RJ answered the only question that was being asked

I understand what you're trying to say here, and on the surface i agree in some ways, but I also somewhat disagree with the spirit of your point. Star Wars isn't just some strange new sci-fi-fantasy movie from the late 70's anymore. It has become a living breathing cultural phenomenon (which Disney/LF is currently destroying btw imo). In spirit It belongs to the fans just as much if not more than LF and Disney.

 

This is fair enough - Lucasfilm doesn't have an obligation to make another film (outside fulfilling existing contracts), however, once they decide to make a new film there are people within Lucasfilm who are responsible for making sure the film fulfils customer expectations. I believe Lucasfilm themselves feel a responsibility to their fans in the story making process. So a fairer answer to the question, in my opinion, is yes.

This doesn't mean that X, Y, and Z predictions should happen, but that when the film is over the customer is satisfied with the product they have consumed. Of course, when various arcs have been hinted at or begun, going back on them is a risk, and the people with responsibility for the film should manage those risks.

The Star Wars fanbase has a lot of trust in Lucasfilm to produce a good film - which all but guarantees huge sales. If they keep producing films that fans don't like they will lose some of that goodwill. However, some of the criticism against Lucasfilm and RJ is misplaced or unfair. They set out to create a great movie and chose a radical new direction. They didn't attempt to ignore their responsibility, they took it very seriously. In doing so they created a film that divided opinion.

There was stuff I liked and a lot I disliked in The Last Jedi, if I could click my fingers and swap it for a different episode 8 I probably would. If every film made me feel as TLJ did maybe I wouldn't be the fan I am. I have concerns about RJ doing more movies, but perhaps when he gets to expand upon the themes he is setting up the SW universe will be richer for it and TLJ will begin to make more sense. I am willing to give Lucasfilm more time. I think they have a responsibility to fans. I don't think they ever ignore that responsibility.

 

I don't fully agree with that statement. They don't owe me personally but I am a consumer and they do need to please their consumers. There is a lot to be entertained by. I loved the first couple Pirates of the Caribbean movies and the first Transformer movie. I don't go out to see those movies anymore and I'm sure I'm not alone. I'm wavering on DC movies right now. Star Wars is special but who says it will be forever. I know they can't please everyone, myself included but if they no longer meet reasonable expectations people will move on. So maybe they owe it to themselves to do better.

 

We said this with the special editions.
We said this with the prequels.
We said this when they wouldn't release the original theatrical versions for home viewing.

There's a whole documentary on it.

 

I still don't see the politics in all of this. I considered my self more closer to conservative than a liberal and I enjoy and defend this movie. I know liberals who passionately hate this movie as well. Putting things in a bubble makes you short sighted. The world would be in a much better place when people stop labeling everything as a republican or a democrat or a liberal or a conservative. They are essentially two sides of the same coin and are both equally responsible for our issues. The world would be in a better mindset once people look beyond the limited view of each political philosophy. Save the politics for a political forum and or the PT section that talks about the Trade Federation trade disputes.

 

Can somebody explain to me...with film evidence only....what the Trade Federation is???

Or should we continue to argue about space sounds, space gravity, space wizards, space speed, and space explosions?

Or maybe put that on the back burner and enjoy Luke Skywalker commentating on the failures of the Jedi.

(I vote the 3rd one)

 

It's not politics, it's more philosophy or ideology than anything. I made no reference to repubs or dems, that's a non-issue in and of itself with regards to the point I'm making about the mediocrity of the ST and it's acceptance by some fans. And I'm well aware opposing political parties in most countries serve the same ptb. Responsibility lays everywhere. The fact that you enjoy and defend the ST and consider yourself mostly conservative doesn't really counter my point either, there are bound to be exceptions to the general rule. Liberals who passionately hate the ST are probably for the most part not even SW fans to begin with. Anyway, I agree let's stop this discussion, it's pointless. It all began because you decided to take a simple joke seriously. Anyway, let's move on.

 

Who are you to determine what is or isn't a legitimate question? and I'm not even sure how you came up with this notion that a certain number of characters have to be physically asking a question in order for it to be an important plot point.

 

In ESB, when Yoda tells Obi-Wan “there is another”, he’s not asking a question. But that sure was a question for the audience back in 1980. Lucas wasn't obligated to provide an answer for the story to make sense, but the audience wasn't wrong for expecting it.

 

I don't see what this has to do with my comment at all.

 

If we already drag in politics to this...

Feel free to downvote, but Star Wars has always been about liberal themes. Maybe not as spoon-fed as the ST, but the main themes have always been pretty clear. Lucas himself is the biggest pc/liberal you can possibly imainge as well. The guy literally called Disney "white slavers" for crying out loud.

Themes like social justice and female empowerment, plus crown the whole thing with a slap of anti-governmentalism, overall Nixon-criticism (Lucas compared the Emperor to Nixon several times) and anti-Vietnam War rhetorics (remember, Lucas was originally going to direct Apocalypse Now)...

He openly made the PT his criticism of the Bush-administration either, literally paraphrasing Bush's "Either you are with us" speech...

Same here. That makes at least two of us in this small thread. Quite a lot for merely "exceptions". In fact most of my friends and
acquaintances who love the movie are also rather conservatives.

