Theory-Crafting and Fallout
Up until The Last Jedi I was a rampant fanboy of the STAR WARS franchise, I was even one of those who enjoyed the prequels. I had suspicions about Disney’s new ownership of LucasFilm(formerly LucasArts) and I am somewhat disappointed that my fears have been somewhat proven true thus far. There’s a few things that go into this, but I’d like to think none of my worries were all that obvious, although I know they are largely shared by some of the fan base, but then something changed last year after I saw TLJ and this new spin on the newest saga.
First of all, don’t get me wrong, I truly enjoyed Rian Johnson’s take in The Last Jedi. I think in some ways it was really healthy for the world-building of STAR WARS and for fans in general to get a taste of something more critical of what they enjoy. I think Johnson may have been “too” on the nose with some of his jeering at the rabid fanboys, but at the same time, I thought his thematic scope was deeper. Sure, there were jaunts that I thought were pointless, such as the Canto Bight subplot, but all were still enjoyable, because STAR WARS has always been about fun and the journey rather than reason or sensible methods. You don’t make a super weapon the size of a moon or planet if you were being pratical.
This is not a movie review of The Last Jedi though, this is really trying to understand and dissect why the concept of “theory-crafting” or the process of fans creating possible story lines/ideas/conclusions of their favorite franchises and worlds. Taken in its most robust form, there are the deep thinkers on the Westworld subreddit who have entered into a strange space between the show runners and themselves. And theory-crafting taken at its most lighthearted(at least in some cases) takes the form of fan fiction, where fellow creators borrow and create their own plot-lines and stories involving their favorite characters and worlds.
What has happened now is a culture of “the spoiler” where readers and individuals have to be wary of just about anything on the internet if they are not caught up on their latest show. Some individuals also develop fully fleshed out synopsis of how a film/series may play out and have plenty of contextual and background knowledge to back that up. This is where I think Johnson’s genius of subverting the usual tropes of STAR WARS and fan theories in order to shatter what some fabricated over the top of The Force Awakens in order to reclaim what Disney and LucasFilm has done thus far.
In the end, franchises and story worlds aren’t really about *you*. Sure, they involve the fans and some creators are devoted to the fans who make their worlds so popular. George Lucas is not different than others in that regard, but he let STAR WARS go when he sold it to Disney and in some ways, I myself have let go of what this franchise is to me. I still love it as much as I did when I was a child. I still get the tingles whenever I hear that John Williams’ score. I still hold my breath whenever a lightsaber is ignited on screen. Yet, my grip on the franchise is lessened, because I have let go of theory-crafting, of wishing STAR WARS could be domesticated by my ideas.
When it’s all said and done and the last of the Planetkiller’s debris drifts away, I’m still here enjoying this galaxy with the same joy of when I was eight and watching that opening scroll.
