Those who enjoyed Star Wars: The Last Jedi accused of not being “real” Star Wars fans.
The backlash continues from Star Wars: The Last Jedi, with fans of a galaxy far, far away drifting further and further apart as each day passes. Instead of using these differences to build a solid foundation of fandom, a sect of the fandom is destroying all George Lucas built.
Star Wars is meant to be an avenue of escapism. Fun. Adventure. Fantasy. Instead, it’s turned grown men into whining, little babies. More than that, a substantial amount of verbal abuse continues to spew from the mouths, or keyboards, of fans towards Rian Johnson and Kathleen Kennedy, especially.
This sort of behavior is unacceptable and needs to stop. Enough is enough.
Our friend Alex Damon from Star Wars Explained says it best in a recent tweet on what’s acceptable behavior and what’s not.
What I understand: Not being excited about an upcoming Star Wars project.
— Star Wars Explained (@StarWarsExplain) April 26, 2018
What I don't understand: BEING FURIOUS ABOUT THAT STAR WARS PROJECT I KNOW ALMOST NOTHING ABOUT THAT NO ONE IS GOING TO FORCE ME TO EXPERIENCE ANYWAY.
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Honestly, that’s been the approach from the angry mob of Star Wars fans who are unhappy with the current direction of the Lucasfilm team.
From observing social media, angry YouTube warriors, and the comments sections of a variety of venues; a substantial amount of people are not giving the new content a fighting chance — making up their minds before they even see it.
If that’s your fancy, so be it. But, the hatred spread throughout the galaxy should not be tolerated.
One YouTuber even stated that Kathleen Kennedy “earned that hate.” By hate, he means all of the complaints and criticism spewed by the current direction of the franchise.
Really? Kathleen Kennedy and Rian Johnson have both earned all of this “hate”? Give me a break. No, they have not. Honestly, this approach is flat out offensive.
If you don’t like the direction of the franchise, then don’t watch it. Or move on to some other source of entertainment that you enjoy. I don’t understand creating YouTube channels, message boards, or websites with the sole purpose of expressing hatred.
Expressing your concerns and criticism is one thing, but creating a community with a “what I don’t like” MO is a sad look and unhealthy for the entire fan base.
What also gets my midichlorians boiling is others I’ve engaged with, even within our own comments section, who go as far to say that those who enjoyed the latest addition to the galaxy far, far away (like myself) are not real fans.
Really? Since when did you all become the police of who is allowed to be fans and who is not?
I’ve had intellectual discussions with those who do not like the current movies, and that’s fine. I still consider those people to be “real” fans, even though we disagree on some items. Believe it or not, I’m still a Star Wars fan for liking Star Wars.
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I have no qualms with those who dislike Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but I don’t understand the approach of rallying around to bash those who both created it and enjoy it. We need to do better as Star Wars fans (yes we are all fans even though we disagree) and as humanity in general.
I believe we will make great strides towards this goal if we discuss this issue in a civil manner and listen to one another – making progress towards a common ground of peace, inclusion, and reconciliation.