The OT continues to thrive in the general culture. The PT? ...

[Gaith]

Please note - this is not intended to be a PT-bashing/debating thread so much as a musing on how well it will age in the general pop consciousness. The odd PT/OT debate reference/give-and-take will doubtless inevitably pop up here and there, but let's not get off-track into debating the style of Plinkett or the narrative logics of the PT, as that's been done millions of times elsewhere. K THX go ahead.


Thanks to this very forum, I recently came across the hilarious (and, at a mere 90,000 views as of this writing, woefully unappreciated) Ben Kenobi: Private Jedeye short. One of the things that struck me about the skit was how much of its humor was based on the OT era and films, even though it took place before all of those events. Apart from generic references to Vader and the Empire, which could apply to either trilogy, the main shout-outs were to:


- Greedo
- Jabba and his ROTJ-style slave-taking
- The Larses, and their ANH death
- The logical flimsiness of a wanted galactic fugitive disguising himself by retaining his ceremonial robes and surname.


The main PT-centric reference, on the other hand, being a gag on midichlorians, was (like so many such shout-outs) a none-too-subtle dig at that woeful concept. In short, this video admirably illustrates an ongoing perception of mine, which is that when creative minds go online to celebrate the Star Wars, nearly all of their affection and good-natured joking is aimed at OT-era subjects.


Granted, the generation whose initial Star Wars experience wholly included or even (Muppet Yoda save us) foregrounded the PT has yet to come of age in the same way that the first few OT generations have, so it’s entirely possible that future viral videos will feature as many riffs on Padme’s hairstyles and the seedier parts of Coruscant as contemporary videos have of Ewoks and Han Solo’s exploits.


But I, for one, doubt it. As wonderful as the art production on the PT was, it takes gripping characters and situations to make pretty-looking scenery and amusing gags iconic. The OT will therefore certainly retain its elevated place in our pop cultural discourse. The PT? … Well, I wouldn’t bet the Falcon on it, that’s for sure.

 

[Admiral_Young]

I voted for the second option. I think the Clone Wars series will do a lot to create continued awareness of the Prequel Trilogy. I suspect that we'll get future projects from Lucas in this era while the novels continue to focus on the post OT era.

 

[Gaith]

D'oh, perhaps I should have added a proviso that there wouldn't be any significant new content related to either era post-TCW-series, to level the playing field a bit.

 

[BlobVanDam]

The OT has become so ingrained in current popular culture that people know most references even if they haven't seen the movies or don't care.

I can't think of any positive references to the PT that have become popular. It seems that only the bad points have become popular, such as references to the failure of Jar Jar as a character, Vader's silly "nooooo!", midichlorians, the poor CG, etc. I don't see it becoming more positive over time. It will forever just tag along with the OT.

 

[Gepard]

It doesn't help that the OT had a 20-year head start on the PT, in regards to pop-culture penetration. Plus the filmgoing culture was different back in the '70s; the first Star Wars was revolutionary and had people salivating for more during the long, long wait until Empire. By the time the PT rolled around, I think people were a bit more jaded towards VFX-heavy summer extravaganzas, due to their prevalence. By their very nature, the PT could never have the same impact as the OT, regardless of quality.

 

[ColeMercury]

You neglected to put a "Less than the OT" option, i.e. somewhere between the second and third options. People won't remember as much about the PT as the OT, not by a long shot, but the Ewok movies are downright obscure -- if it weren't for the internet I wouldn't even know they existed. People will remember that the PT was made, at least.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

AAAAGG I accidentally voted for the wrong thing because I thought it was saying "less than the OT". I don't know why, I guess because less comes before more in my mind. Damnit.

I think it will be remembered less, the same way it is remembered less right now for reasons people have already stated.

Not as less as the Ewok movies though.

 

[Whofan]

Darth Maul and "Duel of the Fates" seem to still be well remembered and referenced a lot....but that's about it.

 

[Shurik]

The only good thing that came from the PT is the "DO NOT WANT" meme ...

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Well at this point I know many who reference it but the question is for the next generation. It wouldn't surprise me if it suddenly became old tat to the next generation or the one after simply because of pace differences, lack of cgi etc.. on this bbs I read people saying that they can't hack TOS because it's dated. SW's time will come.

