The Positive State of Star Wars

George Lucas claimed that first-generation fans looked at the Original Trilogy of Star Wars (or episodes IV, V, and VI) with the rose-colored glasses of nostalgia which caused a disproportionate level of disappointment with the prequels, especially Episodes I and II. The other argument, usually brought about by children, was that older fans rejected new characters and environments because they were new. Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens disproves that spin because it actually delivers brisk pacing and clear narrative, as well as new characters who display integrity and make choices that earn our stake in them. Detractors now say that follows the footsteps of the original 1977 film, as J.J. Abrams stated in publicity, "Going backward to move forward." A few on-line geeks have pouted that the new film is following the "save the cat" blockbuster format of screenwriting and that it must be the work of a "committee." If that is the case, then Star Wars is ideally suited for that approach, because the circumstance we all claim that we want - the one auteur who can write and direct anything and answers to nobody - became out-of-touch in his later years running a business and living in the Xanadu of Skywalker Ranch. Not to disparage Lucas, who is by all accounts a kind and charitable person who kicked off a grand vision and in the 1970's got 2 Oscar nominations for directing. Events happen in The Phantom Premise and Attack of the Clones, but they aren't especially good screenplays. Lucas now refers to the tone of The Force Awakens as "retro." In other words, it feels like the product he brought out between 1977 and 1983 and the brand he built as opposed to the counterfeit Star Wars movies presented between 1999 and 2005. Nostalgia may have sold those but it did not save them from being mediocre. Arguably the "retro" tone began when he started delegating work to other writers and directors, with a 2003/4 Clone Wars animated series for the Cartoon Network and then in 2008 with a CGI-animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and after the Disney acquisition of Lucasfilm the best of the batch Star Wars: Rebels. Even Lucas would admit that the Clone Wars shows were closer in tone to the breezy and compassionate Original Trilogy despite being set between the events of prequel Episodes I and II. Rebels keeps the retro done, set before the events of the original Star Wars (or Episode IV) and with less baggage from the prequels. Billy Dee Williams was a guest voice for Lando and Frank Oz was the disembodied voice of Yoda in season One with James Earl Jones returning to voice Darth Vader in Season 2. So what is being extracted and followed are the qualities that people who love Star Wars and understand it - as opposed to being jaded by it and believing one's own hype - are the simple but engaging characters and principles we can commonly get behind. The Force Awakens committee in question is J.J. Abrams whose "Mystery Box" TED talk is applied to the use of reveal here and Lawrence Kasdan who gives the movie authority as a connection to the Original Trilogy. Michael Arndt is credited as well, but it is unknown how much of his work they kept. The Art of The Force Awakens book shows illustrations and character descriptions who were abandoned. Simon Pegg was an on-set consultant for J.J. Abrams, who himself was a superfan. Kathleen Kennedy's first comment to J.J. was, "We are talking about a female Jedi." Kasdan's first comment to J.J. was, "It has to be delightful." These are all people making a movie that they were all eager to see as audience members, and that is the make-or-break deciding factor in my definition of personal expression versus drudgery. The spirit of Star Wars formally, officially, awakens with the wide release of Episode VII.