A few days ago it was announced that the six movies in the Star Wars saga are going to be re-released theatrically in a 3-D format in 2012. The first movie to be released will be Episode I: the Phantom Menace. After that the five other movies will most likely be released one per year ending in 2017. The dates are new and the first official confirmation took place this week, but the notion of Star Wars in 3-D has been floating around rumor sites and speculative media for years. A 3-D release was one of the major expected announcements at the Star Wars: Celebration 5 convention in Orlando this past summer. However, instead fans of the franchise were treated to the announcement that the saga would be released on Blu-Ray disc in 2011.
But this blog post is intended to be far from informational. And this is why. I have noticed that a lot of people are disinterested, dismissive, and even angry about the 3-D release. Of course many fans are rejoicing the opportunity to push their Star Wars experience into another dimension, and more still are ecstatic to just see the movies they love on the big screen once again. Yet a sizable amount of casual and even die-hard fans are somewhat less than impressed. These are the phrases that I am hearing, "Can't Lucas leave these films alone!" "Not another version of Star Wars!" "The first three were perfect. Any further changes are mistakes!" "Creativity is dead!!!"
I have this to say! These pessimistic slanderers are jaded and confused! They don't even understand what they are saying. This comes in a time when the masses have an extremely murky grasp on the pulse of Star Wars fandom and the status of the franchise in general. These negative critics who are eager to condemn anything that supersedes the status quo of pop-culture have continued the cynical trend that started 10 years ago when the first Star Wars prequel came out. They have missed everything concerning the saga from its intent to its impact.
And this is my opinion on Star Wars' intent and impact. The saga, both in its appended prequel episodes and its looming 3-D interpretation, is not meant for the cynical, cerebral, cheap-thrill-seeking, superficial, tabloid-mongering, assimilationist generation that has lost touch with the open-eyed, optimistic, organic, compassionate, spontaneous mentality of their youth when they first experienced Star Wars. It is not meant for the people who condemned the more recent Star Wars projects because they failed to represent their jaded view of a complex world. Neither is it meant for the children of these supercilious sensationalists who have fallen into the influence of their parents' negative view on life before they even have a chance to see the beauty of reality. No, Star Wars is meant for the one-person-can-change-the-world, when-I-grow-up-I-can-be-president, fun-loving, eager-eyed youth of the late 70s and early 80s. It is meant for the inexperienced and non-polluted children of the digital revolution. And most importantly, it is meant for the young at heart, the creative, out-of-the-box-thinking adults who tackle our worlds problems with an energetic, childlike attitude and objectivity.
In conclusion, I believe those who cannot see the overwhelming potential in the up-coming 3-D Star Wars releases are sadly blinded to the ideals and moralities that give humanity beauty. For the young, Star Wars provides a thought-provoking, unbiased, wholesome narrative that captures and spurns the imagination and inspires a generation to reach for the stars and push the limits of innovation and prosperity. And for the young at heart, it provides a sanctuary to rest from the unnecessary yet ever-present mundane tediousness and struggle of life and return to the joys and amazements of a simpler time.
