George Lucas: God of his Universe.
Disclaimer: this is not written to be an in depth discussion of Star Wars, Star Wars Fans, George Lucas or any debates or conflicts resulting therein. It is (more precisely) an observation of an interesting (though flawed) metaphor that results from those relationships. Understand that I am in no way claiming George Lucas is perfect or without some wrong doing. This post is more about fan reactions than George himself.
I recently watched a documentary, The People vs George Lucas. The film details the fan reactions to George Lucas’s work, both the good and the bad. They note the fan reactions to the original trilogy, who Lucas was during those times and (as you might expect) the the rather hateful reaction that came as a result of the lackluster prequel trilogy.
I entered the documentary with an obvious bias. I must say the film did a good job of presenting a relatively balanced collection of arguments. I’d love to go into more detail about that, but my purpose in this post is slightly different.
You see three of the many commentors in the documentary made statements that intrigued me.
The first was a rather animated gentleman behind a microphone at an open mike sort of event, who proclaimed loudly about how Lucas had given people a new religion that was preferred to that of their parents.
The second, a bespectacled fellow with scraggly hair and an ironic t-shirt of some kind, very plainly stated that at the end of the day, Star Wars is George Lucas’ creation, so he has final say in it.
The third, a balding man with a prominent mustache, stated that he had made (one of many) redone versions of Phantom Menace (called a “fanedit). He further noted that his motivation was premised on the fact that the prequel films and the alterations to the originals were “not part of my Star Wars.”
People vs George…
You see, essentially the argument is that the universe was created and is sustained by Lucas, but that the fans should have a say in what is and is not allowed. They bring up countless classic arguments (Han Shot FIrst, Adding Jaba in Episode IV, etc) and posed that at the least George should not force these on the fans (there is a plea to release the original trilogy in their unaltered state) and at the most he should forsake these things and respond as the fans would dictate.
SIDENOTE: WIthout going much further I’ll just point to the fact that in the case of the series Lost paying too much attention to the fans was part of the writers’ downfall.
Drawing a Parallel…
There seems to be merit to this argument, right? After all, the universe exists for the fans to enjoy. They put a lot (financially, emotionally and sometimes physically) into this universe. So, if the introductions of Lucas’s expanded rules (Mediclorians), or introduction of new things (Jar Jar) is hard for the fans to swallow or truly enjoy, then he should at the very least apologize and empower them to undo the damage he has done right?
Too often, I think this is what we see in the way people talk about religion or God. We see people (and ourselves) consistently calling for us to ignore the basic tenants of Christianity, because they are inconvenient or because we down right don’t like them, and much like the Star Wars fans we feel entitled to make such demands. But (to borrow from a commentor) the universe is God’s creation, so He has final say in it.
We often sound like our fan counter parts, proclaiming that a certain thing we read in the Bible doesn’t sound like “My God.” This stems from a self-centered idea of creation. Neither God, nor Lucas, made their creation first and foremost for the pleasure and enjoyment of anyone but themselves. Lucas had a story he wanted to tell; so did God. Both had in mind for others to enjoy it, but as they created they had a grander idea in mind than simply satisfying us.
When that self-first mindset takes hold and we find things that run contrary to how we with them to be, we develop this sort of love-hate relationship. It becomes a series of statements like “I love what you did here, but I would change some things over here… And that idea over there? Well that’s just a bad idea so let’s pretend it isn’t there… Oh and I have a great idea. I know it’s the opposite of what you said you wanted, but I really think if you just hear me out you’ll see that I’m smarter than you about how your creation should be.”
Where the metaphor breaks down…
You may not like the parallel between fans of a movie franchise and followers of God, and I will admit it becomes a labored metaphor anytime a man is used in God’s place to make a metaphor, because that man is not perfect. Beyond that fans are not the creation of the filmmaker, but there is a principal that cannot be missed here. Both a fan and a follower have a purpose to enjoy the works of the creator, but they do not have a right to alter the creator’s work.
And even though Lucas actively enables much of the parody that is sent his way (creating contests, providing soundboards, etc) ultimately, he is interested in what he has created and not the reactions to it. God concerns Himself with both, but that does not mean He will make corrections based on your whims. God created a universe that praises Him without ceasing. He populated it with a variety of creatures, including us. Then, he began to introduce more to us. First the Law, and then the Cross. In doing this He does not poll humanity. In fact, one of the only true times God does as people would have Him do (giving Israel a king), is structured in such a way as to demonstrate why they should trust him. God acts on His will alone.
Conclusion…
Consistently in this life, we run up against aspects of how God intends our world to be that do not gel with our own self-focused desires. I wonder if when we do, we sound as petty to him as fans do to Lucas. I wonder if all of our complaining and rebelling is met with the same basic reaction, “This is my universe to do with as I please. I wish you would appreciate what I’m trying to show you and quit trying to alter it.” This world and the people in it were created to glorify God and no amount of raging against His desire for us to do so changes that.
I don’t know about how George feels about his fans, but I know how God feels. He would not want us to live in an existence aligned with His purposes in this universe if He cared nothing for us. There is a reason He perseveres with us through all of the ranting, raving, editing, revising, boycotting, petitioning and slandering that He sees us do against him. There is a reason He remains after we talk only about how He inconveniences us…
He loves us.
I hope you could take something from this. Again I don’t write this without knowing that it is an imperfect metaphor, but hopefully you can see that the real issue has little to do with Star Wars and much more to do with our reaction to God.