John Scalzi has an interesting write-up on “Star Wars as entertainment”:http://www.scalzi.com/whatever/004532.html. He posits that the _Star Wars_ series cannot be classified as entertainment because George Lucas didn’t create it to _be_ entertainment. Rather, Lucas, by his own admission, created it to be a mythology. Scalzi further states that this does not negate the fact that many _have_ been entertained by _Star Wars_, merely that it cannot, in and of itself, be classified as such. It’s a very interesting read, both from a fan’s perspective and from a writer’s perspective. The ensuing discussion in the comments natters on a bit, I think, about trivialities ((John does an excellent job of fielding the important points leveled.)), but the essay itself is well worth the read.
Entertainment Value
by Jim Stitzel | Oct 11, 2006 | General | 3 comments
3 Comments
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Interesting idea. It certainly makes some sense.. entertainment is.. cheap. It doesn’t ‘do’ anything. It’s just there serving us.
Myth, with it’s deep storylines, invite us in. It’s that “something greater” “eye-opening” idea..
Ten years ago (heck, even five years ago) I would have reveled in the linked discussion, but nowadays I’ve grown tired of everything Star Wars. They’re still good stuff, but I’ve moved on to the bigger (LOTR) and better (Firefly/Serenity).
Really, when it comes down to it, Star Wars is just one small corner of the speculative fiction market. And it is, by no means, holy writ, by which I mean to say, no one should remain loyal to it to the point of exclusivity or allow it to define the rest of the genre. There’s a lot of good literature and media out there.
And Firefly is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, much better than Star Wars. I keep hoping Joss will find a way to return to it eventually.