A time for a new hero
So I know it’s a little late but it’s been a year now since this extremely divisive movie came out in cinemas. It was well received by critics but the internet had people throwing death threats and abuse at some of the cast members and director Rian Johnson.
I think it’s fair to say that Star Wars has the biggest fandom of all fandoms and it’s always going to have a massive section of fans unhappy regardless of what movie or series comes out. Anyway, why so polarizing ?
Well, we have to start with ‘The Monomyth’ aka ‘The Hero’s Journey’. So Joseph Campbell’s ‘A Hero with a thousand faces’ ( you must read this book ) can be regarded as one of the most influential pieces of writing in the 20th century cause of the effect it has had on nearly every successful artist, writer, filmmaker and pop culture blogger ( 😬 ) today.
George Lucas was no different and when he was getting ideas across for a galaxy far far away, ‘The Monomyth’ ( swipe left ) was a seminal influence on him and since 1977 Star Wars itself has been held to a mythical standard on everything since (The Legend of Zelda : A link to the past’s first scene is literally the same. Go save the hostage princess) My point is we’re so used to a certain type of story that if anything subverts that expectation our immediate reaction is ‘wait what that’s not supposed to happen’.
Now, the Marvel movies have popularized ‘Bathos’. Well, for those unfamiliar with this term it’s when every sincere moment with a little tension is cut off with some quip for comic relief. Now, quite early on in the exchange between Hux and Poe you see this use of Bathos which if you’ve followed this saga religiously feels a little out of place. Not saying Star Wars is this brooding story with no place for comic relief cause that’s why we have Chewbacca but it was pretty clear to see this ‘Disneyfication’ of Star Wars. I actually enjoyed this movie when I it was out and I still do but I did notice these changes and figured out that it was inevitable but for a lot of people, this change has rubbed them them wrong way.
What do you think ?
So I know it’s a little late but it’s been a year now since this extremely divisive movie came out in cinemas. It was well received by critics but the internet had people throwing death threats and abuse at some of the cast members and director Rian Johnson. I think it’s fair to say that Star Wars has the biggest fandom of all fandoms and it’s always going to have a massive section of fans unhappy regardless of what movie or series comes out. Anyway, why so polarizing ?
Well, we have to start with ‘The Monomyth’ aka ‘The Hero’s Journey’. So Joseph Campbell’s ‘A Hero with a thousand faces’ ( you must read this book ) can be regarded as one of the most influential pieces of writing in the 20th century cause of the effect it has had on nearly every successful artist, writer, filmmaker and pop culture blogger ( 😬 ) today.
George Lucas was no different and when he was getting ideas across for a galaxy far far away, ‘The Monomyth’ ( swipe left ) was a seminal influence on him and since 1977 Star Wars itself has been held to a mythical standard on everything since (The Legend of Zelda : A link to the past’s first scene is literally the same. Go save the hostage princess) My point is we’re so used to a certain type of story that if anything subverts that expectation our immediate reaction is ‘wait what that’s not supposed to happen’.
Now, the Marvel movies have popularized ‘Bathos’. Well, for those unfamiliar with this term it’s when every sincere moment with a little tension is cut off with some quip for comic relief. Now, quite early on in the exchange between Hux and Poe you see this use of Bathos which if you’ve followed this saga religiously feels a little out of place. Not saying Star Wars is this brooding story with no place for comic relief cause that’s why we have Chewbacca but it was pretty clear to see this ‘Disneyfication’ of Star Wars. I actually enjoyed this movie when I it was out and I still do but I did notice these changes and figured out that it was inevitable but for a lot of people, this change has rubbed them them wrong way.
What do you think ?
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