What do you guys think about the star wars fandom in general right now.
I love the members of this website but if you go elsewhere specifically YouTube its just a complete dumpster fire.
Its either clickbait from Mike Zeroh, #StarWarsDead, or “Disney/Kathleen Kennedy should be burned alive” videos. Besides the Vader fan film to me its all pretty embarrassing…
Youtube has always been a Wretched Hive, moreso after The Last Jedi.
I have no hard data to back it up, but I fear that a lot of the toxicity around Star Wars right now is coming from my generation, the ones that grew up watching the OT on VHS and seeing the Prequels in theaters, people who are now in their thirties or forties. Because I can’t imagine people like my parents, children of the 60’s and 70’s, caring too much about what the Mouse House is doing with the franchise after the mess that GL had made, nor having the time to whine about it in YouTube comment sections. And it’s funny, because I had come to assume that the folks here at the OT forums were the nitpicky cantankerous grumps, whereas many who grew up enjoying the prequels would love the franchise no matter what.
But there are still places unaffected by the toxicity:
That’s one I visit whenever I feel like the criticism and toxicity becomes too much.
I realize now that there are certain ways in which I interpret the (soon to be) three trilogies which allow me to appreciate them. The Original Trilogy requires the least interpretation, mostly just stripping it of the later EU baggage so that the films can stand on their own as the works of art they are. The prequels I can appreciate on the level of theme and concept, stemming from the pulp anthropologist mind of George Lucas. The themes of corruption and allusions to the Roman Republic, wrapped in a stilted classic Hollywood style make these truly unique and valuable films.
Finally, I find I can really appreciate the ST for its high production values and the genuine love for Star Wars on display, centered around some genuinely excellent and magnetic characters. The weaknesses of the ST being an overreliance on coincidence and fan service make it feel like the most extravagant fan project of all time, which I think is why it’s so easy to fanedit - the trilogy itself is an evolving collaboration between fans of the series with naturally differing viewpoints, so what’s one more viewpoint in the mix?