So those of you who have children now or in the future remember to raise them well!! Stick that blue milk teat in their mouths before they are old enough to choose whatever lesser offerings the future holds.

 

[Caliburn24]

The OT of Star Wars is already being forgotten. Most kids in school these days haven't seen them, and that is a trend that is increasing, not decreasing.

Those of us who grew up in the 70s and 80s really latched onto SW to some degree because the pop culture landscape was very, very bare.

Today there are dozens of franchises aimed at kids, almost the entire big budget movie industry is aimed squarely at them, and other media like TV, books, video games and the internet seek to edge in on that territory. It is a much more crowded and cluttered landscape, and old relics like the OT are rapidly forgotten or looked at as movies that Mom and Dad used to like.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Those of us who grew up in the 70s and 80s really latched onto SW to some degree because the pop culture landscape was very, very bare.

When ANH came out there was ANH and TOS reruns. Lamer people watched Lost in Space reruns. A year later there was Logan's Run which had a narrower appeal. Planet of the Apes was already nearly 10 years old. That's how I remember it anyway, ANH was mind blowingly unique and wonderful. There was nothing else out there. It was certainly the pivotal movie of my adolescence. I saw it 7 times in the theater when it first came out.

My first film violence violence/gore was in ANH, can you believe that? It was the charred bodies of Luke's aunt and uncle, I found it utterly shocking and terrible (and I still do because when I watch ANH I am right back there with the original emotional impact).

Really it's a feast now how much sci fi you can watch. I can't even catch up with stuff that is 10 years old there's so much out there. It's a different landscape for sure.

 

[Bishop76]

There are so many iconic moments and characters in the OT that just aren't present anywhere in the PT that there's no way the PT will be more memorable. It's already pretty reviled by most people. Though, I'd actually say it's somewhere between the options of about the same as the OT and the one I voted for, Ewok movie obscurity. Like it or not, it is tied to the OT which will act a bit like a life preserver for it and keep it somewhat afloat. Kind of like the hope that they would be as good as the OT kept people coming to theaters for crummy prequel after crummy prequel. If they didn't have the Star Wars name attached to them, I don't think we'd even be having this discussion. They would have been flops and laughed out of theaters. There wouldn't have even been an episode 2 or 3.

Also, the kid's show on Cartoon Network serves to keep the PT fresher in kids' minds. The thing is, once they grow up and start to get a sense of what is good and what isn't, they'll probably try out the OT and realize just how much better than the PT it was. Hell, when I was 14 I thought The Godfather was one of the most boring movies on the planet, but as tastes mature, you start to realize that scenes that develop character and plot are far superior to anything with a bunch of pointless dialogue and laser swords.

 

[Small White Car]

For most people, they'll eventually all seem the same.

Yeah, people who care enough to watch all 6 again and again will understand which ones are better, but most people will have "seen most of them on cable at some point" and won't be able to tell you which scenes came from which films.

Look at the original Star Trek.We all know the first 2 seasons of the show were the best parts and the movies started strong and then went slowly downhill from there.

But what does the general public know? Ask them to tell you all they know about Kirk and Spock and see where that conversation takes you. I'm betting it will span ALL versions of Star Trek, up to and including the last re-boot film.

Star Wars will eventually be the same. It'll all blend together except for the actual fans who take the time to learn the details.

 

[JarodRussell]

I also agree that Original Trek is better than the new Prequel Trek.

 

[davejames]

The OT of Star Wars is already being forgotten. Most kids in school these days haven't seen them, and that is a trend that is increasing, not decreasing.

Those of us who grew up in the 70s and 80s really latched onto SW to some degree because the pop culture landscape was very, very bare.

Today there are dozens of franchises aimed at kids, almost the entire big budget movie industry is aimed squarely at them, and other media like TV, books, video games and the internet seek to edge in on that territory. It is a much more crowded and cluttered landscape, and old relics like the OT are rapidly forgotten or looked at as movies that Mom and Dad used to like.

Sadly, I have to agree. It's really our OT generation that's fueling the whole thing and keeping it alive in the culture. Once we're gone, I doubt there'll be much interest in anything SW. Sure, there might be a handful of scifi fans who view it fondly the way people today look back at Buck Rogers or Forbidden Planet, but it certainly won't pervade the culture the same way.

And the younger PT generation, as you said, will have so many other, better scifi franchises to obsess over by then.