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What happened to the Myth?

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The prequels and the new Disney films seem to have lost the fundamental element that made the Out what it was? Why can’t they evoke that same emotional response?

https://youtu.be/fzqTgze_yBU

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I felt this way somewhat about TFA. It’s good, but… sort of paint by numbers. I’m hoping VIII plunges us back into the mythic realm of Star Wars at its best.

My stance on revising fan edits.

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The Saga needs Gary Kurtz. Or someone with the same understanding of those things.

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To me, the Disney films have done a great job bringing back the mythic and mystical elements of the OT. It was the prequels that stomped all over that.

But in TFA we have Maz Kanata who is no Jedi, but is more of a force mystic. You’ve got that awesome speech by Han (it’s true… All of it.). You’ve got the Knights of Ren, whatever they are. And Rey goes on a hero’s quest to find Luke.

In Rogue One you’ve got the holy city Jedha. You’ve got monks who worship the Jedi and the force. You’ve got tarkin (I think it was, certainly one of the imperials) mention “Saw Guerrera and his Bendu fanatics”. You’ve got the kyber crystals.

To me, the mythic and mystical aspects of Star Wars to hand in hand. And, quite frankly, under Disney the new films are delivering in spades.

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canofhumdingers said:

To me, the Disney films have done a great job bringing back the mythic and mystical elements of the OT. It was the prequels that stomped all over that.

But in TFA we have Maz Kanata who is no Jedi, but is more of a force mystic. You’ve got that awesome speech by Han (it’s true… All of it.). You’ve got the Knights of Ren, whatever they are. And Rey goes on a hero’s quest to find Luke.

In Rogue One you’ve got the holy city Jedha. You’ve got monks who worship the Jedi and the force. You’ve got tarkin (I think it was, certainly one of the imperials) mention “Saw Guerrera and his Bendu fanatics”. You’ve got the kyber crystals.

To me, the mythic and mystical aspects of Star Wars to hand in hand. And, quite frankly, under Disney the new films are delivering in spades.

Agreed.

Keep Circulating the Tapes.

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Re: Maz, I feel like we learn she’s a force mystic, but we don’t really get to see it concretely in TFA. I think that’s okay for now, but I hope we see more concrete evidence of her relationship with the Force in VIII.

TV’s Frink said:

I would put this in my sig if I weren’t so lazy.

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suspiciouscoffee said:

I thought he said “Band of fanatics.” Although, I’d love to be wrong on that.

That’s entirely possible. But I swear I heard “Bendu” and I like it so much I’m totally sticking with it!

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Tyrphanax said:

canofhumdingers said:

To me, the Disney films have done a great job bringing back the mythic and mystical elements of the OT. It was the prequels that stomped all over that.

But in TFA we have Maz Kanata who is no Jedi, but is more of a force mystic. You’ve got that awesome speech by Han (it’s true… All of it.). You’ve got the Knights of Ren, whatever they are. And Rey goes on a hero’s quest to find Luke.

In Rogue One you’ve got the holy city Jedha. You’ve got monks who worship the Jedi and the force. You’ve got tarkin (I think it was, certainly one of the imperials) mention “Saw Guerrera and his Bendu fanatics”. You’ve got the kyber crystals.

To me, the mythic and mystical aspects of Star Wars to hand in hand. And, quite frankly, under Disney the new films are delivering in spades.

Agreed.

Yep

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CHEWBAKAspelledwrong said:

Re: Maz, I feel like we learn she’s a force mystic, but we don’t really get to see it concretely in TFA. I think that’s okay for now, but I hope we see more concrete evidence of her relationship with the Force in VIII.

I think we saw enough of it to get the idea. I don’t particularly want to see anything “concrete” dealing with a mystic… it would kinda hurt the mysticalness of it all, no? But I’m not against seeing more from Maz. Especially if we get to find out how the heck she got Luke’s old saber from cloud city!

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I think Rogue One definitely had sone moments but they obviously looked long and hard at ESB to try and recreate the darkness and style of it and in parts it worked.

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Heart and spirit existed in the EU sporadically even into the prequel era.
But it is something painfully absent in Disney’s efforts. There is little emotional involvement or investment in the stories because they are merely designed to provoke certain responses in both fanbase and general audiences much like the Marvel entries.
As much as ROTJ misses the mark, one still cares because you are invested in these characters and their ongoing struggle.

