Friday’s San Diego Comic Con TFA panel was carefully constructed to generate positive, even ecstatic buzz. All of those panels are meant to do that, whether it’s a rare appearance from a huge movie star, the debut of a two-fisted trailer, an ensemble cast appearing together, or goofy surprise stunts like the new Spiderman showing up to ask a question in costume.
If you went by the happy, even joyous tweets from those who attended the panel and the free show afterwards (complete with fireworks) or the geek media reports, it was the best thing since sliced bread. I felt a bit stung that I’d missed out, especially on the concert afterwards. It was in an outdoor area where I could’ve seen and heard the event, even if I hadn’t attended the panel. As I put it on Twitter, it felt like a friend threw a party but didn’t invite me.
But it’s Monday and instead of every Star Wars fan chattering excitedly about what we’re getting in five months, a lot of prequel/saga fans in particular are steamed over the tone of the panel and the behind-the-scenes video shown to the mostly-unwashed masses in Hall H. There were things in that video we’d not seen before, like a MUCH better shot of TFA Leia and various creatures. Larry Kasdan at least had the decency to bring up George Lucas a couple of times and acknowledge his genius. The film’s villains were introduced for the first time. Having Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford together again in one place was a reunion most of us thought would never happen. The rest of it though was relentless emphasis on “practical effects,” “real sets,” “real deserts,” and “tangible” stuff. Plus the video confirmed the presence of prequel basher/bully Simon Pegg. We’ve heard it before at Celebration in April and in various interviews but there was something about this particular panel that broke the eopie’s back and many people noticed the shade being cast on the prequels. Look at some of these comments and memes…it’s not just me or just the people who comment on SWPAS. I didn’t tell these folks what to say or believe and I don’t know most of them:
Today Clone Corridor posted this piece that flat out calls the panel/video content prequel bashing. I posted a link this morning on the SWPAS Facebook page and now it’s all over my feed. I haven’t seen anything like it.
As most of you have realized, this is calculated. They’re the top echelon’s talking points about TFA and they are most certainly aimed at tickling the ears of those who hated the prequels. I have no doubt about it. They cannot come out and say, “The prequels were a horrible mistake, we’re really sorry, and we’re going to do it right this time.” It would humiliate George Lucas. So they are being more subtle, promising they are going back to the old cookie recipe of a “used world” look, 1970s-1980s visual effects, on location filming, and bringing back the Star Wars “we all grew up with.” Ah, that’s another popular talking point…this has everything we loved about the original movies. It’s like listening to that Weezer song “Back To The Shack”: we’re sorry for our previous efforts! We’re getting back to basics and our roots, guys!
The emphasis on practical effects over CGI and green screen deliberately plays off of the prequel haters’ argument that CGI and green screen were liabilities. It’s also deliberately contrary to the PR behind the prequels that emphasized all of the cool stuff one could do with digital effects. Most of you reading this know the prequels had a mix of digital and practical effects. Even ROTS, which was the only Star Wars film without on location principal photography, used real world shots mixed in with digital and practical effects. But why didn’t this panel or the one at Celebration or in any of the media interviews about the film make the point that this film isn’t doing anything different from its predecessors? Because they know if the anti-PT crowd hears “we’re doing the same thing as Eps I-III,” that crowd will turn on TFA in a hurry. Disney and Lucasfilm’s top brass live in mortal fear of the hateboys. They know what these keyboard barbarians are capable of doing. So the suits are putting on the charm offensive, hoping to win over those disaffected fans by promising to give them “their” Star Wars back. And part of that is relegating the prequels to the crazy uncle attic, where they can only come out for lesser-seen material like books and comics. In four days at SDCC, I saw virtually nothing prequel-related from the various licensed booths. I’ll bet a moisture farm you won’t see a single PT alum anywhere near any of TFA’s official premieres (meanwhile, OT alum did show up for prequel premieres).
