But over the years each new chapter in the Star Wars Saga has created so many inconsistencies that we can no longer give them a pass: In Episode I we learn that the Force is caused by microscopic thingies in the blood, but twenty years later (assuming Luke is about that age Episode IV), nobody remembers the science stuff—the Force is “an ancient religion.” (Also, while there were lots of black people when the phantom menace first surfaced, by the time the empire strikes back the only one left is Billy D. Williams.) Darth Vader shocks Luke by telling him, mater-of-factly “I am your father!” in Episode V, but when he was trying to blast him in their previous meeting, he merely says, “The Force is strong in this one,” instead of, “Wait a minute! Boy, is that you?” Exactly when (and how) did he discover Luke was his son? And if he knew about Luke, why didn’t he know about Leia? Or, if he couldn't sense the Force in Leia when they were in the same room, how could he sense it in Luke when they were who knows how far apart in space? And why didn’t Leia have Jedi powers? And…
Star Wars was a lot more fun before it started taking itself too seriously, bringing in all that Joseph Campbell stuff after the fact, when the original intent was just to make a cross between “a space western” and a Saturday Matinee serial. There are plans for a live-action television show, but since you already know how it all ends…
I will have fond memories of the first three (I mean, the last three) episodes of the Saga. But as for this other stuff, well… If you continue following every single episode, May the Force be with you.
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