A History of “Star Wars” and Toxic Fandom: Part One of Two
By: Joel Eisenberg
Tags: Culture, Film, Fandom, Star Wars, Movies

The film finally unspooled at that first midnight show and, after 16 years of breathless anticipation, I … fell asleep.

At a “Star Wars” movie.

I’ve since rewatched the film several (dozen) times when re-watching the saga, and I discovered I initially missed everything after Anakin’s pod race to the astounding Darth Maul vs. Qui-Gon Jinn and Ben Kenobi lightsaber duel.

It was the ending, though, that made the biggest impression on me during that midnight screening.

As the end credits began the applause was scant, only increasing when the equivalent of one person rising for a standing ovation made some much-needed noise and was followed by others. As my friends and I stood to leave, the response in the aisles seemed conflicted at best. Further, those mingling in the lobby spoke as though they wanted to love it, but the story did not serve their purpose.

Neither did the stoic, humorless characters or acting of several of the leads. Jar Jar Binks, the lone attempt at a humorous antagonist, was largely derided. The film was called both a “kid’s film,” and “an incomprehensible mess about the taxation of trade routes.” Gone for many was the chemistry of the first trilogy’s characters.

“This isn’t our Star Wars,” said one.

Many of us got that message early …

As the days went on, confusion turned to anger. The reviews were by far the weakest of all the “Star Wars” product to date, save for perhaps television’s “Holiday Special,” but that was nothing compared to the ire of the fans.

“George Lucas raped my childhood!” became a common cry of despair as it related to Episodes IV-VI. George Lucas, who prior to the opening of “The Phantom Menace” admitted, “I may have gone too far in a few places” during a “60 Minutes” interview, later defended himself against the kickback.

“Star Wars was always meant for children,” he would say, arguing many of the fans of the first three films were children when they were released.

That defense was not easily digested, and a shift was in the offing: It became clear that George Lucas’ “Star Wars” was no longer his; it was ours. 2002’s “Attack of the Clones” did not fare much better, though for awhile 2005’s “Revenge of the Sith” was largely considered the best of a bad lot.

But “Star Wars” defied gravity. All three of the films were global money makers. “The Phantom Menace” was the highest-grossing of the lot, with a worldwidetake of $1.027 billion adjusted for inflation.

Clearly, fans returned to the theaters for multiple viewings of each of the films, perhaps to see if they could find something, anything, to praise. To be sure, the films certainly also had their share of support but for hardcores, their releases equated to blasphemy.

“George got carried away with CGI at the expense of humanity!” was a common refrain when discussing these episodes.

Fans threatened to boycott future “Star Wars” product. Finally, in 2010, a documentary was released detailing the widespread dissatisfaction of the once-beloved brand: “The People vs. George Lucas.”

And a disillusioned fandom was about to turn very, very toxic.

CLICK HERE FOR PART TWO.