It occurred to me this week that in May, we will reach the 15th anniversary of the release of The Phantom Menace. Yes, fans, the prequel trilogy is a decade and a half old. If you'll recall, when that movie first came out, a lot of fans who grew up with the first trilogy derided the more juvenille film as a film that played like it was made for eight year-olds.
Well that means that those eight year-olds are now 23. College graduates. Maybe some of them are even readers of this blog. In fact, I hope they are.
I've heard George Lucas often quoted speaking anecdotally about young fans who came to the series via the prequels and as a result, they find the original trilogy outdated and boring. It also seems there's a decent subset of fans whose entry into Star Wars was The Clone Wars series. Lucas claims that some of those fans don't even seem to be aware of the films.
When I was growing up, Star Wars was pretty much three films. That was it, unless you want to count the "extended universe" of novels and games that sprung up in the 90s. But generally speaking, until 1999, most everyone experienced Star Wars the same way. And because of that, a lot of people of my generation have similar reactions to the elements that came after.
But now that the youngest of the prequel viewers are now older than I was when the prequels came out, I'm sort of curious to hear the perspectives of the audience the films were aimed at at the time.
So if your introduction to Star Wars came by any means other than the three classic films, please sound off in the comments, particularly if you're among those subsets that prefers the prequels or the Clone Wars animated series. How did joining the series via those on ramps affect your perception of the story as it played out in the original trilogy?
It would be nice if we could keep the prequel bashing to a minimum, at least from the members of my generation.
I'd seen the original and prequel trilogies when I was really young, before I could really appreciate the story and characters. I really first got interested in Star Wars with the Clone Wars, as I was old enough to appreciate the great writing and darker elements. Clone Wars motivated me to rewatch the films. I've found that, while I still think New Hope and Empire are the best, I actually care for Revenge of the Sith a lot more than most people. If the first two prequel films did a better job at building up the characters and creating emotional connections, I would rank Sith up there with Hope and Empire.
ReplyDeleteI actually like SITH too. It's the most effective prequel and resonates rather well with JEDI
DeleteI saw the Special Edition movies in theatres. Didn't really get them but after watching Episode I, became a huge fan (of the movies). Love the prequels as much as the original trilogy. Not big on the 'expanded universe.'
ReplyDeleteYeah, the EU really is targeted at fans who favor the OT. Coming to it after the prequels would probably be odd
DeleteExactly the sort of comment I was hoping to get! Keep 'em coming!
ReplyDeleteMy relationship with STAR WARS is multifaceted. I certainly think I fall into the demographic you're querying: I was ten when THE PHANTOM MENACE was released.
ReplyDeleteIt was not, however, my first experience with STAR WARS. I had been reared on the original trilogy via countless viewings on laserdisc. Until the VHS re-releases and Special Edition release, it was difficult to find peers to play STAR WARS in the schoolyard. Then, of course, the explosion happened.
So I shared a great deal of nostalgia for the original trilogy, while being young enough to approach the prequels with optimism and completely removed from any stigma they would earn. I consumed, enjoyed, and anticipated each of those films. I began participating in "The Debate" as maturing years brought me to face the majority of displeased fans.
Subsequent viewings in later years -- as cinematic analysis became a passion -- certainly caused a recontextualization of the prequels, but not the one you might expect.
STAR WARS, as a series, exists on two planes of thought for me. While I wouldn't argue that any are perfect, I have sincere love for them all, but none so much as the first: STAR WARS (77). That movie, for me, exists on a sort of ethereal plane reserved for the purest of cinematic experiences.
Below that, I place the rest. A six-part saga of varying degrees of legitimate literary finesse, but always with an excess of ambition. Taking in the prequels in my youth allowed for a stigma-free analysis later in life. I honestly believe there are thematic undercurrents in the prequels that have been largely ignored (understandably) due to the form in which they were delivered.
