George Lucas’ Light-Hearted Intentions for Star Wars
There’s a pretty good reason why George Lucas wanted to show Duck Dodgers, the spoof of Buck Rogers that starred Daffy Duck, and it kind of flies in the face of what a lot of Star Wars fans would agree with since the franchise has been taken to such a level that people don’t appear to have fun with it any longer even if they claim that they are. George Lucas admitted that his movie was supposed to be kid-friendly, that it wasn’t supposed to be taken so seriously, and yet look what’s happened. A lot of people would widen their eyes and wonder how anyone was supposed to think that the imagery shown in the movies was supposed to be kid-friendly, but when we take a long look back at the things we experienced while growing up in terms of our entertainment it’s easy to remember that fairy tales and old folk tales weren’t much better than what we think of denying our kids these days. The stories of wolves eating children, of bellies being sliced open to reveal living people, of animals and people doing some of the vilest and horrible things to each other, are what a lot of us grew up with as children’s cautionary tales, and we have the audacity to wonder how Star Wars could be for kids. Hypocrisy is a lot of fun, but there are times when adults tend to take it too far.
Adults Ruining the Fun for Kids
The Daffy Duck cartoon was intended to lighten the mood, to remind people that this was supposed to be a fun and engaging adventure, but nothing that was supposed to be taken so seriously that it would be considered something for adults to take over in the same manner that many adults take over many things. That’s kind of the point really, and it still happens to this day since adults tend to ruin a lot of things that kids tend to love by affixing too much meaning to them when all kids want to do is have fun. There is a fine line between allowing kids to completely emulate the characters they see on TV and in the movies and crushing their dreams entirely since that balance does need to be struck in order to allow kids to be kids and have fun with what they enjoy, but not to get so lost in the fantasy that they end up trying to emulate every last bit of it. Star Wars was initially meant to be light-hearted and a little scary for kids but not so overwhelmingly horrifying that it would become a story that was deemed to be for older audiences. This is one example of how a story has been taken by the fans and shaped into something far beyond what it was supposed to be, and while I can admit to being guilty of such a thing as well, I’m definitely more with those that think that this is supposed to be a fun and engaging fantasy world that isn’t as bound by limits and boundaries as so many others have attempted to force upon it. To be perfectly honest it’s been a little disappointing to see what’s been done with the franchise over the years, but as a fan, one that is bound to say one thing or another about various movies and ideas, having fun with it has always been the primary goal.
Keeping the Fun Alive for Future Generations
Sadly this is what happens when adults become so invested in things that are designed for kids, they tend to take them over and affix so many meanings to them that they cease to be for kids and become a theological debate that kids have no idea how to follow most times. The fact that some kids stick with such ideas and continue to enjoy their favorite movies, such as Star Wars, is uplifting since the idea is still to have fun with it, to enjoy it, and to get into the whole fantasy aspect of it. But trying to present this to an adult fan could end up creating a massive argument since some folks tend to take Star Wars so seriously that it’s almost impossible to have a discussion with them concerning one aspect of the franchise or the other without inciting an argument over one small detail or another. For instance, try telling anyone that happens to enjoy the current trilogy that the Legends canon would have been better and one might find that they’ll have ignited a heated discussion they can’t back away from. The fact that Lucas wanted Star Wars to be for kids is amusing to be certain but to think that we might have been treated to Duck Dodgers before every movie would have been even nicer. But it’s a safe bet that some folks might think that it would have been ridiculous since an epic like Star Wars would deserve more. All I can say to those folks is that it’s a story, lighten up.
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