Why do we love Star Wars?

Warning: contains mild spoilers

It’s been announced. It’s coming. Ladies and gentlemen, Star Wars: The Force Awakens will soon be here. The first Star Wars film in 7 years, the first live-action Star Wars film in 10 years and the first non-prequel Star Wars film in 32 years. When the world was first told by Disney that they were producing new Star Wars films, generally it groaned. “Leave it alone!” we said. “You’ll ruin it/make it worse!” But with its development and, recently, the release of a new trailer, excitement from fans (not least your semi-obsessed author) has been gradually building. Whilst there has been criticism of the film’s artistic choices from the trailer alone (!), virtually everyone is eagerly anticipating December 18^th 2015. With all this going on, I have been pondering the relationship between the fan and the franchise. Why do we love Star Wars?  What is it about its genetic makeup that makes it so appealing and so successful? Why are fans so disappointed with the prequels when compared to the originals? And despite this, why are we still anxiously waiting for this – as it were – new hope?

Well to start with, Star Wars is a story that is both original and not-original-at-all. The planets, the light sabres, the ships, the creatures and the character names exhibit an astonishing amount of imagination. The world (or galaxy) of Star Wars is so diverse and engaging in its creativity that is difficult not to get sucked in, which is a proven success with many franchises (both the Harry Potter and ‘Middle Earth’ series have done the same to great effect). So many creatures and people, such amazing technology, and such well-thought-out and strange places lead to escapism at its finest. You feel like you’re there.

Yet on the other hand, its themes, characters and even story are all familiar in one way or another. The Force and the Jedi Order are very reminiscent of today’s diverse religious groups and spiritual cults: the idea of a light side and a dark side and how emotions such as fear, anger, hate, love, forgiveness and hope can lead someone from one side to the other. In addition to this, the Senate and the Empire are reflections of both our history and politics (the name ‘Stormtrooper’ is a dead giveaway). It clearly favours democracy in its depiction of both the Senate in the prequels and the rebellion in the originals, and obviously opposes dictatorships and fascism in its depiction of the Empire. When one also looks to ancient mythologies, parallels become clear between them and the fate of Luke and Leia Skywalker: the divine twins who provide both strength and goodness to save everyone (this is particularly evident with the Greek gods Apollo and Artemis). On top of all this, you have the age-old tale of redemption: the return of the prodigal son. The focus of Star Wars is Anakin Skywalker and we follow him from being the prophet “who will bring balance to the force”, to a hero who is then deceived and turned to the Dark Side,  becoming Darth Vader, before finally being brought back to the light of the force by his son, Luke, in episode VI. If Star Wars is anything, and it is a lot of things, then it is the story of not only how good people become bad, but also of how they are able to become good again.

Therefore, there is a combination of great original creations, ancient lore and modern parallels. This allows for not only escapism to a world that is unimaginable to some, but also for the audience to relate and engage with the plot and the characters; the key to any great piece of storytelling. The audience must care about the characters; their journey is the journey of all who watch. And Star Wars is the tale of one of the greatest journeys there is.

So what went wrong? It’s no secret that the prequels (episodes I-III) just don’t have the same charming quality as the originals (episodes IV-VI), meaning that they must have done something different. How did they change Star Wars for the worse? Well, the major reason considered to be the cause of the Star Wars deterioration is that George Lucas (the creator of Star Wars) was given too much creative control over the films as both writer and director for all three. It is clear that the writing is not great, in terms of dialogue (“From my point of view the Jedi are evil!”), or characterisation. Now, the writing of Star Wars has never been Oscar-worthy, and it’s never needed to be. Simply believable lines and characters in an unbelievable scenario is all that Star Wars requires to be great. But Lucas’ poor dialogue feels forced when the actors try to say it, which instantly distances the audience from what’s happening on the screen. It feels fake and looks like actors trying to say bad lines rather than characters trying to communicate their thoughts. In addition, there is too strong a focus on politics in the prequels, to extensively illustrate Palpatine’s rise to power. Star Wars was never about galactic politics, but purely about the old tale of good vs. evil. Expecting action and seeing political debates instead is, understandably, boring. As well as this, the characterisation is not really developed. Anakin (the focus of the prequels) doesn’t really come across as likeable until Episode III. He is given no real time to change; he goes instantly from egotistical and whining to caring and troubled. If the character isn’t given much development by the writer/director, then why should the audience care for them? Cinema, no matter how absurd, has to have some element of believability in it (or at the very least relatability) for the audience to be invested in what’s going on. If they can’t relate to what’s happening, either in speech or simple human behaviour, then they aren’t going to care for the characters and events much, which is a crucial element of filmmaking.

Lucas’ direction also takes some of the charm out of Star Wars. CGI has become a ground-breaking tool in film to create complicated images, but too much of it can be spotted by the audience and, once again, take them out of the story. The original Star Wars films had an effective mixture of real effects (robotics and live sets) and computer-generated effects. This meant that the scenes could focus more easily on the characters without and were more exciting because they were in real places (albeit created sets) for the actors and the audience to relate to. When they did have CGI, it was only used when necessary (so not frequently) and was used for an awe factor for the audience. Constant use of digital special effects (as seen in the prequels) makes the environment distracting, placing focus away from the characters, and can worsen the acting-quality since the actors are working with green/blue-screen and so have every little, if anything, to work from. As I said, the audience can spot CGI and when something isn’t there, so too much of this can make an entire film seem fake. This was the combination that, for many, ruined the Star Wars franchise.

Despite this, I do admire Lucas in a way. It is clear that Lucas poured his heart and soul into making these films: he wanted to build on the franchise he had created even more, now that he had the technology and control that he didn’t have 30 years ago.  Whilst under the guise of poor dialogue, unfocused characterisation and pointlessly complicated political motivations, the ultimate theme of Star Wars (that of good vs evil) is kept along with a fitting story that sets up the originals (the fall of Anakin). Even if the prequels don’t live up to the originals, its basic story remains with a new twist to keep us (vaguely) interested. That is why we still love Star Wars.

So if the prequels were so bad, why are people still getting excited for Star Wars: The Force Awakens? Put simply, it is due to the fact that there appears to be a return to the style of the original Star Wars films. Less CGI is going to be used in favour of real-life sets and props, some of the original cast are returning (notably Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker) as well as some exciting new talent (Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson and Andy Serkis). John Williams is once again composing the score, and the screenplay will be co-written by Lawrence Kasdan (writer of episodes V and VI). In addition to this, Lucas will have little creative involvement, reducing the potential for unconvincing writing and misguided direction. It would appear that Star Wars: The Force Awakens is learning from the mistakes of its predecessors and including the ingredients that made the originals cinematic classics. That is reason enough for any fan of Lucas’ space-opera to be at least a bit excited for the upcoming film.

Star Wars has had its ups and downs, but its simplistic story and engrossingly imaginative creations have led it to become one of the world’s most recognised, successful and beloved tales. So go. Revisit the worlds of a galaxy far, far away, or discover them anew and, as always, may the force be with you.