A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… these are the signature words of every Star Wars movie opening since its first showing in 1977. The Star Wars franchise is probably the biggest and most recognized franchise in cinema. Created by George Lucas, an “American film director, producer, screenwriter, and entrepreneur,” he was able to expand the minds of children and adults alike to science fiction. Everyone has somewhat been affected by it, including my own family. Yet not all of Star Wars is great, especially when it returned in 2012 when Disney bought it.
Since its release in 1977, Star Wars has become a huge franchise. There are now ten movies, several games, figures, and a new series called the Mandalorian. With such releases, Star Wars has affected many people throughout the world. It has continued to affect generations after its first release. My father and his brothers first saw Star Wars when it was released in 1977. For them, they had to wait for a massive line just to get to the theater. For me I first saw Star Wars in my basement. Even though people like me saw Star Wars in different circumstances, it still captivated me. The very first Star Wars I ever saw was episode 4, the New Hope, which was truly amazing as the very opening was so different from other movies. For example, I never saw any movie presenting a gigantic ship moving through space attacking another vessel, or stormtroopers menacingly firing on rebel troops. Such examples made me immediately become a fan. What made it even better was that three more episodes were introduced, which were called the prequel trilogy, where I got to understand how it all began. Although many people hate the prequel trilogy, I actually enjoyed it. Overall, as a Star Wars fan, the franchise didn't just make me into a nerd. It changed my life as it made me investigate stop motion filming and storymaking. Even my love of art came from watching star wars as the concept drawing of Ralph Maccoury peaked my interests. Without Star Wars, I may have never become the person I am today.
Unfortunately, like any other franchise, Star Wars isn't perfect. When Disney bought Star Wars, it immediately created three more movies. When fans of the original trilogy first heard of these releases, they were excited. However, after watching these so-called sequels, not many fans were impressed. A lot of fans said the movies lacked any new story-telling and were complete remakes of the original trilogy. People even went so far as to praise the prequels, which everyone hated so much, since George Lucas tried to tell something different. What makes it worse is that George Lucas feels betrayed since Disney took over. Disney “acquired Lucasfilm in 2012”, and they “also purchased Lucas’ story outlines”, but Lucas revealed, “Disney discarded his stories.” This immediately made Lucas upset as Disney discarded his stories. Other things that Disney and Lucasfilm have done has also caused the fandom and even casual viewers of Star Wars to be mad since fans feel that Disney and Lucasfilms' decisions are wrong and are destroying Star Wars itself. Recently, a Lucasfilm spokesperson stated, "Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm, and there are no plans for her to be in the future." Gina Carano was the actress who played Cara Dune in the Mandalorian and was fired because of controversial social media posts. What makes people furious at these Disney and Lucasfilm’s actions is that they feel that these corporations are hypocrites and have no right to fire an actress for opinion and just speaking up. People think this way as Disney has a notorious history of saying that they have a moral standard when in reality they are the corrupt one. For example, Disney working with China on the movie on Mulan, which “was whitewashing of the ongoing Uighur genocide.” This goes against Disney’s own moral principles, which is not affiliating itself with immoral entities. Disney also allows actors such as Pedro Pascal to make controversial posts on their social media. Yet, when Gina Carano made her statement, she was fired. This firing may be due to a cancel culture. This firing has caused many fans to be angry, and now they have started to cancel the streaming service Disney plus. This canceling of Disney plus has even become trending on Twitter.
Star Wars has always been one of the greatest franchises in cinema, but it is not perfect like many franchises. Although George Lucas created Star Wars, Disney controls it. Since Disney bought Star Wars, there have been a lot of mixed reactions from fans. From films that are basically the repeats of the original trilogy to controversial actions, Star Wars is in a troubled place. Even if this is the case, this franchise changed my life and the lives of so many others. So in the end, I will continue watching Star Wars and enjoy it!
Joshua Yoon
Grade 11
Pine-Richland High School