Thanks for the thougful posts, Rogue. I find myself on YouTube for at least a little while a day due to my situation and strange aversion to watching actual shows or movies most of the time, and Star Wars stuff comes up a lot. It sometimes sucks me into a more cynical mindset than I’d like, I’ll admit.
Thanks for taking the time to read them, Hal! I know where you’re coming from regarding being sucked into that cynical mindset. I feel like it is so easy to be persuaded by a lot of the more critical videos. If anyone follows my posts know I defend the new movies pretty regularly, but even when I watch pretty harsh critiques it does make me question myself until I take a minute to step back and reevaluate my own opinion.
You probably are already aware of these YouTubers, but I would recommend people like HelloGreedo, Wayward Jedi and EC Henry, who approach the new movies pretty fairly. Greedo recently had a baby too so you would probably relate to him a lot. EC Henry talks a lot about both Star Wars and Star Trek, and he really approaches things in a totally unique way, but his upload rate is more spread out than others.
I would also like to admit to a certain form of (reverse?) jealousy regarding YouTubers who sell licensed merchandise with trademarked images on them. For one thing, if I were for some reason paid minimum wage for each and every hour I’ve spent working on Star Wars stuff on my computer(s), I could pay off my student loans. I won’t even mention what that would look like in the case of someone like Adywan. Why is it okay for people to sell trash with Star Wars imagery on it? I’ve likened our careful efforts to avoid anything approaching profiting from our work to Star Trek’s prime directive, which exists in part to protect us. It kind of makes me mad to see others wantonly endangering us vicariously by promoting what often seems to me like lazy, loud mouthed channels.
I totally understand that feeling. I’ve always thought it would be great if there was a way for fans could collaborate with studios on their projects to make something like that possible. I don’t see that happening anytime soon, but the more people try to take advantage of the system, the harder it is ever going to be for that to even be possible, especially when it comes from a place of “We’re better than you”. I also get the feeling you’re a Star Trek fan (if your old Kirk profile pic wasn’t an indication), would like to pick your brain about that sometime.
I don’t know if you keep up with that side of the fandom but they have a fan film situation going on with Axanar. One Trekkie YouTuber suggested the idea of fan filmmakers and CBS collaborating by having CBS fan films being put on their All Access Streaming Service and somehow make an arrangement from that to encourage community activity. And Disney/Lucasfilm could do something similar by having a fan film category on Disney+, for example. It’s definitely an interesting idea, even if it is unlikely. I don’t think that could ever happen with fan edits, though, since they sort of are critiques by their very nature. I think we’ll always have to remain and underground art form. But about the people that will try to take advantage of this grey area and profit off it, I don’t really know what all we can do beyond just calling them out when we see it.
But I think this rise in this kind of behavior is sort a combination of the democritization of filmmaking tools like digital video equipment and editing software, plus general ignorance of copyright law (or simple greed).
Maybe it would help if someone from this side of the community were to create a channel to kind of counter and respond to this kind of behavior or negativity in the fandom in general, but a part of me also doesn’t think our little subculture needs anymore attention than it already has. I think a fanediting podcast would be a cool idea, though!
I admire the Phantom Editor and, at least to my own mind, have tried to approach fan editing Star Wars from a place of love and (spirit of) professionalism.
I think you’ve definitely achieved this so far, Hal!
And yeah, wanted to thank Zerome and Val again for being cool and having this conversation with me too.