The People vs. George Lucas

Scott Hardie: “It ruled.”

As a tongue-in-cheek exploration of the difficult relationship between George Lucas and his hardcore fans (or more accurately, the difficult three-way relationship between the fans, the Lucas they worship for creating Star Wars and Indiana Jones, and the Lucas they villify for making endless changes to the classics they loved), I've wanted to see this since it came out last year. But watching it now, in the wake of Lucas suddenly selling his entire company for billions of dollars and giving it all to charity, definitely casts him in a new light.

The fans naturally come off as whiny and unappreciative, not to mention obsessive about tiny details. But most of them still have big grins even when complaining loudly about Jar-Jar Binks or how Han shot first, because it's all still so much fun for them, which keeps the movie light-hearted. It also suggests how we sometimes need to turn against aspects of a work of art that we love, to vent frustration and assert control over it. I wish the movie had gone into greater exploration of the idea that our entire culture owns the art after it has become a runaway success like Star Wars and influenced a generation, because I found that to be its most compelling subject. I also wish it would stop switching between the front view and side view during interviews, as if we'll get bored listening to a ten-second statement by a fan if something isn't done to liven up the shot. But overall, it was a lot of fun to see this and spend 90 minutes with such happy people (even when they're mad).

− November 8, 2012 • more by Scott • log in or create an account to reply