Alolan_Apples
“Assorted” Collector
Normally, when a movie, video game, TV show, book, comic, or song sparks controversy, it's usually for one of the following:
Star Wars, however, has unique controversies that don't relate common controversies. As I was reading through the facts about South Park and their episodes, I noticed the Star Wars controversies are always up for grabs. One reason why it's unique is because it's one of the few examples where the creator decides to ruin his or her work rather than new management taking over and changing everything. Another reason is because most of the Star Wars controversies are rarely seen in media.
The Prequels:
Easily the most hated movies of Star Wars. There are even some diehard original trilogy fans that hate every aspect of the prequels. But there are normal Star Wars fans and other people that show distrust in the prequels, but like some parts of it (like the lightsaber battles and the explanation of the force). I read this old website called Chefelf, which was from a fan's perspective on what he thinks of the prequels. He makes nitpicks of everything he hates. Judging by that (and from many other prequel haters), I got a clearer picture of what people hate about the prequels.
The general summary is that the prequels contain many elements that are insults to the Star Wars saga, or at least to the original trilogy. Some of the major examples include:
Along with the prequels is a separate controversy, Jar-Jar Binks. The problem is that his voice is terrible, he is dumb, he represents a really bad and archaic racial stereotype, and judging by his personality, there is no room in sci-fi for characters like him, especially in a soap opera like Star Wars. This is one of the biggest controversies in Star Wars. The producers liked him. But the fans hate him, as he became the icon of most hated characters in fictional media in general. Even his name has been synonymous with "the worst of something".
The Original Trilogy:
Before Return of the Jedi, C-3PO would have to be the most annoying character. Even he's not as bad. But when ROTJ came out, the Ewoks soaked up his role as the most annoying characters. While some people like them, others didn't. So the Ewoks were a controversy to the originals as Jar-Jar is a controversy to the prequels.
But here's the controversial part. The Original Trilogy has been edited in these "Special Editions". Some of the edits (like the language change and digital re-sizing of models) were actually good, and some were neutral, but the others were bad. Most of them would have to be because of the CGI rendering of creatures and characters, nonsensical changes, and some other weird edits. But there were some ugly changes as well (especially the force ghost scene). But the most controversial edit of all time (which is also the biggest Star Wars controversy) is the Han Solo vs Greedo scene. In the original, Han shot first as Greedo never shot at all. But in all the Special Editions and other releases (including the iTunes release), Greedo shoots first or at the same time. People complained about this change. You would think they are insensitive, but it's actually about Han Solo's character development. If he shot first, he will look like a selfish scumbag who sides with the rebels. If Greedo shot first, it would look like he's defending himself instead of being a jerk. People didn't like the Greedo edit, but George Lucas wanted it. This, Jar-Jar Binks, the force ghost edit, and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull tainted his reputation as a producer. I don't care who shot first, but this became a serious controversy. I know censorship is a major controversy, but the kind of editing the Original Trilogy faced was rather unusual.
The Sequels:
I know it's too early to be talking about the sequels since just only one movie came out, but even the sequels are controversial in unique ways. Let's forget about the racial diversity and how people complained about that. Let's also forget about the new management. There's something else people complained about in the movie.
That's right. The Force Awakens is controversial because instead of being a brand new movie, it was rather a rehash of the Original Trilogy. They used the same plot elements from A New Hope and put in different characters/planets/reasons. Some people thought this was A New Hope rip-off, or at least a Star Wars Fanfic. I find this to be pretty funny because I haven't seen another series where they ripped off from a previous episode like that. This was rather a new controversy. There were two trolling incidents prior to the release of The Force Awakens where one photoshopped Jar-Jar Binks all over the movie poster on the day it was revealed. The other involves editing the entire trailer, throwing in Jar-Jar Binks and everything people hated about Star Wars (I'm surprised the Greedo scene wasn't included). Even if we didn't get to see the character we hate most, we already seen how it was a rip-off of the Original Trilogy. Let's hope the next two movies aren't like that.
The Summary:
The prequels were controversial because of Jar-Jar Binks and the many elements that were an insult to Star Wars. The originals were controversial because of the special editions, and the sequels were controversial since one was not really original, but rather a rehash of an older movie. I know controversy is not a popular subject, but I decided to point that out because of how unique the controversies are.
- One of them is that it contains objectionable content (such as bad words, offensive content, obscene content, or politics and religion). So we throw in censorship to remove the content. Censorship is a controversy. While some people support the producers' or distributors' decision to censor something, others are against it because of how censorship ruins the whole thing despite only part of it being censored.
- Another controversy would relate to ongoing TV show, a series of films, games, books, or anything like that, or the company in general. The controversy is that something is going downhill. Either because of the new management ruining the series, or that the series is going stale as it's not worth reading, watching, or playing anymore. Some people would actually not care how bad something is getting, but others would complain about the state something is at.
- The third controversy would have to be that something has a lot of haters. Either because it's overrated, out of place for where it's at, or just simply unpopular for some reasons.