The infantile, and ongoing, reaction of fandom continues to disgust me to the point of abandonment. It was when debating partners insisted on citing an inexplicably popular and unjustifiably long-winded internet video "review" as legitimate criticism that I threw in the towel. They insisted on placing the prequels against the rigidity of certain narrative forms that they expected from STAR WARS, which had nothing to do with what the movies themselves seemed to be trying to do, structurally.
From past posts here, I suspect you will agree that there is little more frustrating than those that believe there is a singular structure to which all stories must assimilate. Joseph Campbell stood for so much more than just the hero's journey, I hate seeing discourse reduced and simplified so severely.
I could go on about STAR WARS forever, including my personal favorite topic: why EMPIRE is as as sinful, to me, as any of the prequels. However, I'll spare your column's comments section a post any longer than this one already is!
This might be my favorite comment on the site in a long time. This is exactly the kind of perspective I was interested in hearing. Someone old enough to have come to SW when it was just the original trilogy, but young enough to have experienced the prequels without cynicism.
DeleteFan reaction bugs me too. I'm not blind to the fact that there are flaws in the prequels (why, oh WHY did Anakin have to be 9 in the first one? Why not just start him and Padme off at the same age? It would fix SO much!) but I think there's a lot of good in there too.
Sure, Lucas really didn't know how to direct Anakin, and Padme isn't nearly as dynamic as Leia (IMHO, you may disagree), but there is some great stuff in there too. In particular, if you look at how Luke's journey and Anakin's parallel each other, it can add some interesting resonance to some already strong moments in Luke's arc. I'm not a total disciple for "machete order" but I can't deny some of the observations that it can strengthen the audience fear that Luke is tipping too close to the Dark Side in JEDI.
Your shot at the "unjustifiably long-winded internet video 'review'" pretty much indicates to me that you and I would VERY much get along in real life.
And I would LOVE to see your take on why EMPIRE is as sinful as the prequels. Seriously, if you want to write something like that, I'll even run it as a guest post on the site. I say this as an EMPIRE lover, mind you. Just curious to understand your argument.
Have you read the voluminous SECRET HISTORY OF STAR WARS? While the writing and editing of the book itself is somewhat uneven, it's got some incredibly detailed comparative research on the screenplay drafts for all six of the films.
DeleteCharting the development of EMPIRE's story beats helped illuminate certain aspects of it that never sat well with me.
I appreciate your compliment, and may in fact take you up on your offer, should a suitable window between life and specs open up to allow the proper attention to be given to it. (After birthing a somewhat massive review video of my own recently, I feel the need to tip the scale from criticism back to creation.)
Holy incendiary statement!
ReplyDeleteBitter, only I could be so bold as to suggest a GUEST POST where Nick elaborates on "why EMPIRE is as as sinful... as any of the prequels."
Despite many mates telling how "brilliant" it was, I couldn't watch five minutes of that insufferable video review.
And I'm an old fart who grew up on the original trilogy...
Ugh. That video review. I really hate the school of thought that the longer a review is, the more that "proves" it's right. Too many people have taken the wrong lesson from that video review and others like it.
DeleteI think that review is quite good, not because it is long, but because it is very thoughtful. It is not two hours ranting about Jar jar, it speaks about storytelling basics and demonstarte great knowledge about writing. It also have rape jokes, which I can understand is not especially tasteful.
DeleteI was ten when I watched TPM for the first time (2000) at a friend's house. That was as fine a movie experience as I can remember. I don't remember being disappointed or bored in any way.
ReplyDeleteUpon watching it last year after watching that one youtube video we all know, I have to admit I agreed with the legitimacy of some of his criticisms (mostly the flat cinematography, which is so obvious comparing TPM and ESB), but I vehemently disagreed with other, major points - the podrace discussion being one. I loved pretty much every element of the podrace sequence (still do), and I cannot understand why so many SW fans object to its very existence. It's a great way to demonstrate Anakin's force sensitivity. It visually represents how impressive that actually is.
Overall, while I don't believe the prequels are as strong as the original trilogy (I particularly dislike the way that Anakin gravitated to the dark side), they still capture the essence of SW for me due to a synthesis of John Williams, wonderful set pieces, brilliant sound effects, and an emotional grounding of the characters. I would go so far as to say that magic makes SW essentially different (at some level) than other films.
