Star Wars is the love of my life
Want to know why I resist attempts to get me to give a chance to The Hunger Games or Game of Thrones or whatever people are crazy about these days? I'm sure nothing could ever equal Star Wars, but deep down I am afraid of a repeat of what happened when I saw the prequels. I couldn't handle having another obsession like Star Wars. It would be too distracting.
There's something magical about Star Wars. I'm obsessed with it like with nothing else, ever, and this obsession hasn't diminished with time. I've been in the SW fandom (as in actively writing fic and meta) for 5 years now, which is a record for me. I wrote Harry Potter fic for 3 years before losing interest (though I come back to it occasionally), West Wing fic for a year, and Twilight (yeah...) for a couple of months. I can divide my life in two eras: before I saw the SW prequels, and after.
There are things in the movies that I personally don't find convincing, meaning I can't suspend my disbelief about them. But I wouldn't want to change anything about Star Wars. I love it as it as. I love everything about it. This doesn't mean I don't like exploring alternative interpretations in fanfiction, both as a writer and as a reader. The fact that I do doesn't mean I think the official version is flawed/should be changed.
SW is one of the rare creative works that I find interesting enough to discuss and analyze in detail. While discussing it, trying to understand it, arguing with people who think there are things about it that need to be "fixed", sometimes I admit there's a scene in the movies that I'm not sure I understand. Something that doesn't work for me. That doesn't mean it's badly made or needs to be improved. When I criticize the manner of Padmé's death, for example, it's about me and how I look at movies, not about the movie itself.
And there are very few things in the movies that don't convince me. What I don't like about the HP books could fill a dozen pages; what I don't like about the HP movies could fill a hundred. And that's a series I like, a lot more than the majority of fiction. What I don't like about Star Wars could fill... a couple of lines at most. This is unusual for me - I tend to be very critical of fiction and creative works. I prefer nonfiction because I see too many flaws in fiction, and in nonfiction flaws aren't as annoying. The fact that I find almost nothing to criticize about Star Wars, when criticizing is like a second nature to me, is pretty amazing.
Some expanded universe novels and Clone Wars episodes have met my expectations when they were so high I was sure they were impossible to meet. And I love each of the movies above all, but - yes - the prequels more than the original trilogy.
Star Wars is 6 movies. If you say otherwise, you are being offensive. You think you can bash the prequels and still be a Star Wars fan? But you are bashing Star Wars, and bashing is the polar opposite of being a fan. I fight prequel-bashers everywhere I find them, in real life and on the internet. I think fans who refuse to talk to bashers are making a mistake. No, you won't convince them; trying to is a waste of time. But at least you'll make it impossible for anyone reading to believe or claim "everyone" agrees with the bashers. (Yes, there are people who still think that, in spite of evidence.)
We don't have to have the last word, but we shouldn't let them have the only word on any forum, community, message board, etc. It's not about winning, if by winning you mean getting them to see they are wrong. You'll only get frustrated if you try, because there is no winning when your opponent refuses to be rational. You are not fighting on the same battlefield. Don't sink to their level - think about the witnesses.
Most people are uncomfortable with conflict. Not me. I enjoy it. My dream job: defense lawyer in criminal trials. Give me a reason and I'll happily pounce. And defending what I love is more than enough of a reason.
Note that I said bashing, not disliking. Different people like different things; welcome to real life. Other people don't see what I see when they watch the same movie, because they aren't me, and that's okay as long as they accept that their way of seeing things isn't the only way. I'll respect your opinion if and only if you respect mine and everyone else's. You do, you say? And in the same breath you say liking what you hate is stupid? That's not respect.
There's something magical about Star Wars. I'm obsessed with it like with nothing else, ever, and this obsession hasn't diminished with time. I've been in the SW fandom (as in actively writing fic and meta) for 5 years now, which is a record for me. I wrote Harry Potter fic for 3 years before losing interest (though I come back to it occasionally), West Wing fic for a year, and Twilight (yeah...) for a couple of months. I can divide my life in two eras: before I saw the SW prequels, and after.
There are things in the movies that I personally don't find convincing, meaning I can't suspend my disbelief about them. But I wouldn't want to change anything about Star Wars. I love it as it as. I love everything about it. This doesn't mean I don't like exploring alternative interpretations in fanfiction, both as a writer and as a reader. The fact that I do doesn't mean I think the official version is flawed/should be changed.
SW is one of the rare creative works that I find interesting enough to discuss and analyze in detail. While discussing it, trying to understand it, arguing with people who think there are things about it that need to be "fixed", sometimes I admit there's a scene in the movies that I'm not sure I understand. Something that doesn't work for me. That doesn't mean it's badly made or needs to be improved. When I criticize the manner of Padmé's death, for example, it's about me and how I look at movies, not about the movie itself.
And there are very few things in the movies that don't convince me. What I don't like about the HP books could fill a dozen pages; what I don't like about the HP movies could fill a hundred. And that's a series I like, a lot more than the majority of fiction. What I don't like about Star Wars could fill... a couple of lines at most. This is unusual for me - I tend to be very critical of fiction and creative works. I prefer nonfiction because I see too many flaws in fiction, and in nonfiction flaws aren't as annoying. The fact that I find almost nothing to criticize about Star Wars, when criticizing is like a second nature to me, is pretty amazing.
Some expanded universe novels and Clone Wars episodes have met my expectations when they were so high I was sure they were impossible to meet. And I love each of the movies above all, but - yes - the prequels more than the original trilogy.
Star Wars is 6 movies. If you say otherwise, you are being offensive. You think you can bash the prequels and still be a Star Wars fan? But you are bashing Star Wars, and bashing is the polar opposite of being a fan. I fight prequel-bashers everywhere I find them, in real life and on the internet. I think fans who refuse to talk to bashers are making a mistake. No, you won't convince them; trying to is a waste of time. But at least you'll make it impossible for anyone reading to believe or claim "everyone" agrees with the bashers. (Yes, there are people who still think that, in spite of evidence.)
We don't have to have the last word, but we shouldn't let them have the only word on any forum, community, message board, etc. It's not about winning, if by winning you mean getting them to see they are wrong. You'll only get frustrated if you try, because there is no winning when your opponent refuses to be rational. You are not fighting on the same battlefield. Don't sink to their level - think about the witnesses.
Most people are uncomfortable with conflict. Not me. I enjoy it. My dream job: defense lawyer in criminal trials. Give me a reason and I'll happily pounce. And defending what I love is more than enough of a reason.
Note that I said bashing, not disliking. Different people like different things; welcome to real life. Other people don't see what I see when they watch the same movie, because they aren't me, and that's okay as long as they accept that their way of seeing things isn't the only way. I'll respect your opinion if and only if you respect mine and everyone else's. You do, you say? And in the same breath you say liking what you hate is stupid? That's not respect.