> Okay, okay, wait a second! I'll take
>everything -- irritating extraneous characters,
>bad acting, etc. -- but not the clichéd plot.
>That is so not fair. ALL SF/F is just the same
>clichés rearranged in different ways.

No it isn't. A lot of it is, but quite a lot of it isn't. Ones that are and are good do a good job of masking the clichés, which Star Wars does poorly.


>Star Wars is not just another tale of empires
>and warriors in outer space. It's a story of
>coming-of-age, and a dang good one at that.

There are way too many "coming-of-age" stories, and they all have the same plot, and they get really redundant.


>Think about Luke: he starts out saying, "No, I'm
>just Luke," is sick of his planet, and wants to
>get away. Then he has to come to grips with the
>reality of what that means, including the
>confrontation with the father figure. Look at
>it; it's classic!!!

It's just like any other one I've seen, except it's set in outer space.


> Not only that, but what about its value in
>terms of mass consciousness?

Oh, everyone likes it so it must be good?


>People who might never otherwise communicate can
>be found vehemently arguing over the hyperspace
>facilities of the Millenium Falcon.

And this is communication, is it? Forgive me if I sound cynical, but if the only thing that can draw two people together is a heated exchange about fake technology on a nonexistent ship in a silly movie series, that's not "connecting" with each other.


>Don't sneer at the source of so much
>cameraderie, love, and friendship.

This is exACTly what I mean. You're making it out to be much more than it actually is. A movie is not the source of cameraderie, love, or friendship. People discovering things in common is. If that interest they share is Star Wars, fine, but the movie did not create love or friendship; the people did, and the movie was just what introduced them to each other.

And I was sneering at the fact that it's not that great a movie but everyone thinks it is.

>p.s. Episode I, on the other hand, was a
>disappointment unlike anything else I can think
>of. It was absolutely pathetic. Whatever
>worldview and ideas Lucas was expressing in the
>trilogy are completely nonexistent. I'm not
>sure he was even trying to say anything
>worthwhile.

Not every movie has to try to say something worthwile. It could be that it was made just to entertain. Or to make money.

-eric "I didn't like Episode One, either, and I'll be skipping Episodes Two, Three, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten..." sleator
Thu 10 Aug A.D. 2000