I'm 24. And I don't like the prequels, at all.
ReplyDeleteLook, I am not going to have a fight here. You are in your right of enjoying the movies. But I want to say something: I don't believe in "nostalgia". Movies are never about "when they first came out". No. Movies are about STORY, are about CHARACTERS, about HUMAN THEMES and about FEELINGS... thinks that the original trilogy handled perfectly and the new one lacks. Some movies are remembered through the years, others are forgotten and that's a fact.
Phantom Menace, Attack of the clones and Revenge of the sith have been universally panned and I think there is a reason for that. This movies are trying to be political but they fail. Are trying to be adventurous and they fail. Are trying to be emotional and they fail. The plot barely makes any sense and the character arcs are a disaster.
Other have criticised this movies before, and better than me. My point is: when we grow up, we learn to appreciate other things and we stop liking others. It's natural. I truly believe that there are enough objetive arguments to consider the prequel trilogy not only inferior as the originals, but bad movies in their own right.
But I love you all.
I was a freshman in college when the Episode One came out and I loved it! I saw it four times in the theater and maybe it's just me, but I don't remember there being such a widespread negative reaction to the movie when it first came out. A lot of that seemed to come about later, in my opinion, and there is definitely a generational divide among fans.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to get into a whole thing, but I think a lot of the extremely negative reaction had less to do with the quality of the films and more to do with a realization by a lot of older fans that they weren't kids anymore and couldn't enjoy somethings they way they used to.
Let's not forget that The Phantom Menace was a movie that fans had waited their entire lives to see. The events of the Clone Wars had played out a thousand times in their heads. There was simply no way any movie could have lived up to the kind of hype Episode One was subjected to.
Yes, there are problems with the prequels. They'er a little unfocused, there is a bit too much political intrigue and they're sorely missing the presence of a Han Solo type rouge character. But, Anakin's journey is compelling, the pre-Empire world is nicely realized and the tragedy of the story is powerful. The prequels are no where near as awful as a generation of whiny Internet cynics and maladjusted fanboys would have you believe.
And for that matter, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull isn't that bad either.
Let me know when you're ready to hear from old-school fans who also really like the prequels. I'm in my 40's and found much to enjoy in the new films, especially its macro/micro arc of watching both the Republic at large and Anakin both get slowly corrupted from inside out. Plus, Ewan McGregor as Obi-wan is excellent!
ReplyDeleteI knew some of you guys had to exist!
DeleteApologies if it's gauche to resurrect an older thread, but it looks like my stance is underrepresented here.
ReplyDeleteI was ten when TPM was released and I had already seen the original trilogy and loved them. I thought "oh cool more SW" and was pleased to have more light saber battles and space ship races, but I was very disappointed with Jar Jar, who seemed aimed at the 6-year-old crowd (little kids, yuck). Furthermore, the political stuff went way over my head, and I found the plot totally confusing. So I can imagine that to an adult, it would seem like it was aimed at "kids", but as one of those kids, I felt like it was too confusing and large-scale to appeal to the younger crowd, and too silly to appeal to my refined 10-year-old tastes.
As a teen and an adult, I rewatched all six many times and still love the original three, still despise the new ones.
Apologies if it's gauche to resurrect an older thread, but it looks like my stance is underrepresented here.
ReplyDeleteI was ten when TPM was released and I had already seen the original trilogy and loved them. I thought "oh cool more SW" and was pleased to have more light saber battles and space ship races, but I was very disappointed with Jar Jar, who seemed aimed at the 6-year-old crowd (little kids, yuck). Furthermore, the political stuff went way over my head, and I found the plot totally confusing. So I can imagine that to an adult, it would seem like it was aimed at "kids", but as one of those kids, I felt like it was too confusing and large-scale to appeal to the younger crowd, and too silly to appeal to my refined 10-year-old tastes.
As a teen and an adult, I rewatched all six many times and still love the original three, still despise the new ones.