Part of the reason they are going the “Back To The Shack” route is of course to gin up anticipation without having to tell anyone anything about the movie. Friday’s panel was very light on substantive information. But trying so hard to win over OT-only base and keeping the mystery box shut is kicking up the hornet’s nest of prequel fans. We’re not stupid. We can hear the dog whistles loud and clear. Even those willing to give the benefit of the doubt are none too pleased at the direction marketing has taken. I’ve written before they think they can get away with it because most of us will see TFA at least once anyway. After what I’ve seen online over the past weekend, I’m starting to wonder if Disney/Lucasfilm has gone too far and if fans continue to get riled up like this, they can’t taken for granted anymore.
What’s really dumb about this whole thing is that Disney and Lucasfilm should worry less about geezer fanboys and more about kids whose formative Star Wars experiences were with the prequels and especially Clone Wars. I know this is anecdotal evidence, but at SDCC yesterday I was sitting at a table eating lunch and across from me were two boys with their dads. The boys were around eight or nine years old and they’d just bought some Clone Wars stuff in the exhibit hall. They weren’t talking about the OT or TFA, they were talking about Obi-Wan and Anakin.
Alleged Comedian Calls Prequel Fans Worse Than Pedophiles, Racists, Etc..: Fandom Snores (Commentary)
November 16, 2017Normally I avoid “guess who trashed the prequels today” kind of posts unless they’re about people working on Star Wars in an official capacity. But this is so horrible I couldn’t let it pass and it gives me a golden opportunity to unload on other things.
Patton Oswalt has long been a prequel basher and once infamously said that he wished he could go back in time and beat George Lucas to death with a shovel so those films wouldn’t be made. Today though he stooped to a low that not even Simon Pegg or Wil Wheaton could reach if they were crawling on Hell’s linoleum floor. Apparently trying to be topical and funny, he tweeted re Alabama senatorial candidate Roy Moore: “Homophobia, pedophilia and NOW white supremacy? If he admits to liking the STAR WARS prequels I’m pulling my support.”
That’s right guys, he’s saying you’re worse than a pedophile, a racist, or a gay basher for liking movies he doesn’t and apparently over 3000 of his followers agree. No word on whether this applies to the new Mrs. Oswalt who voiced Barriss Offee in the Clone Wars. So what does the fandom have to say about this slander of a significant part of it, or trivializing serious issues with a bad joke? Or Lucasfilm?
*Chirping crickets.*
Aside from Naboo News and a few other fans, it’s been a big collective “meh.” I’m not saying everyone needs to send Oswalt death threats or get him tossed off Twitter but no one seems to care either. Just like they didn’t seem to care about author Saladin Ahmed had posted some vulgarisms about Lucas on Twitter and called him a racist (Ahmed has a story in the upcoming Canto Bright anthology) and when questioned about it, the chief of books at Lucasfilm literally played dumb. Sure some fans were livid but too many were like, “Oh well, it’s just one guy I gotta buys the bookz.” A few people grumbled about Wil Wheaton being included in the Certain Point of View anthology but for the most part fans either had nothing to say or bought the book anyway (I’m aware there’s a story in it with Qui-Gon but I’m sorry, that’s not good enough). Lucasfilm has also hired people like Gary Whitta who had some nasty things to say about Lucas online and Chuck Wendig who has to be about the worst ambassador for any brand ever.
I get that fans are wary of saying the wrong thing on social media. It’s an uphill battle to mess with anyone who’s famous because they have thousands of fans who will swarm on you. In addition, Twitter is quick to suspend or ban those who irritate or upset celebrities.
There are also a lot of people who don’t want to say anything because they want to be “positive.” They think that criticizing something makes them somehow disloyal.
That said, I’ve observed there are exactly two things nowadays that DO get fans outraged, at least on social media:
1. EA nickel and diming gamers in its Battlefront II game, complete with setting a record for the most downvoted post ever on Reddit.
2. Any fan who says or posts something that offends certain fans’ political or cultural/social views.
But fans have no time to care a whit about Lucas’s legacy, which is why Lucasfilm keeps hiring guys like Oswalt to write for them or appear in their movies or t.v. shows. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if it happened! And they have no reason not to because it’s clear to them you will keep giving them your money and time regardless.
In the meantime, I can’t be bothered to get off the couch about anything else regarding fandom or Star Wars anymore. If you don’t care, why should I?
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