It's been so long since I've posted on this blog. My few followers may have thought I've abandoned it. I haven't. I've realized I need to post more than just writing stuff, hopefully I'll be adding something new, with an aim to post it on a weekly basis. We'll see how that goes.
When I was back in America hanging out with friends, they showed me the YouTube video ""The Star Wars That I Used To Know". They asked me what I thought (it was interesting and well made) and said something along the lines of George Lucas ruining Star Wars. I basically said nothing, since I hate confrontation, but it stuck with me. I later heard George Lucas used as a verb, either "pulling a George Lucas" or "George Lucasing", I can't remember which. The main point seems not to be the actual changes Lucas has made to his films but rather if he has the right to.
Yes, he absolutely does.
I'm a Lucas supporter. I love all the Star Wars, even the prequels. The Empire Strikes Back is my least favorite of the six. I have no problem with JarJar and I don't think it was stereotyping. The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull wasn't what I expected but it isn't the travesty people make it out to be. But, back to the changes.
The debate seems to be whether Lucas should be allowed to change his films or not. Do they belong to the fans or him? They are George Lucas's. As the creator, I think he has every right to change them. The films are his, both legally and creatively. Haven't you written a story, painted a picture, or built a model, only later to come back to it and say "I wish had done this, or changed that"? I'm sure most people have. So why can't he?
Fans believe, for the most part, the films are theirs. Once it is released, the original creators no longer have a say. Sometimes, fans think it belongs to them even before it is released; they probe the Net for set images and costume designs, critiquing every little thing and seeing if it matches with "their" vision. I think that's why some films, like The Phantom Menace and Ridley Scott's Prometheus, are disliked. It didn't match what the audiences were expecting.
So then we have fanon. Fan+canon= fanon. It is where fans take a film or episode of a beloved TV show and series and, because they hate it so much, pretend it never happened and doesn't fit into the movie or show's universe. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, These Are The Voyages…, the series finale of Star Trek: Enterprise, and The Incredible Hulk with Edward Norton, come to mind. I admit I engage in some fanon as well. Creators aren't perfect and will produce clunkers now and then.
But if they have the opportunity to tweak it, to go back and add the little touches they think will enhance the movie, shouldn't they be allowed the shot? Yes.
Creators need fans. They are the people who make the movies and shows known. But they aren't the final say in the matter. The creator is. At the end of the day, it is George Lucas's name on the movies They are his. Do we have to agree with and like every single change he makes to the Star Wars saga. No.
But it IS his right, as the creator, to make those changes.
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