My friend Cecil was recently accused of having a “bad attitude” about Star Wars, as if the problem with the new Star Wars movies was with her and not the films themselves. I wrote up this reply and figured I might as well post it here as well:
It’s perfectly all right to have a “bad attitude” about Star Wars. We all earned it by sitting through the shittiness of Episodes I and II. For people of our generation, Star Wars is a big deal. I saw the original 13 odd times in the theater, something I never did for a movie before and certainly never did again. Star Wars tapped into something and we responded. The trouble is that Lucas doesn’t know what he tapped into and maybe he never did. While we all got excited about the new movies and hoped they’d rekindle the same feelings as the originals, we were cruelly disappointed. And it’s not our fault for growing up or what have you. It’s Lucas’ fault for making shitty movies so bereft of good story elements that they seem to exist only to further the sales of toys and computer games.
For the past year, I kept forgetting that there was even one more to go. My interest level was so low it just kept slipping my mind. I was at ComicCon when they announced the title. I didn’t go to the big event because I didn’t care. I only found out when legions of fans began filtering into the exhibit hall wearing the t-shirts. Lately, I’ve been thinking about not even seeing Episode III in the theater. This would have been inconceivable to me 20 years ago. Now though, I feel like Lucas has not earned my money. Why should I give him another $10 when I’m 99% sure this movie is going to suck? And I know I can see it later if I want to, because I have friends who buy every damn thing on DVD and even if they don’t it’ll eventually show up on cable. For me, Episode III just isn’t an event and I feel no particular need to see it debut week or even this year.
So yeah, go ahead and have a bad attitude. The only artists who deserve loyalty are those that earn it. I still love the original trilogy and that was enough to get me into the theaters twice more. But you know what they say. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.