TFA- Keep Earth Out of It

I love finding myself a long time ago in a galaxy far, far, away. The OT is a fantastic example of writing a story we Earthlings can relate to, without involving our planet, politics, or dated references and speech. Something about the OT is timeless and classic. It is just as beloved as it was in Earth '77 as it is now in Earth '2015.

And that it why I am hoping that J.J. and any future directors keep Earth out of Star Wars. Star Wars began in a galaxy far, far, away and it should stay that way. There are a few sneaky ways I'm afraid Earth could become a subtle part of Star Wars.

1. Literally-as in at the end of the new trilogy, Finn and Rey climb out of a space pod to discover they are in a lush jungle on a green and blue planet ....


2. Politics and Political Correctness- Please, please, please no Donald Trump aliens or clear nods to politics. (There was some of this in the prequel. )People can choose whichever political persuasion they wish to follow but just please keep it out of Star Wars. I also hope the female characters aren't written into the unrelateable/unbreakable badass feminist trope. We can have strong/great female characters that have flaws, weaknesses, vulnerabilities , and yes-even romances!-like all humans can. Any characters or situations should be well written (whatever their background) and created to be part of a great story, not to serve of a political agenda or get PC Points from bloggers. (For the record, I love diversity and support GLBQT people. I don't believe Boyega falls into the PC pushing at all. He is just a great and enthusiastic actor playing what seems to be turning out to be a great character-clearly a perfect fit for the part and the fandom.) Just saying it should all come down to solid story and great casting whichever relationships, casting choices, and character paths are made. Make story choices for story, not Earth politics. I can spot the difference between a story choice and a political one a mile away.

3. Marvel and Mickey. I can deal with a hidden Mickey on a distant droid in the background or something shaped like Epcot, but please no StarLord, Groot, or Stitch appearances. LOVE Marvel and Disney but once they are connected to Star Wars, we aren't "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far, away" anymore.

4. Dated speech and pop-culture references.

The OT created something timeless and classic. While there is some dialogue that is a little "modern" you can't really say that it's so 70's or 80's. Some of Han's snippy one-liners reflect a modern way of speaking, but I've noticed similarities in movies from the 40's to even Gone With the Wind (which takes place during the Civil War). Each word was chosen with such precision that the OT really gave us that long ago and far away magic.

Then the prequels came. Now, I don't hate the prequels at all. There are some neat ideas, concepts, and scenes. But when I watch the prequels now, I can always think...oh that's so early 2000's. (And I am not talking about the CGI/effects which is another topic altogether.) When I hear Darth Vader use words like "all right" , Anakin calling Schmi "Mom" instead of mother or space-mom-word, and Owen introduce Beru as "his girlfriend"....come, on. Use a space word for girlfriend or something timeless like sweetheart etc. Then we were treated to things like ESPN aliens and references to the Bush administration.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I don't care if people are white, black, male, female, gay, straight, liberal, conservative, religious, atheist, or Deadpool.

Just keep Earth out of Star Wars! Our Earthly connection lies in the characters, story, and heart of Star Wars, not politics, Mickeys, and pop-culture references.

 

GOOD ONE! AGREED! I always liked that little swirly fruit in the jar....that looks more alien. Why couldn't all the fruit look like that one? That pear is indeed a little too earthly for my liking.... Stick to blue milk, Star Wars!

 

I appreciate your input and get what you're saying. While I don't want to even see racism or sexism discussion in Star Wars, I absolutely understand its place in science fiction. I think there *is* a way to nod to it but I don't think the movie writers of today have the sophistication to do it-the trend is very "in your face". For example, the writer would need to consider that the history of Star Wars differs from planet to planet. There IS no history of Earth's colonialism, slavery, Africa, Europe, women's rights. There may be similar histories on other planets, but you can't write it with the same context because the things I mentioned just didn't exist in this universe. I feel any "racism" in Star Wars would be more species vs. species or humans vs. aliens, planet vs. planet. Sexism probably varies from system to system. There are so many worlds I imagine there are some where males are valued more than females and some planets where males are or were oppressed.

I guess what I really want to avoid are direct references. Please no imperials sending immigrant "aliens" away from the planet they want to settle in. Please no corny "girlz r bettr" or "I'm a black guy!" or "Stupid white men!" lines. Please no aliens intended to represent United States politicians and candidates. Instead of dragging racism into this, show white and black human characters working together to save the galaxy. Instead of showing sexism, show an independent and fascinating female character with great character development. From what I've seen of TFA, my hope is that this is what we are getting. While these discussions and topics are important, we shouldn't bring them into Star Wars. We shouldn't need to! Keep the faults and politics of Earth out of this different time and different galaxy.

Political madness, sexism, and racism were alive and well in the 70's. Instead of throwing these earthly issues in the audience's faces, we were given a story about different people working together for the greater good, one of the best female characters of our time, and the doorway to a universe of diverse characters, people, aliens, and opportunities.

 

I think Leia was eating a space-granola bar or space-jerky in ROTJ. She shares it with Wicket. All I can remember of Star Wars foods in the OT wasn't that appealing...and that is more fun. Blue milk, Yoda's gross Dagobah stew, Jabba's nasty frog-thing-surprise, and of course, the Ewoks were hoping for some roasted Solo.