Star Wars: Out with the Old, In with the New

Recently, there have been two major Star Wars developments of note: the questionable fate of the Star Wars Extended Universe (the fiction outside of the movies, through books, comics, video games, etc...) has been decided, and the major cast members for Episode VII have been revealed.

There's your EU...

Whelp. Some of this news is good, and some of it is very bittersweet.

The Star Wars Extended Universe is officially being removed from canon, the official Star Wars history. Only the 6 feature films and the CGI Clone Wars movie/series are currently considered canon. Going forward, every newly created Star Wars story, be it in movie, book, or video game format, will supposedly be canon.

This is bad news on two fronts. First, and foremost to a long-term, loyal Star Wars fan, all the stories and characters I've been following for the past two decades no longer "exist." Yes, their stories are still out there to read, but no longer will they impact the Star Wars universe and, going forward in the series, we'll never see them again. They may use the names and faces later, assuming the re-introduce them, but it would be as if a reboot took place for that character -- their history, as we knew it, is gone.

Dash Rendar, the scoundrel

Mara Jade, the... well, badass.

This means characters such as Mara Jade, Dash Rendar, and Darth Revan no longer exist (and never did). This spreads to every single character introduced in EU that never made it into the films. Even Boba Fett is still rotting in the Sarlaac Pit, as far as this announcement goes (though I suspect this won't be kept for too
long).

That's a real bummer. And all the current storylines, from comics set in the past to novels following the children of Han & Leia or Luke & Mara won't get the ending they deserve. Series like Star Wars: Legacy are also dead in the water. Partially because of the announcement, but mostly because Dark Horse, who has produced some of the best Star Wars comics to date, will no longer be publishing them.

It will be nice to meet new characters and see new stories and even to avoid some of the really depressing moments in the EU that follow up the films (we'll miss several character deaths, until the movies decide to use them for emotional pull). But it's not enough. Unless they introduce all of my favorite characters, how can I be happy with this?

I can't.

The other end is that, with everything being canon going forward, the lore will stay pretty tight knit. This is good from a base storytelling angle, but ignores the fact that novels and comics get a lot of their attraction from being able to explore more outrageous moments. Jedi in the EU do immensely crazy things that would, potentially, no longer be the case. That's why the "levels" of canon was a nice option. Zombie Stormtroopers? It could happen! Crashing a Star Destroyer with the Force? Why not!

Well, now the 'why not' is because it sounds as if there won't be any more levels of canon, and all the stories will need to play with the relatively same power base. Again, good for cohesive storytelling. Bad for the level of outlandish adventures we had imagined in a universe where something like the Force exists.

Oh, and I guess this is also bad if the movies suck. Because some of the EU moments have truly been the best in the series, and many of them are much, much better than any of the prequel movies (and some even top the original trilogy. Com at me, nerd).

The new cast. Google 'em, I'm not interested enough to find names...

For the casting... I really don't care. I'm glad that Harrison Ford is coming back as Han Solo, even though he's gone on record about hating the character. I guess the butchering of the Indiana Jones franchise weakened his resolve. It will be pretty awesome to see Mark Hamill on the big screen again. Not quite as pumped for on old Princess Leia, but that may be sexism coming into play. I'm just a bit concerned that they'll all feel old and then I'll feel depressed.

For the rest, I either don't know them or don't have a comment until I see what role their actually being cast in. There does seem to be an AWFUL gender ratio, though. From what I've seen, only one of the new cast is female? What the what? Plenty of aliens in outerspace, but the women must still be trapped in the space-kitchen. A long time ago and all that, right? COMPLETE BUMMER. The original Star Wars was especially great due to a strong female role... but they don't always have to play it solo.

I did read that they tried to get Wedge Antilles back, but the actor said the role was to small and boring. WHY AREN'T THEY GIVE WEDGE HIS OWN DAMN MOVIE!? Seems nothing from the EU will be sacred :/

An "X-Wing" series of movies are in order.

Bah. Guess I'm bitter 'bout the ol' Star Wars. VII better be good, Abrams.

Day 17: The Nature of Spoilers Today

Alright, I've still kicking, sorry about the delay. Turns out my extra shift at work has me in front of a computer with no students coming in, so it's BLOG TIME!

First, for those who don't know what I'm talking about, let's turn to Urban Dictionary (heh) for a definition:

Spoiler

When someone reveals a previously unknown aspect of something which you likely would have rather learned on your own.

*discussions of art media such as video games, movies, etc. especially vulnerable.

