Why I Refuse To Buy Star Wars on Blu-ray

Yesterday I wound up browsing through FYE, where I saw loads of advertisements for pre-ordering the Star Wars movies on Blu-ray, which are coming out next month. I had known they were due out, but had somewhat forgotten about it as I waited for more details to emerge. But now they had packaging and pre-ordering on the ready, I figured now would be a good time to check back in and see what was actually being offered.

And it was exactly as I had feared.

First the good news. You DON'T have to buy all six movies, as the two trilogies are being offered separately, not just in the big "saga" package. So points for not forcing me to buy the three shitty movies in order to get the good ones. So far so good. And of course, there are going to be loads of extra features, many of which look pretty cool. Yay.

But then came time for the big reveal, the thing I was most concerned about: Which version of the original Star Wars trilogy would be released? Would it be the original theatrical release? (Fingers crossed!) Or would it be the bastardized special editions that were rereleased in the 90s? (Booooooo!) Or would it be both, giving fans the ability to choose which version they wanted to watch? To me, that seemed the most likely, and the best and easiest way to please a fan base that have given you billions of dollars over the years. But nope. Following his decades long trend of fucking his fans over, Lucas has opted to only offer the special edition re-releases on Blu-ray.

Now, on the one hand, a director wanting to present the version of the film he feels is best is understandable. That's why we have director's cuts for movies like Blade Runner. It's their work, so sure, they should get to decide how to present it. But that isn't the case here. The special editions weren't chosen because they were the version he felt was best. They were chosen because it was cheaper to convert them to Blu-ray over the originals. George Lucas, a man who makes millions off of anything he slaps the Star Wars logo on, uses the excuse "It's too expensive."

Bullshit. I understand that the conversion process does cost money, but Lucas is a man who NEVER HAS TO WORRY ABOUT MONEY EVER AGAIN. And he felt like pinching pennies when it came to bringing his beloved work to Blu-ray? To bring in a comparison, when the Alien Anthology was released on Blu-ray, it included both the original theatrical versions of all the films as well as all the different director's cuts and special editions. The Alien franchise is a far less lucrative franchise than Star Wars, yet they were able to find enough change in the couch cushion to convert all the different versions of the films.

This is also a travesty because it is history lost. The original versions are getting harder and harder to find, and if they are excluded from the transition to Blu-ray, there is a very real possibility we could lose them for future generations as technology continues to move forward and the older methods of watching movies continue to get killed off. What a shame it would be if a generation from now, no kid would be able to see the original version that started it all, the one that the legions of Star Wars fans fell in love with and made it possible to create the huge universe these characters inhabit.

However, as easy and as much fun as it is to blame Lucas, at least some of the fault also rests with the fans. I know too many who happily eat up anything Star Wars that Lucas offers up, even if they agree it isn't that good. When it comes to the prequels and crappy Clone Wars TV show, too often I hear the apologetic "But it's Star Wars." No. That is not a reason nor an excuse. A product should be judged by its own merit, not by nostalgia you have for a prior incarnation. Many Star Wars fans have stopped doing this, and Lucas knows it. He knows he doesn't have to put effort into his ideas anymore, and it will still sell. Fans may complain that Han is supposed to shot first, but most of them will likely still buy the Blu-rays where Greedo shots first. It is this passiveness to accept any addition to the Star Wars universe that has watered it down. Sure, there are still some worthwhile additions that have come out. The Force Unleashed was pretty cool. But the majority of it falls way short of the magic of the original versions, the versions that introduced so many fans to Luke and Darth Vader and Han Solo. But by all means, keep buying that god awful Clone Wars series on DVD.

I've long since stopped getting excited for new Star Wars releases. And Lucas's decision to exclude the original version from Blu-ray just furthers me opinion that, for all intents and purposes, Star Wars is over. They story has been told. Lucas can repackage his story all he wants, in as many ways as he want with as many gimmicks as he wants; I'm done buying. Fuck the special editions and extended canon, if I can't enjoy the story in its original incarnation, I'd rather forget it exists than remember it through these poorly thought out additions. Call me a purist. Call me a hater, as I'm sure many of you will. I just know what it is I like about Star Wars, what it is I want to be able to watch and show my kids, and I refuse for them to have any less of an experience than I did when I was first introduced to that galaxy far far away.

