Campfire Stories

Spoilers: all Star Wars media (potentially);
Content Warning: brief mentions of SA

Sam Witwer portrays the voice of Darth Maul in many Star Wars media. Witwer learned from George Lucas, creator of Star Wars, and Dave Filoni, the current creative director of Star Wars, about campfire stories within the galaxy far, far away.

George Lucas once addressed the growing inconsistencies within Star Wars to Sam Witwer, as Witwer was portraying Starkiller in the Force Unleashed video games, by imagining that everything in the various films, tv shows, books, comics, and other avenues of storytelling, were all, in a sense, being told around a campfire somewhere in the galaxy. That is perhaps part of why all Star Wars films begin with “a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away” (which itself was referenced in Season 1 of Ahsoka).

In this way, all the details of Star Wars are just salient bits of someone’s tall tale about when Darth Vader used to race pods on Tatooine (Phantom Menace), or that time when little bears beat an entire legion of the Empire’s stormtroopers (Return of the Jedi), or that time when kids accidentally led a group of pirates to their very own treasure planet (Skeleton Crew).

This helps to explain how Han shot first, and then didn’t (A New Hope theatrical release vs current iteration), or how the Death Star II seemed to vaporize, and then didn’t (Return of the Jedi vs Rise of Skywalker), and how all the little real world inconsistencies that creep into a franchise as large as Star Wars could still be reconcilable within the larger tapestry of the story of Star Wars.

I’ve been watching Season 2 of Andor, which is about the “dark times” when the Empire ruled before the events of Rogue One and A New Hope. It is not your uncle’s Star Wars*, full of fast quips and wacky battles, and spectacular visual effects. It is a grounded, realistic, and I hesitate to use the word “gritty” (mostly because that as a term to describe media is becoming trite), but certainly more grim. Case in point, episode 3 of season 2 of Andor features an attempted rape of a key character by an Imperial officer. I doubt George Lucas, who famously and consistently has said he wrote his movies for 12 year olds, would have included such a scene. But it found its way into Andor.

I am not here to discuss the almost-rape scene, which was intense enough to make my wife leave the room and me to mute the tv and look away until it was over, but to make the point that it is obviously a very different Star Wars than the one that includes Jar Jar Binks, C-3PO, and other more ridiculous characters and slapstick comedy. The creators of Andor, no doubt, want to emphasize the evil of the Empire. (I think that was made evident with the smoking skeletons of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru – 12 year olds did he say?). This era’s broader media is a lot about shock value and “realism”. Look no further than the fantasy series Game of Thrones, the crime show Breaking Bad, or every iteration even of CSI or SVU that is on broadcast tv now. When I was growing up, it wasn’t quite that way, or was just beginning to become so, I guess. It has just now made its way into Star Wars.

Personal opinion: sexual assault never needs to be seen on screen. Grisly murders, either, for that matter. Your opinion may vary, and I know many fans of Andor and other shows feel different. I won’t debate that here.

More broadly, however, I am in favor of the grounded storytelling that Andor represents, as long as I also get my sarcastic smugglers (Han Solo in everything), stomping space pirate droids (Skeleton Crew), and other fun from “far, far away”. I am in favor of all the campfire stories that are told about all the corners of the galaxy, and the adventures that are waiting to be unveiled. I’ve said it before, but I hope I am alive at 90 years old to witness the 100th anniversary of Star Wars, and cognizant enough along the way to enjoy all the campfire stories yet to be told. After all, it’s a large galaxy.

I have been underwhelmed by the general storytelling in Andor 2, but that is just my personal taste. I also don’t much care for Rise of Skywalker, and for a long, long time didn’t appreciate Phantom Menace. Attack of the Clones still is only half a movie, and Revenge of the Sith still has Vader murdering a room of Jedi children (Implied. 12 year olds, did he say?). But to each their own. Empire Strikes Back is still the best, and I love Solo, and various shows. Again, the point is that there is a campfire story for everyone to enjoy. Not your taste? There are other campfires burning bright in the Star Wars galaxy.

This is a lesson I have had a hard time learning, and it goes far beyond Star Wars. I used to hold so much vitriol against the Phantom Menace until I started to love it (mostly). Entertainment does not need to appeal to everyone. This has been a thing for as long as humanity has had entertainment I am sure, sitting around literal campfires munching on wooly mammoth bits and telling stories, but recently people have had such strong opinions about things, then they share those opinions on message boards, social media, and other internet-al things. Sometimes strong opinions help you find your people, other people who feel the same way you do about the Last Jedi, for instance. But that can cut both ways. While some love, others hate, and well, that has consequences when the creators of Star Wars begin to feel unsafe (Ahmed Best), or marginalized (John Boyega), or even thrust out (Kelly Marie Tran).

It easy to say we should all get along, but harder to do it.

Look, I’ve digressed a bit, but back to the campfires: telling stories is good. They don’t all have to be consistent, and what is made for 12 year olds doesn’t have to appeal to 38 year olds, and vice versa. What should matter is that everyone has a place at the campfire, and that we all enjoy some of the stories being told. Maybe some of them are for everyone, and others are for when the 12 year olds go to bed, but all have a place and can be enjoyed. So dim the lights, grab the popcorn, and turn on the campfire that is telling your favorite rendition of Star Wars, a story from “a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…”

*can confirm, am an uncle