Star Wars, however, has unique controversies that don't relate common controversies. As I was reading through the facts about South Park and their episodes, I noticed the Star Wars controversies are always up for grabs. One reason why it's unique is because it's one of the few examples where the creator decides to ruin his or her work rather than new management taking over and changing everything. Another reason is because most of the Star Wars controversies are rarely seen in media.
The Prequels:
Easily the most hated movies of Star Wars. There are even some diehard original trilogy fans that hate every aspect of the prequels. But there are normal Star Wars fans and other people that show distrust in the prequels, but like some parts of it (like the lightsaber battles and the explanation of the force). I read this old website called Chefelf, which was from a fan's perspective on what he thinks of the prequels. He makes nitpicks of everything he hates. Judging by that (and from many other prequel haters), I got a clearer picture of what people hate about the prequels.
The general summary is that the prequels contain many elements that are insults to the Star Wars saga, or at least to the original trilogy. Some of the major examples include:
- Midi-chlorians - in the original trilogy, the force is like a reliigon. But in the prequels, it's using science rather than religion, which irks fans, as it was a dumb idea to begin with.
- Plot holes - the prequels created many plot holes (such as R2-D2 flying and how lightsaber battles seem "dumbed down" in the original trilogy). These not only ruined the prequels, but also the originals.
- Character Development - the biggest example was Darth Vader. I know the latest movie had an emo fanboy as the main antagonist, but Darth Vader was even worse before he became Darth Vader. Combined with Hayden Christensen's poor acting, Anakin Skywalker was rather whiny who disobeyed the Jedi Code only to protect his loved ones. While it was interesting to see how he joined the dark side, his character development (especially in The Phantom Menace) ruined Darth Vader for us. Not only that, but we imagine Darth Vader being the most powerful Sith apprentice, but when he was Anakin, he fought even more powerful enemies.
- CGI - CGI may be cheaper and more efficient, but it's bad for both live-action and cartoons. For live-action (like Star Wars), it makes it look less realistic. For animation, it makes it look less cartoony. The prequels heavily used CGI for their special effects or rendering, which kinda makes the monsters less grotesque and more toyetic.
Along with the prequels is a separate controversy, Jar-Jar Binks. The problem is that his voice is terrible, he is dumb, he represents a really bad and archaic racial stereotype, and judging by his personality, there is no room in sci-fi for characters like him, especially in a soap opera like Star Wars. This is one of the biggest controversies in Star Wars. The producers liked him. But the fans hate him, as he became the icon of most hated characters in fictional media in general. Even his name has been synonymous with "the worst of something".
The Original Trilogy:
Before Return of the Jedi, C-3PO would have to be the most annoying character. Even he's not as bad. But when ROTJ came out, the Ewoks soaked up his role as the most annoying characters. While some people like them, others didn't. So the Ewoks were a controversy to the originals as Jar-Jar is a controversy to the prequels.
But here's the controversial part. The Original Trilogy has been edited in these "Special Editions". Some of the edits (like the language change and digital re-sizing of models) were actually good, and some were neutral, but the others were bad. Most of them would have to be because of the CGI rendering of creatures and characters, nonsensical changes, and some other weird edits. But there were some ugly changes as well (especially the force ghost scene). But the most controversial edit of all time (which is also the biggest Star Wars controversy) is the Han Solo vs Greedo scene. In the original, Han shot first as Greedo never shot at all. But in all the Special Editions and other releases (including the iTunes release), Greedo shoots first or at the same time. People complained about this change. You would think they are insensitive, but it's actually about Han Solo's character development. If he shot first, he will look like a selfish scumbag who sides with the rebels. If Greedo shot first, it would look like he's defending himself instead of being a jerk. People didn't like the Greedo edit, but George Lucas wanted it. This, Jar-Jar Binks, the force ghost edit, and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull tainted his reputation as a producer. I don't care who shot first, but this became a serious controversy. I know censorship is a major controversy, but the kind of editing the Original Trilogy faced was rather unusual.
The Sequels:
I know it's too early to be talking about the sequels since just only one movie came out, but even the sequels are controversial in unique ways. Let's forget about the racial diversity and how people complained about that. Let's also forget about the new management. There's something else people complained about in the movie.
That's right. The Force Awakens is controversial because instead of being a brand new movie, it was rather a rehash of the Original Trilogy. They used the same plot elements from A New Hope and put in different characters/planets/reasons. Some people thought this was A New Hope rip-off, or at least a Star Wars Fanfic. I find this to be pretty funny because I haven't seen another series where they ripped off from a previous episode like that. This was rather a new controversy. There were two trolling incidents prior to the release of The Force Awakens where one photoshopped Jar-Jar Binks all over the movie poster on the day it was revealed. The other involves editing the entire trailer, throwing in Jar-Jar Binks and everything people hated about Star Wars (I'm surprised the Greedo scene wasn't included). Even if we didn't get to see the character we hate most, we already seen how it was a rip-off of the Original Trilogy. Let's hope the next two movies aren't like that.
The Summary:
The prequels were controversial because of Jar-Jar Binks and the many elements that were an insult to Star Wars. The originals were controversial because of the special editions, and the sequels were controversial since one was not really original, but rather a rehash of an older movie. I know controversy is not a popular subject, but I decided to point that out because of how unique the controversies are.
