Just when you think you’ve heard or read the most inane idea of the day, someone tends to come along and either lower or raise the bar, depending upon the content and the reasoning behind the comment that’s been made. But apparently, Judge Kenneth K. Lee felt the need to place mention of The Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker in the midst of a rather mundane legal proceeding just to prove a point. The proceeding was actually over the rights to put a 100% Natural label on bottles of Wesson Oil, which is just as boring as it sounds like but is likely important to those that stand to gain or lose something from it. But somehow this judge, who is apparently a fan, did manage to squeeze in a Bachelor reference as well as the Star Wars references when speaking of how ConAgra, the company that once owned Wesson Oil but no longer does, and how they apparently found reason to contest the aforementioned label.
Lee’s decision to refer to the two Star Wars movies as ‘schlocky’ was a personal decision no doubt and might have made some people cheer since there’s been a split in the Star Wars fanbase since TLJ came out, and Rise of Skywalker didn’t make it any better. Lee’s decision to use George Lucas’s obvious displeasure with the sequel trilogy was an odd one to be certain but it did fit since Lucas can do nothing to alter Star Wars now that it’s owned by Disney. If there are any Star Wars fans that take umbrage with his need to put into a legal precedent that the two movies are schlocky and basically missing what made the original trilogy great, well, it’s time to get a life. Since TLJ came out with the constant idea that this movie was the end of Star Wars and should be rewritten and re-released and blah, blah, blah, people have gone on and on with their tirades and their continual defense of the overall movie.
A single judge making a proclamation such as this kind of proves how touchy and temperamental many Star Wars fans are since there’s no doubt that some have risen to protect their precious franchise, and while I’m a Star Wars fan as well, it’s easy to see that the franchise doesn’t really need that kind of help. Yes, it was kind of disappointing that the story of TLJ was a bit off-kilter and featured a whiny, emo-type as the major bad guy, and yes, the reveal in Rise of Skywalker of both Palpatine and Rey’s connection could have been handled better. But they’re stories. In another few decades, it’s likely that someone might reboot them if they find that kind of ambition, and those of us that are still around will remind everyone that yes, it’s been done before, and no, you’re not quite as original as you think.
But the fact is that even then, it will be a story, a tale that was made to entertain people and not be taken this seriously. This is the frustration of anyone that’s ever written a story, those who read it or watch it might take it to heart in such a way that anyone trying to say anything against it would become the enemy or at the very least, a problematic voice that they would gladly see as a troublemaker that doesn’t know what they’re talking about. Admittedly, Judge Lee was searching for something obviously to make a comparison, and his thoughts happened upon Star Wars, which he used at that moment to make his point. It wasn’t the best comparison, but it was accurate at least.
Another thought is that if anyone else’s opinion can force a person to look at their favored franchise in a new way then it could be a boon, but if an opinion can force a person to turn on something they love then it’s fair to say that they didn’t love it that much to begin with. People still love the Star Wars franchise no matter how much others have talked about it over the years, so thinking that one judge’s opinion is going to change anything is kind of ludicrous, but also kind of funny since it would mean that those professing to care so much about the franchise are true bandwagon fans that are liable to jump off at any given moment when the franchise doesn’t appear to be popular enough to like and will hop back on when it is again. Hey, to each their own, but if you’re a fan of something it typically means you’ll be a fan through the best and the worst times since it doesn’t matter what a person says, you’ll care about what you want to care about and that’s it.
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