Lucas' Let-Down

All the hate being spewed at George Lucas for updating the original "Star Wars Trilogy" is both tiresome and puzzling. Tiresome because everybody and their dog loves to chime in, puzzling because some of it is from people who should know better.

For anybody who's not familiar with the subject, when they decided to remaster and re-release the Trilogy a number of years ago, Lucas seized the opportunity that new technology afforded to update and insert a few scenes. Some of the special effects were redone and a few critters were digitally inserted, and one scene in particular was re-edited to have Greedo shoot and miss Han Solo before being decimated. (See Han shot first and changes in Star Wars re-releases).

So the gist of the chorus goes something like this: "How dare George Lucas ruin my life by altering the subject of my favorite childhood memories!" A common refrain is "George Lucas stole my childhood!"

My response is: "Really?" George Lucas "stole your childhood"?

First, in order for that to be anything close to true, you would have had to not experience childhood. Not only is that obviously not the case, anybody who has this attitude is clearly still smack in the middle of their childhood, regardless of the fact that they may be middle aged....

Second, how pathetic do you have to be to be so immersed in a fantasy world that changes to a film blow your world apart?

Third, few ever get the chance to revise and re-release films in order to more closely match their own vision and imagination. The bottom line is that the Star Wars Universe belongs to George Lucas and no one else. Fanfic notwithstanding, it is George Lucas' imagination that spawned the idea and the original stories, and he has every right to do whatever he wishes with them. I for one am happy for him that he got a chance that few (if any) others have. After all, when classic films are remade, frequently they are no better than the original and all too often they are not as good. But the remakes are often very successful and sometimes even applauded. So what's wrong with an individual getting a rare chance for a "do-over" to overcome limitations of the original project and express his personal views more clearly?

And lastly, shame on those who are themselves artists or creative types and should understand that sometimes their work suffers because of limitations of many different kinds, including fiscal, technological, temporal, and sometimes even the political climate of the day. Haven't you ever wished that you had a chance to change something that you did in the past? Or are sour grapes keeping you from admitting that sometimes hindsight is better than foresight, and second chances shouldn't be wasted?

Bottom Line: If ever there were truth to the expression "Get a Life!", it's regarding this issue.

The Real Dope: Unless it is specifically designated as Nonfiction or Documentary, it's all about escape and fantasy, not realism. If you get lost in the contradictions, errors or craftmanship of a piece of art, you're not only missing the point entirely, you're really doing harm to your own experience of life.