Nostalgia

     This weekend, I finally got around to seeing Solo: A Star Wars Story. I was slightly anxious beforehand because I had heard that it was just okay. I walked out of the theater really liking it though. The LUKEwarm (ha ha) reception of Solo and the polarizing reception of The Last Jedi (which is one of my favorite Star Wars movies) really got me thinking about a quote I heard somewhere. "Nobody hates Star Wars more than Star Wars fans." I think that there is a certain element of truth to this. When I see negative reviews of these movies, a good portion of them are from people who hold the franchise in a very special place in their heart. They appear to idealize the Original Trilogy (A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi), but have varying amounts of distaste for any of the newer movies. Some of their criticisms are indeed quite valid, but others seem to stem from the fact that they are new and different from (but not even contradicting) what was established with the original three movies. It seems to me that these are, in general, people who grew up watching the Original Trilogy and who likely were children when these movies came out. I think that it is extremely likely they are letting nostalgia close their minds off from accepting new developments in the saga. They appear to hold Star Wars in a sort of mythical regard and to a higher standard than other movies. They remember how amazing it was to see the original movies as a kid for the first time and expect a similar sense of awe from the new ones. But as they become older, they begin to scrutinize things more. The older ones are immune, or at least mostly immune to this scrutinization because they are protected by nostalgia, but the new ones do not have this protection. They notice a plot hole or something that is new and they immediately hate the movie for it, which is unfair. Maybe this is not the whole story. Maybe my excitement for having new Star Wars films released in my time is clouding MY judgement. I don't think I'd be able to tell if it was. But that doesn't mean that I am completely wrong. I still believe nostalgia plays quite a large role in the reception of the Star Wars franchise. This is not an issue that only occurs with Star Wars though. The influence of nostalgia can be seen in many places in the media.