Hello again, Friends.
You may have guessed from the title of
my last post that I had a feeling that it was going to end up being
longer than one entry. Well, I was proven right when Husband read the
blog post the night I wrote it. He and I ended up having an hour long
conversation about fanon versus canon, as well as copyright laws, and
at what point a writer should step away from his or her work.
One of Husband's biggest concerns
related to an idea that I had touched on a little bit in my previous
post. I mentioned the question of “cultural heritage”. When does
something cease to belong to the creator or originator and instead
become the “property” of the community at large.
I think the best way to talk about this
once again concerns George Lucas. I maintain what I said in my
previous post in that I do think that ultimately while he did approve
the books and the extended universe...it's still his universe. As
such, while movies 1-3 don't “count” for me on a personal,
fangirl level, I can cede that they are “official” canon and I
respect that. However, where I cannot condone what Lucas has done is
with the old movies.
I grew
up on the VHS versions of Star Wars. You know, the ones where Han
shot first and Hayden Christianson is nowhere to be seen at the end
of Return of the Jedi. Going back and “fixing” those movies is
shameful for me and a good example of where a creator should realize
that their work no longer simply belongs to them. What if Rowling
went back and took Harry's decision to die for the cause and instead
had him Avada Kedavra'd while trying to run away? What if Michael
Curtiz went back and made Bogey and Ilsa run away together? Or if
instead of the incredible color saturation the moment Dorothy walked
into Oz EVERYTHING was in color just because we can.
Or, in another prominent example from my childhood, what if Spielburg
went back and made all the dinosaurs CGI in Jurassic Park because we
can do that now?
To
borrow a line from that very movie: “...your scientists were so
preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to
think if they should.”
If Mr.
Lucas wants to do prequels that discount the canon that had been
established...I don't really get it but it's within his rights.
Ultimately, changing the movies is too. But just because you can
do something doesn't mean that you should.
He's trying to change something ingrained in our culture to please
himself and I don't think that's fair or necessary. The originals were awesome just as they were. We care
about the story, George, not how pretty you can make it.
All of this also brought up the
question of collaboration. The extended Star Wars universe was
something that George Lucas wasn't the biggest contributor to. The
writers, illustrators, and designers who had a part in fleshing out
that universe are as much a part, if not more, of Star Wars than the
man himself and they deserve
respect for the copious amounts of work that they have done.
And as far as I know Lucas had to approve everything they did. So
here's my question: there was this fantastic set of stories and art
that you approved and fans accepted as canon why didn't you just
use that? Instead of railroading
what your contributors did, why not make an effort to work it into
movie canon better?
When I
asked this, Husband asked if I would be willing to let people
collaborate on my world and you know what? Yes, I would...but with
one caveat. I know where I want my central story to go, for the most
part. It is a constantly evolving creature and that's just fine, but
I do have a sense of the overall arc. I would love to let people into
my world to play...but only after I was certain that the main story
was told. It's an issue of pragmatism for me. I want to be certain of
the story and don't want anything getting confused. I want to keep
continuity as tight as I possibly can.
In the
case of George Lucas, I understand that he wasn't originally planning
on making more movies and that's part of how the extended universe
came to be. But once he decided to continue, again, why not try to
use the canon that already existed? It was a better story and one
that stayed true to the characters and world that the fans love so
deeply.
What
would happen if we took the George Lucas approach to all art? Part of
what makes art unique and lasting are the things about it that aren't
“perfect”? CGI space-ships are a dime a dozen; give me an
old-school Star Destroyer any day. Trust me to draw my own
conclusions. Trust in your original vision and don't get lured in by
how “modern” or “pretty” you can make something. The story
should come before the trappings, yes? You make a cake first and then
decorate it. Otherwise all you have is a pile of sugary frosting with
no substance.
Give
me substance over style any time.
I'm
not sure we've really “answered” anything here and I'm ok with
that. This has more been a long exercise in thinking/writing for me.
Conclusion-type
things: Well, I think that Canon and Fanon are both important. I
guess maybe the most important thing is that I do think that there is
a point when, as an artist, you have to just let something go. Focus
on improving your future work rather than constantly messing with
what you have already done.
...hopefully
I'll get better at taking my own “advice” in that regard as I
mature as a writer.
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