Foresight Can Save Your Fandom
The biggest non-regret of my life is the fact that I did not see Star Wars: The Phantom Menace in theaters. Yes, that's right, me, one of the biggest Star Wars nerds around did not see Lucas's new film in theaters in 1999. My reasoning at the time was that I wanted to experience the beginning of the new trilogy in the same manner as I did the original trilogy, which was on a TV screen. I had seen two of the Special Editions of the OT in theaters when they were released in 1997, but it was not until 2002 that I saw a new Star Wars movie in the theater for the first time.My quest for personal continuity forced me to wait an excruciating 6 months before seeing the next film. By then, I knew that it did not live up to its expectations. I knew that Jar-Jar was already classified as the biggest blight on the SW universe, and my expectations were reasonable. Perhaps that is why I am still a fan and did not totally reject it as many did. The optimist in me still enjoys the battle between Darth Maul, Obi-wan, and Qui-Gon. To me the biggest offense of TPM is not Jar-Jar, but instead is the evil "midi-cholrian" explanation. To take something as encompassing and encouraging and good as the Force and explain it away with a tale of divine conception and faux biology was an insult to fans and the Force. Luckily, this explanation was toned down later in Revenge of the Sith, as was the divine conception. I can only hope that one day the tale of Darth Plagueis will be told and the Force will be restored to its appropriate mystical proportions.
1 comments:
I tried to think of midichlorians as a sign of the Force, but not the cause. (i.e., midichlorians are attracted to people with a lot of Force.)
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