Star Wars/Dark Crystal: A Tale of Two Fandoms

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way–in short, …

Opening: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

In short, it is a tale of two fandoms, one divided and crashing hard; the other singing joy, praise and loving the new life given their beloved, resurrected world. Lets take a look at the state of the Star Wars fan base versus The Dark Crystal fan base.

A Fandom Divided

While the Star Wars universe has been mired in negativity since 1983, the state of the fan base deteriorated over the decades. Problems with the 1983 film Return of the Jedi number just as many as the films today. The problem seems to be with the evolution of social media and a decay in the will to support makes the feelings between 1983 and today seem like night and day.

Back in 1983, Return of the Jedi received ridicule for the Ewoks and mailed in acting performances by several of the actors, especially Harrison Ford. Coming off the smashing success of Empire Strikes Back, Jedi looked even worse. The thing is, back in 1983, social media did not exist. Also being the supposed final film of the saga, fans clung desperately to their beloved franchise. To this day the fandom forgets the negativity and the original trilogy remains beloved by fans, but then came the prequels.

The Venom Rises

A dead franchise received new life in the early 90’s as the production wheels spun once more. The Phantom Menace was met great enthusiasm when it opened, but that quickly waned into disappointment and complaining. The latter films of the franchise were met with even higher marks of disdain and intolerance. Of course there were issues with the films. Lucas surrounded himself with yes-men and proceeded to gaff this trilogy away.

The point is the seeds of hate were sown now. Social Media awoke during these times, and problems would only intensify. Forget what good was done or what succeeded in the films. Only the negative received focus. This trend continued into today’s trilogy.

The Modern Era Drips With Hatred

Again the fandom cheered when news of the new films came out. Peace was grudgingly made with the prequel films in hopes these new films would course correct the franchise. Not so much.

The Force Awakens started the franchise off on iffy footing. While most enjoyed the film, the fact it bore very close similarities to Episode IV sat poorly with many. It looked cool, but it also lacked much that was new outside of visuals. The haters awoke and now had the media to spread their hate as never before. A fact that would be exacerbated two years later.

With the release of The Last Jedi, the fandom fractured in a way that made Pompeii look docile. Hate flamed and took over the fan base. Many in fact would hate the next Star Wars installment, Solo: A Star Wars Story, just because they needed to hate even more on The Last Jedi. Hate soured the fan base.