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Saw Star Wars last night on opening night along with hundreds of others. Each time I see a Star Wars film, I think about Joseph Campbell and The Hero with a Thousand Faces Much of the retelling of themes from the Bible, Koran, Bhagtiva-gita and such. We see all the elements of the good vs evil conflict, and the elements of the hero's journey. We have the Mentors, the prophecy, the two worlds, the failed hero.
Religious texts are ripe with the mythology of the hero journey. While watching Star Wars is more entertaining for a modern audience, the themes of conflict, good vs evil and redemption are similar.
After everyone here has a chance to seethe film, we will talk about one aspect of the new film which seems unique and out of line. But I don;t want to spoil it for you.
Jar-jar Binks ruined Star Wars for me. Haven't seen any of the films since his appearance but was a huge fan of the first trilogy.
I mostly agree. I had seen all of the Star Wars movies in theatre until Jar-jar, and boycotted after that. I only saw the 5th and 6th movies (aka the 2nd and 3rd episodes) a year or so ago when flying to the U.K. they were a bit better than the hot mess that was jar-jar, but certainly not very good.
I am enough of a nerd that I decided to give the most recent ones a chance. The Force Awakens was decent, but largely a thematic retelling of the first one. Rogue One, while it had a few erratic moments, was good. I really liked the continuity of costuming between it and the 76 Star Wars. It was fun to see 21st century actors in a space opera wearing 1970s versions of futuristic clothing.
For all of you who don't know, Jar Jar is only in the first prequel.
He appears VERY briefly in the second, and isn't in the third one at all.
And Jar Jar isn't anywhere NEAR "The Force Awakens" or "Rogue One."
So it is actually safe to go back into the water, so to speak.
Personally, a bunch of teddy bears defeating an entire legion of the Empire's best troops using medieval weaponry soured me on the whole series.
Once Lucas began turning Star Wars into a big series for young children, I got disgusted -- there's just NO good sci-fi and fantasy for adults.
Lords of the Rings and the Hobbit were descent. Harry Potter is too ... juvenile since the series WAS for young adult readers, after all.
And sci-fi has mostly become horror in space. Yeah yeah ... small ship with a dozen people aboard stumbles upon an ancient civilization, accidentally unleashes some alien that stalks them one by one, sit and watch the body count climb until the last guy/gal saves the day by killing the alien -- and then you see the alien's eye open -- get ready for part 2!
Which is essentially the same formula as a bunch of teens going to an isolated cabin with no cell or internet service, accidentally awakening a supernatural evil that stalks them one by one until the last guy or girl discovers the lore behind the evil and manages to defeat it -- and then the dead body twitches at the end of the credits -- get ready for part 2!
I'm so hungry for *real* sci-fi that I'm sorry to admit that I think I could even tolerate Jar Jar at this point as long as the rest of the movie wasn't trying to entertain children.
For all of you who don't know, Jar Jar is only in the first prequel.
He appears VERY briefly in the second, and isn't in the third one at all.
And Jar Jar isn't anywhere NEAR "The Force Awakens" or "Rogue One."
So it is actually safe to go back into the water, so to speak.
Personally, a bunch of teddy bears defeating an entire legion of the Empire's best troops using medieval weaponry soured me on the whole series.
Once Lucas began turning Star Wars into a big series for young children, I got disgusted -- there's just NO good sci-fi and fantasy for adults.
Lords of the Rings and the Hobbit were descent. Harry Potter is too ... juvenile since the series WAS for young adult readers, after all.
And sci-fi has mostly become horror in space. Yeah yeah ... small ship with a dozen people aboard stumbles upon an ancient civilization, accidentally unleashes some alien that stalks them one by one, sit and watch the body count climb until the last guy/gal saves the day by killing the alien -- and then you see the alien's eye open -- get ready for part 2!
Which is essentially the same formula as a bunch of teens going to an isolated cabin with no cell or internet service, accidentally awakening a supernatural evil that stalks them one by one until the last guy or girl discovers the lore behind the evil and manages to defeat it -- and then the dead body twitches at the end of the credits -- get ready for part 2!
I'm so hungry for *real* sci-fi that I'm sorry to admit that I think I could even tolerate Jar Jar at this point as long as the rest of the movie wasn't trying to entertain children.
#I'mWithHer ^^
Except for one thing.
All y'all hatin' on Jar-Jar can bite me Being (more than) occasionally childish, silly and adorkable myself I can relate to him.
Meesa goin' to watch football. Meesa seein' yousa later. Happy Life Day. PHBBBT.
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Being (more than) occasionally childish, silly and adorkable myself I can relate to him. 
PHBBBT.
