Star Wars: Literature versus Film (and the Dangers of Fandom)

Image Source: Pixabay, user: Pexels

Early Beginnings...

I've been a Star Wars fan from a very young age. I couldn't tell you what age, but I can say that my first experience with anything Star Wars was Return of the Jedi on VHS. It captivated me. The characters, the exotic locations, the lightsaber battle between Vader and Luke. All of it was fantastic.

Only later down the road did I see the first two entries, namely A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back, the latter of which I consider to be the best film in the franchise to date. Not long after my exposure to Return of the Jedi did I get to see Phantom of the Menace in theaters. And once again, I felt transported. Sure, now I look back on the movie and cringe so hard my back breaks, but as a kid, I didn't know any better and that suited me just fine.

Of course, I saw the next two entries in theaters as well: Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, showcasing the downfall of Anakin Skywalker and ultimately becoming Darth Vader.

Firmly Planted!

Three years ago (roughly), after I had rewatched the prequels a number of times and decided that they were, save for a few glorious moments, fairly terrible, The Force Awakens was announced under a new partnership between Disney and LucasFilms, the latter spearheaded by Kathleen Kennedy. The trailers were brief and didn't give away much, building the hype. And I was certainly hyped. I thought, "Wow, they're finally going to erase my memories of the prequel trilogy!"

Then December rolled around.

After leaving the theater, I had mixed feelings: it was a great nostalgia trip, but it didn't seem to me like the film did anything new. A spin-off entry was released a year later under the banner of A Star Wars Story called Rogue One, detailing the mission to get the Death Star plans. The emotional punch at the end was weak at best considering anyone who's seen the original trilogy already knew what was going to happen.

But man, was that Darth Vader scene absolutely sick, and I mean that in the best way possible.

A Callous Fanbase Rears Its Ugly Head

The Last Jedi was released to rave reviews from critics and absolutely polarizing opinions from fans, many saying that Kathleen Kennedy and Co. had driven the franchise into the ground. The plot was weak, the storytelling made no sense, and the characterization didn't work. People were, for the lack of a better term, pissed. This was a beloved series. How could they have mucked things up worse than Lucas had with the prequels?

I agreed with Rian Johnson's direction, to a point. Star Wars needed to divert. It needed to change if it wanted to remain relevant and fresh. Personally, I liked the film, but I also recognized that it was missing a great many things, like some sort of resolution from The Force Awakens and more answers rather than posing new questions. Certain characters were treated as throwaways and there was an entire sequence that was so inconsequential, it's baffling to me how it made the final cut, or that it lasted so long.

I'm one of the few who thought Luke's characterization made sense. The Jedi had failed, several times. Anakin to Kylo Ren, and even, at times, Luke himself. He was woefully unprepared to go against Vader, and while he did win, I mean, he just killed his father. He realized that the Jedi way wasn't working. And he'd given up because he had failed so miserably. Honestly, I don't remember a time in the films that he had failed that bad. It was all on his shoulders to carry on the legacy of the Jedi, and in his mind, he couldn't live up to the task.

I often hail this film as a "beautiful mess": some things worked but more things didn't.

This is where I look to the novels.

A Better Medium?

Now, I won't sit here and tell you that I've read everything the Extended Universe has to offer. I won't argue what's canon and what isn't, either. Lucas has always said the films and the books were separate, even though he borrowed from the books and the books did their best to remain consistent with the lore.

What I will suggest is that the books are better. I wasn't a huge fan of Lucas' novelization of A New Hope (he literally described something as taller than a tall man and I wanted to bash my face into a wall), but the novelization of the original trilogy as a whole was great. It offered new insights and filled in blanks that the films didn't.

Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy was a post-ROTJ (Return of the Jedi) haven, and sparked new life into the EU. Even better, under Disney's leadership, Grand Admiral Thrawn is now officially canon. I won't say the prose will knock your socks off in any way, but the books read like well-crafted fanfiction while giving us great new characters.

I also own the novelizations of the prequels, which, from my little time reading them, are miles and miles better than their cinematic counterparts. From the raving I hear about Matthew Stover's take on Revenge of the Sith, I'm absolutely stoked to see what gaps he was able to fill, and how much more of an emotional impact he can offer as opposed to the movie.

The Extended Universe is a Saving Grace

We can sit here and argue the slippery slope that the films are on (especially considering the flop that became Solo: A Star Wars Story), but there should be something positive to say about the Extended Universe, despite the rebranding. It proves that Star Wars is massive, and large enough to live on in other media if the films end up being scrapped as a whole. From comics to books to TV shows like Rebels and Clone Wars, Star Wars isn't leaving any time soon.

The Fandom...

As a devout lover of Star Wars, the fandom in recent years has only gotten worse. They're rude, they're angry, and they're hostile. Many have become entitled. We put the original trilogy on a pedestal without considering their own flaws and mishaps. Star Wars means much to me, but as far as being part of the community, I can't say I would want to ingrain myself any more than I have.

Fandom is dangerous and can stagnate a franchise, forcing it to utilize the same formula over and over without being able to take new risks. As Lucas said, "Why would I make more films if all anybody is going to do is yell at you no matter what?" The Last Jedi took those risks and look what happened. A mob appeared, sharpening their pitchforks. Sure, it was far from a perfect film, but it was, in some ways, rather necessary.