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Re: Star Wars... It's not the hype
Paul says:
And what, exactly, is wrong with that? I'm not smelling a little highbrowism,
am I? The deepest truths, the most touching sympathies, the most spectacular
imaginations can be realized by ten-year-olds, and it takes a rare genius (Jim
Henson comes to mind) who can pull such things off without alienating the adult
audience. Any film or book (Narnia, anyone?) that can supercede our culturally
imposed distinctions of age-level focus should be lauded, not berated.
And I say:
A 10-year old can out-imagine (and out-improvise) a 40-year old, it's true.
Whether or not 'Star Wars' delivers childlike deep truths and touching
sympathies is another matter.
I bought a kid's book at the supermarket a couple weeks ago: "I Am A Jedi,"
by Qui-Gon Jinn. Cool, right? A friend pointed out this weekend how scary
it is that George Lucas is selling what amounts to false religion to our
10-year olds (or our 5, 4 and 3 year olds, for that matter). The book is
laid out like a very simple primer to the "Jedi" religion, explaining the
force, the council, the Dark Side and the Good Side, the importance of
apprenticeship, etc., etc. All on about 15 pages of 8 by 8 glossy paper.
Is Yoda God? Do kids know the difference? It's sometimes difficult to
remember that a popular myth can be misunderstood by a child to be a kind
of reality-- especially since sometimes we ourselves can't distinguish
between the two.
Narnia and Tattooine are two very different places, created for very
different reasons. I think it's important to think carefully about how
we're going to relate these dreams to our children before we embrace them
ourselves.
I probably overstepped the scope of the original e-mail here. My
apologies, Paul.
jnf
PS - I'll pre-emptively address the Star Wars/Christianity comparison here
by pointing out that Lucas's oft-stated original intention was to create a
composite of *all* our myths/religions. 'The Matrix' has as much in common
with the Christian life as 'Star Wars.' I wouldn't show either one in
church.
Ok, done preaching.
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