaging and also convincing. Just remember how magical that blue lightsabre was Obi Wan gave to Luke, it was magical weapon. You didn't know how it was made or how people fought with it in more "elegant times". You imagined it, you interacted with the story. You didn't know the padawans travelled with Yoda to Ilum and did all those weird and kiddy trials and did this sort of force induced floating saber construction. That really ruined some of the mystery for me. I like it how in The Force Awakens they are trying to restore some of that mystery surrounding Luke's sabre. For example, it suddenly has agency, it summons people through the force, it induces visions about future, past and present.

I myself really don't want a full blown out exposition explaining exactly what is happening in Rey's vision or what her emotions were. I want to fill those things in myself. Especially scenes were people don't speak, but where you only see their emotion. For instance why is Rey smiling at the old woman who is cleaning her scavenged goods? What is she thinking? Why is this old woman so interesting? Little things like these make you wonder and imagine. Another such small thing is the red and blue light on Kylo Ren's face when he is offering the sabre to Han. Is the Force an agent in that scene? Is it making the decision whether or not Kylo will kill Han? Or what about that scene in the frozen forest where Rey concentrates and taps into the force after Kylo had informed her that he could "teach her the ways of the force". Why do the blue and red sabres visible in her eyes suddenly merge into a single red sabre/line just before she attacks Kylo Ren? Is she using the dark side? Does this have consequences? I don't want Lucasfilm to explain those things to me. I want to fill them in myself!

I am now seriously considering whether or not I should skip all the EU that is coming out surrounding The Force Awakens. I do want to read 'Before the Awakening', but I did put away the novelization of The Force Awakens just because the author tried to fill everything in and also did this very badly. What would you do in your wait for episode VIII. Skip the EU entirely? Some cautious selection? Or read everything?

 

I also thought Poe had died! I avoided spoilers like hell, that's why I ended up here and not at makingstarwars.net. Here at least they say spoiler above the article headings. With makingstarwars.net they spoil it even in the heading.

I will go and watch the anthology movies. But they are all basically prequels....again. So I will sit in the cinema with some serious mixed feelings. I really think that they should focus on some unexplored terrain for those movies. They should have waited with the anthologies at least untill after episode IX.

And about Foster: I remember an interview with John Boyega where he explained that even though he and Daisy had read the script and learned their lines by heart, in the end they would always end up improvising 90% of the time. Abrams really wanted them to do so and that's why their characters are so likeable and realistic. The difference with Lucas cannot be much greater. The famous complaint of Lucas is that "you can write this blast but can't say it". A screenplay is a broad guideline, usually with too much dialogue and info. A good director knows that and is unafraid to depart from it. With Foster I had the idea that he really misinterpreted the emotional subtext of the script/screenplay. But of course he didn't see the movie first and then write the book afterwards. The book is also notoriously vague in its descriptions of space. Just think how much you can write about the atmosphere and feeling of a frozen forrest or a desert.[/spoiler]

 

No I haven't read any of those comics. The last comics I seriously read were Star Wars Republic (Darkhorse) and The Knights of the Old Republic series. I do want to read some more about Phasma and Poe. But I'm still conflicted whether I should.

 

It's not loading for me .

 

lol, and everyone who thinks that Return of the Jedi was a flawless movie should seriously check this out:

and they even managed to make it worse with the special edition:

 

Wasn't that dancing thing always in there ?

 

both scenes were pretty awefull