Sure, the oojason “time travelling revisionist” thread can be seen as a response to Lucas’ “efforts of burying history” over time, but when people come to this website and that thread stands tall, with no “a moment to thank George Lucas” or something thread next to it, it paints an obvious picture on how the community views him. Essentially the same thing Stoklasa is saying - a lucky hack that’s done nothing right. And of course that’s absurd. He wrote, produced and directed Star Wars and Graffiti. He wrote and produced TESB, ROTJ and the four Indy films. The man is talented, an amazing writer (even if not necessarily an amazing screenwriter) and a competent director. He made three very different films in his middle age but that doesn’t change what he did when he was younger. I think failing to recognize that is what makes Stardust come here claiming he’s a man of singular vision and that he’s right when everyone is wrong.
Of course, Stardust’s position just keeps feeding on this vicious cycle which will probably never end. Again, we should probably all learn something from Lucas’ playbook - which unsusprisingly is the same as the Jedi playbook - and learn to let go a bit.
You should re-read the “GL: Unreliable Narrator” thread again:
“As mentioned above, there have been quite a few conflicting claims and retcons on the history and development of Star Wars over the years from George himself. Attempting to highlight the intriguing and factual account of The Galaxy Far Far Away isn’t a ‘bashing Lucas’ exercise or unfounded criticism of the man himself - a philanthropist who has generously given much of his fortune away to charities, educational endevours and good causes. The same determined genius and visionary who put both his own personal health and money at risk in bringing us these three classic films and the universe within… yet this thread is more a striving for an accurate, revision-free, and authentic record on the history & evolution of Star Wars.”
Stardust insults, patronizes and condescends OT fans on here (not just me). He is quick to jump in and misreads what people are actually saying, in comparison to what he thinks is being said. Instead of offering an apology he will attempt to portray himself as a “victim” or as himself somehow being wronged, along with glib response of “nobody is prefect and we can all do better” or “we can all go a little far at times” type of post. When he is proven to be wrong there is no apology, and when caught out making false claims then claims he was talking about something else and changes the subject. When people state they have no interest in reading or watching additional material he posts content anyway, often with snarky comments about people not understanding the film or George’s vision, or lacking the will to try and understand them; as if he is the only one who understands it. This is often to the point where it derails the thread and topic at hand, which is far different from what Stardust has actually posted in there.
Despite other posting links to what this forum is about, how it came about, and other educational links such as to The Secret History Of Star Wars, Pollock’s Skywalking book, or OT threads such as the as “GL: Unreliable Narrator” and “Timeline” threads simply ignores them, and changes the subject.
This forum is also where Kaminski wrote much of “The Secret History Of Star Wars”, with many contributions, directly and indirectly, from the members on here. Others have said, “The People vs Lucas” documentary features contributions from members here and the site owner. The OT.com was one of the only places online where you could freely talk about the theatrical OT and the SE’s without getting banned (hello TFn and the old SW forums!) This is the place that achieved an official release of the theatrical OT films on DVD in 2006 (although George later screwed everyone over with the quality for that and basically lied again as to why). Preservation projects sprung up from here, fan edits and other projects too - and not just for Star Wars; inspiring other similar communities to do the same. This is one of the few forums online that highlights the factual history of Star Wars, and not George’s retconned and re-written official version. This doesn’t mean there is a vendetta against George, or people are vilifying him, personally attacking him, or when highlighting George’s contradictory claims or attempts at re-writing history they are in the wrong for doing so. “Striving for an accurate, revision-free, and authentic record on the history & evolution of Star Wars” is part of the fabric of this forum.
So when you say:
Again, we should probably all learn something from Lucas’ playbook - which unsusprisingly is the same as the Jedi playbook - and learn to let go a bit.
I say (for the shit all that it is worth): “No. Not this forum, nor the members on here that don’t want to.”
As others have also said, Stardust has no respect for this forum, the people here, or what they say in conversations. As well-written as his posts are, he is not posting in good faith. Stardust often talks about growing and learning, but is not willing to do that himself. He is, as Darth Retcon put it earlier, “basically trolling”.
SparkySywer, among others, saw through Stardust’s latest attempt at jumping in, making a fool of himself in getting his facts completely wrong, and then trying to portray himself as the victim, here (with still no apology by Stardust):
https://originaltrilogy.com/topic/Unpopular-Opinion-Thread/id/80996/page/22#1479909 (with a few other observations others agree with)
Others too have said along these lines: ‘Countless Prequel fans are on here, or people who simply appreciate the Prequels, or who like and respect George, all get on fine with everyone and there is no problem. People worth talking with, engaging with and learning from, all done with respect, for some time now.’
What is described in the above paragraph, that’s not Stardust, and if his “position just keeps feeding on this vicious cycle which will probably never end” then he should adapt, take a leaf from the many other Prequel fans on here and start discussions in a civil manner, or leave.
As it is simply his attitude to others on here and his posting style which is causing such issues.
Taking a read from the “OT Index” thread (and well as a being a site dedicated to the preservation of the unaltered OT films):
"A reminder that TFn was a place where their moderators seemingly threatened bans for members for simply wanting to discuss the unaltered theatrical cuts of the Original Trilogy - let alone talking about some of Lucas’ conflicting claims, or criticism of the PT etc.
A significant number of members here are fans who were made to feel unwelcome at certain other online Star Wars sites - or were censored or even banned for discussing the unaltered cuts, or highlighting Lucasfilm’s disingenuous statements & alteration of history.
That the OriginalTrilogy•com is a place to openly talk about the revered original cuts of the three iconic & pioneering Star Wars films."
If Stardust can’t acknowledge that, or respect that, or the members on here that make up the community, then that is his problem. It is not for members on here to adapt or change. As above, fans of all Star Wars are welcome here, Prequel fans, Sequel fans, Holiday Special crazies fans, but probably not Lucas zealots who post and act like Stardust has, and is. And despite being advised on how to better engage with the community here by many people here, he simply continues on as before.