Star Wars for Millennials

Rating: 6/10 (28 December 2015)

For devout fans of the original Star Wars movies, the Star Wars franchise has truly shifted to the "dark side" with the reintroduction of the saga to the up and coming post-modern millennial generation. The hand-off of Lucasfilms by George Lucas to Disney only a few years ago yielded a new Star Wars product thus "completing the circle" by driving a spike into the hearts of the optimistic devout fan base. True commercialism, mass-production, and new-aged political correctness can now rule the day! Anyone familiar with 'The People Vs. George Lucas' documentary can understand the angst of the original Star Wars fan base toward the bastardizing of their beloved film by their beloved director. Many old-school fans identified with Star Wars on a 'religious' level as a coming of age tale of well-defined good versus evil in which the main character is on a quest to find himself, fight the evil empire, make peace with his past, heal himself as well as his father, and ride off into the sunset! This was the expectation of a movie set in the end of the "modernist" era: clear character development, strong motives, excellent plot, and breath-taking settings. The fans at that time could closely identify with a film like this, and as history would prove they did in record numbers. This same generation that had high expectations was then let down with the Star Wars prequels as they realized that not only their beloved story, but also the film industry, and American society had changed from the world they once knew. A laundry list of complaints were heard round the world as noted in the documentary 'The People Vs. George Lucas'. They were the wrong films, at the wrong place, at the wrong time!
Roughly ten years after the disastrous Star-Wars prequels a skeptical yet optimistic fan base came to hear news of a new director, a new sequel to the much loved original Star Wars movies, as well as the announcement of the return of the much beloved original characters! How would the fans respond? Could they identify with this movie as they once had in times past? A quick glimpse of reviews on this website will indicate the results: old school devout Star Wars fans either dislike or feel neutral about it, while new younger Star Wars fans love the movie. But why? Love it or hate it, people still paid to watch it in record numbers. Certainly it was better than the prequels, yet significantly worse than the originals. Just as the actor who played the disaffected storm trooper Fin replied to his critics before the movie came out in theaters, original fans can expect the same response from the new franchise owners: "Get used to it". For society as well as the film industry in general the message was clear: the post-modern era is here to stay. Symbolically, with the slaying of the weary old Han Solo in this film it was clear that the modernist era for Star Wars was over. Gone are the beloved heroes/films, and in its place are the new politically correct heroes/films of the post-modern era. Millennials cheer as they can identify with their heroes of this politically correct post-modern age: a strong feminist hero in Rey, a young man who is really angry for no legitimate reason with Ren Kylo, and a scared young man who leaves the new empire for no real reason other than 'it was the right thing to do' with Fin. The viewer can see that all three are running for no real reason. However we do know what they are running toward: with Fin it is to the longing for companionship/love with Rey which overrules loneliness, with Rey it is running to the unknown linked to the past, and with Ren Kylo it is running to the power of the occult world. This is telling in many ways of what the Millennial generation is running to. Millennials do not need any reasons, after all in the post- modern world there are no real clear set defined paths of truth. Millennials like to cheer for the heroes who represent what they have been conditioned from birth to accept, while those from Generation X and the Baby Boomers generally cringe or feel apathetic toward these same characters. The appeal to old-school fans with a safe and familiar path as well as a dramatic departure into the new world of post-modernism was done well, and for that this movie will rate high to many critics. As for me, I am between Generation X and the Millennial generation so I give this film a 6/10. 30 years too late for a true spiritual sequel, 30 years just right for a record-breaking investment in the entertainment industry. I can respect it for what it is: a temporary fun distraction. I do not seek meaning or direction in life from a mere movie. But, dear Star Wars fanatic, the question is, can you learn to let it go?