 

You disagreed with the premise that someone has to raise a question in order for it to be a question. I provided supporting evidence, in your favor, of an instance where a question was being raised without it being specifically asked. Make sense?

 

GL may have had some liberal leanings in his early days, but I can promise you doesn't consider himself a liberal these days. Also, a liberal in the 70's isn't quite the same as a liberal today. The term "white slavers" isn't something a liberal would use. I think you're confused here. Also, where do you keep getting the idea that Star Wars has or ever had anything to do with the Vietnam War? GL might have made a comment comparing Palpatine to Nixon, but that was jokingly, it wasn't meant as social commentary. Your Bush comment only applied to one scene in RotS, not the whole PT. Also, I doubt very much GL would do that again in hindsight. With regards to your last comment, you guys are missing another point I made. You're millenials, "conservative" or not. It doesn't surprise me that you like the ST. I'm sure most of your friends are millenials too. I know quite a lot of people from the older SW crowd who dislike the ST.....a lot of people. I'm sure if a serious study were done, we'd find that the majority of fans/people who like this ST are under 40, liberal minded pc type people. I don't mean any of this as an insult btw, it's a demographic thing mostly, it's just how it likely is.

 

Question that's was surely answered, RJ could produce a steaming pile of turd

In JJ we trust x

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/magazine/george-lucas-red-tails.html
Pretty sure George would disagree with you.

 

Yeah LOL, the NY Times is the epitome of quality news too. That was also 6 years ago.....before the dark times, before the ST lol.

 

With all due respect, this is a weak analogy. Are you honestly comparing the lack of background on Tallie Lintra and Wrex (characters not even named on screen) to the lack of background on Snoke?

The producers know this genre of storytelling and they know the audience. They know that when they introduce an all-powerful Supreme Commander Snoke in E7 and tell us absolutely nothing about him, that we are all going to want to know more. That's part of the fun. They tease with clues interspersed throughout the various EU missives over the past few years, albeit nothing substantial. So yes, it is the writers' fault (collectively) to set us up with a cool mystery and then just drop it.

Of course, it is tough to blame any one single writer since there is no overall cohesion to the sequel trilogy movies.

This is 100% true. I was going to make the exact same point myself, but I cannot say or add anything to it because the above is so spot on.

 

But if the tease is in the EU, then where should the answer be?

All that's needed for the film's story is that Snoke recruited Ben to be the F.O. Dark Side Bully, and he obliged after Luke invaded his personal space with violent impulsion.

The story is Luke and Kylo and Rey.

It's not Snoke's or Hux's or Phasma's. Hell, it's not even Finn's story anymore, his arc is done. Those further stories can be told somewhere else, like the EU.

 

I didn't say the tease is in the EU, I said there are various clues - albeit nothing substantial - in the EU. The tease is in E7, and the answer should have been in a subsequent movie.

 

You are 100% wrong. He grew up as a rich, upper-middle class Californian. He's as liberal as you can possibly imagine. Have you seen American Graffiti? Fast cars, fancy clothes and parties. That was his world. The world of the rich Californian liberal teens. He went to a liberal university, had a liberal mentor (Coppola) and mostly collaborated with liberals.
Of course he was a 70s hippy too. He had enough of Nixon, the Vietnam War and the government as many during the era. He was a rebel too. He fought the Hollywood studio-system to have full control over his movies. He also started a war against the most powerful Hollywood entity at the time: The Director's Guild. Plus, if you have the tiniest scent of common sense you can clearly see it on his movies. Especially on Star Wars...

Judging by this comment, it's you who have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. I started this conversation as I thought you worth the time, but I see you have no clue about politics, history, Geroge Lucas or Star Wars in general. You live in a small, close-minded bubble waiting for your ideals to be echoed. Once you face a real argument or proof you resort to denial and conventional stupidy.

Really... You think he made it as a "joke".... This is the level of stupidy I can't tolerate, sorry... This is just a misbegotten attempt at finger pointing in a vain and pathetic effort to mitigate the infamy.

Yes, because RotS is the only prequel developed after Bush, 9/11 and the Patriot Act, genious.

To quote Rick McCallum:
"First of all we never thought of Bush ever becoming president," "Star Wars" producer Rick McCallum said, "or then 9/11, the Patriot Act, war, weapons of mass destruction. Then suddenly you realize, `Oh, my God, there's something happening that looks like we're almost prescient.' And then we thought, `Well, yeah, but he'll never make it to the second term, so we'll look like we just made some wacky political parody of a guy that everybody's forgotten.'"
Looking forward to your resonse to this.

This is getting out of hands... Now only 40+ people can be convervative? Btw you have no idea who am I or where I'm from. Do you believe that everyone and everywhere around the world is as black and white as you believe in the US?

And I know many liberals who do. Most PT fans (the 20-ish crowd who'd you call a millenial) hate the ST for instance in my experience.

Is this the full denial-mode? Do you think he stopped being a liberal because of the ST?
Is it really that hard to accept that Star Wars and it's creator have always been liberal? You either have to accept the truth or leave topics like this. Because with all the written evidence you'll just constantly going to make yourself a clown.