A Call To Arms: Fight Back Against Book Banning

As we have seen in the recent weeks, the political gridlock of our country has reached a point of cartoonish levels. During this whole debt ceiling debate, I could never be sure if Eric Cantor was really House Majority Leader, or a bad guy from a James Cameron movie. It was confusing. But despite so many differences in opinion and ideology, there are usually a few things everyone can agree on. Usually they revolve around how awesome America is at things, and the greatest of all these is our personal freedom and liberty. You can't go to any kind of political rally without at least one person chest-pounding about how great a nation we are because of it. And really, they are right to. We enjoy many great advantages over much of the world, mainly due to our 1st Amendment rights. Our freedom of expression, and freedom to consume other's expressions and opinions, are fundamental to why this nation was founded in the first place.

And that is why stories like this just piss me off. Yes, book banning in the United States. Setting aside the fact that I absolutely love Slaughterhouse 5 (and Kurt Vonnegut in general), this is unbelievable. Both Slaughterhouse 5 and Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler were banned by the Republic School Board in Montana. The reason? A local college professor complained on religious grounds, claiming that the content of the books was offensive to his interpretation of the Bible, and should not be taught to his children. Not that his kids need to worry about it, since they are reportedly home schooled, but why would that stop him? And now, no one at Republic High School will have either book as part of their curriculum, regardless of what their own personal beliefs on the Bible may be.

The fact that this happened is a big deal. Obviously, it is a breach of the Constitution, allowing the government (this is a public school) to favor one religious ideology over others. But let's set aside the religious aspect for a moment. This is censorship, pure and simple. In this case it is due to overly-religious nut bags, but in China it's politically motivated. In the Middle-East it's religious motivation of a different breed. Whatever the initial trigger, the outcome is the same: someone else is deciding what can be viewed by others based on a narrow-minded world view. This is unacceptable, especially in a country like the USA.

No book or film or anything should ever be banned. Even atrocious or hateful works of art can be used to gain some kind of knowledge. You don't have to support the ideals of the Nazi party to watch Triumph of the Will and see just how masterful a piece of manipulative propaganda it is. And, learning that and seeing how they did it, you can more easily recognize when other groups or organizations try to use the same tricks and guard yourself from it. Knowledge is power, and you gain knowledge from exposure, even (and especially) from works that go against your world view. Perhaps Slaughterhouse 5 does offend your view of the Bible. So what? You don't have to like it. But it challenged your view, and if you walk away with it intact, then you have gained something invaluable from the experience. That is what people don't seem to understand about having their beliefs challenged; it forces us to reexamine our position and make sure it is one we want to take. Banning books just puts the blinders on, and you can start down a path of believing things simply because you have never been shown an alternative, and that is a terrible reason to believe anything.

So this should be a call to arms. Fight back against would-be intellectual oppressors. Do not allow small groups of people to decide what you can or can't read. If it happens in your area, stand up and speak out. For the immediate, you can help donate money to the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library, who are sending out free copies of Slaughterhouse 5 to any Republic High School student who would like one. But more importantly, always keep yourself open to ideas that might be contrary to what you may believe. Challenge your world view. Even if you come away with the same stance you had before, it is a more enhanced stance that has the benefit of withstanding alternative viewpoints. Always strive to learn and take in something new. You may even find that you had been wrong, which there is no shame in. We are all wrong from time to time, and it's our ability to learn and change our minds that makes it all ok.

Banned Book Week is coming up next month, a week dedicated to books that have been challenged or are being challenged for a variety of reasons (though in this country it tends to be for religious reasons more often than not). Make a point to read one (or a few) and decide for yourself if they really are so offensive. Maybe they aren't, and people have made hullaballoo out of nothing (as is often the case, since they usually refuse to read it themselves and thus don't really know what they're talking about). Maybe it is offensive to you, but then, maybe that's point. Maybe you are supposed to feel offended so that you acknowledge and think about a given issue. You will never know until you read for yourself. Everyone should have that right.