"The following review contains spoilers!"

Thank you, Doctor Song.

When a writer creates a story, they pace it a certain way, expect the plot points to be revealed in order, and tailor the entire effect of the narrative to enhance this (assuming they've done a decent job). That's a fairly simple concept. Learning something, especially something that is a major turning moment/surprise, out of order can actively sully the audience's experience. And, once something is spoiled, it can never be un-spoiled. It's not fair for any party to spoil something without permission (and even then, I'd say use your best judgement).
I'm going to add my own addendum: If the topic of a spoiler is several years old and was moderately available/popular, the spoiler is completely kosher. Anything else should be off-limits until established otherwise by the uninformed (an unspoiled) party.

In example, this post will contain spoilers to Star Wars: The Empire Strikes back. If you have not seen this movie or learned what the major twists are, that is your fault and I refuse to step lightly when discussion the subject. If I was to discuss, say, the Ender's Game movie, however, I would make sure to throw up spoilers. In fact, due to the new medium in which the story is being related, I'd probably also put an embargo on any future discussions of the novel as well.

If someone had told me that Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker's father before I saw the climactic scene, all the sense of wonder in the movie would have died. All the cinematography leading up to that moment would have been obvious and, in translation, ineffective.

"I am your father." "Well, duh."

This doesn't mean you can't write about the subject, you just need to mark it appropriately. See Wil Wheaton's review of Star Trek: Into Darkness for one example of an appropriately marked spoiler.

I've seen MANY Facebook arguments where folks I generally consider intelligent claim that there's nothing wrong with spoilers and that it is the reader/viewers fault for stumbling onto them. The generally say this after having been scolded for spoiling something recent/relevant.

I stop considering these folks intelligent pretty quickly after that (well, that's a bit harsh, but you get my meaning).

The nature of sites like Facebook or Twitter means that a viewer has no way to filter what they see once they've followed a person/account. If the person/account let's it be known that they post spoilers frequently, then that is the follower's fault. MOST PEOPLE DO NOT STATE THIS. And even if they did, the nature of these websites (and similar ones) still make this difficult to recognize before hand.

The simple way to avoid an issue is to mention that you're about to spoil something, give it a bit of space (because we read complete thoughts faster than we think), and THEN write the spoiler. If it is an image, LINK to it, don't post it on your account. Blog writers have many more options, but I'll assume you bloggers aren't dicks and don't spoil things because you know better.

Pretty simple, yes? Well, that's only half my spiel, the one that pertains to the general public. Now I'm going to complain about the media.

THIS is good advertising!

For some reason, today's advertisers have lost all creativity. Recently, I stumbled upon a twitter post (a re-tweet that I couldn't avoid) that had some VERY major spoilers in regards to upcoming Spider-Man events. The advertisement, then, was simply to say what was going to happen down the line. No lead up, no subtlety, just a spoiler for a comic issue that isn't even on the stands yet.

... What? Why? Have they forgotten that anticipation of the unknown is a powerful tool? Back it my day, comic books would come in BLACK BAGS if the cover was too spoiler-y.

Movie commercials now spoil 90% of the story (or, in comedies, all of the funny parts).

Book descriptions lately seem to tell what the turning point is for the character as if assuming you're never going to find out for yourself anyway.

Comic books are spoiled before they ever reach the stand ALL THE TIME. Apparently just so readers (or critics) can talk about them in advance. Uhg. It isn't just about how it's done that gives a reader enjoyment. I didn't like knowing that Doc Ock was taking over Spidey before it happened, it made the preceding issues leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Video games... Well, actually, that's still a decently safe medium. Unless you frequent message boards on the given title, but that's a risk you take. I assume this is so due to the length of most games meaning the general population has no interest in them. A gamer that plays through a game probably realizes that some of their enjoyment derives from getting to a particular point ON YOUR OWN.

I'm hoping for a day when instant gratification isn't the only form of advertising pandered to. My favorite thing about the RISK: Legacy version is because it has secrets that I have yet to uncover, and a truly have no idea what lies behind the sealed envelopes/sections. Something new and exciting is waiting for me, and I don't have to play each game with the knowledge of what comes next. Sure, I might not like the surprise, but at least it was a surprise and not a stretch of time dreading the moment.

... Basically, just think about others before describing a plot twist or character death. Don't try to be obscure, because that doesn't always work. Just label an incoming spoiler clearly and give it some space. Oh, and be careful with URLs that tell too much...

/NerdRage