VADER!? WHERE THE HELL IS MY MOCHA LATTE? -Palpy on a very bad day.
“George didn’t think there was any future in dead Han toys.”-Harrison Ford
YT channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader

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canofhumdingers said:

To me, the Disney films have done a great job bringing back the mythic and mystical elements of the OT. It was the prequels that stomped all over that.

But in TFA we have Maz Kanata who is no Jedi, but is more of a force mystic. You’ve got that awesome speech by Han (it’s true… All of it.). You’ve got the Knights of Ren, whatever they are. And Rey goes on a hero’s quest to find Luke.

In Rogue One you’ve got the holy city Jedha. You’ve got monks who worship the Jedi and the force. You’ve got tarkin (I think it was, certainly one of the imperials) mention “Saw Guerrera and his Bendu fanatics”. You’ve got the kyber crystals.

To me, the mythic and mystical aspects of Star Wars to hand in hand. And, quite frankly, under Disney the new films are delivering in spades.

I agree with all of that. With Rogue One I was elated to hear the Whills referenced and see the importance of Kyber Crystals, all of it in a story about a group a strangers.

Similar thoughts in Force Awakens with “it’s true, all of it”, Rey Random (so far), and The Force being a mystical energy field.

In both films I felt a sense of - Finally, something away from the incestuous solar system far far away of Lucas.

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I think the PT had tonnes of mythical qualities to them.
They are just written and directed by someone who had lost his mojo and surrounded himself with yes men.
Jedi is pretty awful too.

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The thing I truly like about the PT is that the characters are driven by the Force: the will of the Force, the quest for the Force, the knowledge of and for the Force, and so on. With the mystical belief about a Prophecy that happens to have been misunderstood, and arrogant Force users who finally get punished in their flesh (Vader, Sidious). I’m not talking about midibullshit which in fact has no consequences on the story told (except the subtle idea that Palpatine could be Anakin’s father, but it’s never clear and the is up to anyone own opinion about it). So in the PT it works: the myth is here, the movies are just not very good for other reasons and awkard moments (such as “this weapon is your life”, not very consistent) as well as a few bad ideas. It’s obviously very far from the perfection of the OT, but it’s better than nothing.

R1 had moments like that with Donnie Yen, but sadly it wasn’t earned and got nowhere and unfinished in the released movie. On the other hand, TFA basically has nothing to do with the myth and the Force. It’s more a meta-film, hence more meta-myth and meta-Force. It talks about it, tries to link the 3 trilogies together, but it’s hardly enough. Knights of Ren ? Just a flashback and a vague mention by Snoke (and the fact their leader is said to haven’t finished his training…), this is too weak to get mythological. Maz ? She only has a lost lightsaber in her basement. The “calling” thing from the lightsaber ? Very unclear. The “it’s true. All of it” contains that “meta” fact: the Force is no longer at stake, it just exists and you’ve got to believe it exists, and 2 scenes later you can master the Jedi mind trick with little effort. The Force is only some kind of labeled product to make the plot advanced like a “deus ex machina” plot twist.

I wonder if Johnson is going to “fix” that in VIII/IX.

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blinks

Dude, Mythbusters is where she came from!

Keep Circulating the Tapes.

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I’m French, I don’t watch US tv ! I don’t remember where I’ve seen/heard of her though.

(well, I don’t have Discovery Channel it seems… I don’t watch French tv either…)

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MalàStrana said:

I’m French, I don’t watch US tv ! I don’t remember where I’ve seen/heard of her though.

(well, I don’t have Discovery Channel it seems… I don’t watch French tv either…)

I’m pretty sure all she’s done is Mythbusters, haha. That’s so odd.

I guess she’s popular for being a cute ginger on the Internet so pictures and whatnot get around.

Keep Circulating the Tapes.

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Beats me, I’ve never watched. Is that incorrect?

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TV’s Frink said:

Beats me, I’ve never watched. Is that incorrect?

I assume it is? I never paid attention to the showmakers during the credits, so I just assumed it was a US show considering it was filmed here and all.

Just surprising more than anything.

Keep Circulating the Tapes.

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