Another Attack of Clones, and the Star Wars Generation Gap

I disagree that there’s *more* prequel material out there than post Original Trilogy material. There are TONS of books and comic books out there that followed the main characters after the movies and then followed their children after them (I agree, much of it unreadable if you’re looking for good books and not just a Star Wars fix). It’s more like the prequel material has been much more visible. Lucas has made a conscious effort to market to young kids which makes sense for the longevity of the franchise and his cash flow. It seems particularly jarring to folks my age (I’m 35) because we went for so many years between Empire Strikes Back and Phantom Menace because we only got those books and comics that were marketed directly to Star Wars fans and not to the rest of the world like he’s done with and since the new trilogy. Part of me feels a little neglected by Lucas. Why do 8 year olds get so much new Star Wars stuff created by Lucas himself when I’ve been there for him for the last 3 decades? ;-)

Yeah, as I said, I’m purposely disregarding the novels, simply because (1) what I’ve read is too horrible for me to endure and (2) in terms of simple reach and cultural mindshare I just don’t think they compete with the screen versions. There was actually a sort of “episode 7″ graphic novel, whose title escapes me, which was… bizarre, but not too terrible. (The Emperor re-emerges in a cloned body; Luke joins the Dark Side to attempt to defeat it from within.)

The videogames have greater reach I would think, but something like The Force Unleashed directly straddles the gap between the two trilogies. I think I, too, feel cheated of my sequel material.

There’s probably a support group out there for us, the children Lucas abandoned in favor of spending time with his younger progeny :-)

You can’t count out every single novel just because you didn’t like one of them. They’re written by what, fifty different authors? You just have to cherry-pick the ones that are actually okay. It’s not a big homogenous mass of badness, it’s more of a colloid with a medium of badness and a dispersed phase of good old Star Warsiness.

Although, I agree, there is far to little post-episode 3 canon. I want some stuff from the frakking nineteen years that the empire was in charge! Is that too hard?

An addendum: I don’t see what excitement can be derived from the Clone Wars period when you know that both sides are being run by Sidious. It’s like watching a chess game where both sides are played by a treacherous evil old guy who’s going to kill everyone.

This is not sarcasm, but serious question: can you recommend a good one? I’d be interested in an actually well-written Star Wars book, if only to read to Tuned In Jr Jr.

I agree with the previous poster about deriving excitement from a war that is, in the end, a game devised to let a Sith Lord rule the galaxy. I got the impression from the films that the Clone War is a great tragedy. This is a notion undone by the cartoon series.

Of course, my six year old son doesn’t care about any of that. He just wants to see Jedis fight bad guys.

By the way, James, the comic book series you’re thinking of is Dark Empire. I agree that it was bizarre in its tone, but not awful. Like almost all the Star Wars material since the original trilogy, it’s missing the sense of old fashioned adventure that made the original movies so much fun. Oddly enough, Clone Wars might be the only thing done since then in a similar spirit.

James,
As for good books about Star Wars characters post episode VI, I’d recommend the series written by Kevin Anderson and Timothy Zahn. I read them as an adult and enjoyed them.

I understand exactly what Jon Stewart was saying about his son. I was one of the original generation of Star Wars fans in the 70s. Was delighted with the first trilogy. Thought Empire was the best. Have to admit that watching the series now with my children, I think A New Hope is filled with corny dialogue. It has flaws, which doesn’t make it less of a great summer movie, but great film making it ain’t. I think we first-generation fans forget that the first movie was probably as silly to many of our parents as Phantom Menace seems to us.

My son is a huge Clone Wars fan and will be thrilled to know that the new season starts soon. I’ll hear of little else once the promos start. One funny thing about the Clone Wars is that viewing it before all the other movies made my son such a fan of Anakin Skywalker that he cried for nearly 30 minutes at the end of Return of the Jedi when Vader died. As a six year old, he couldn’t understand the idea of redemption. I kept telling him that it was ok that Vader died because he did a good thing and saved Luke. He wouldn’t buy it and was sad for days whenever he thought about it. Now I tell my friends to wait until their children get older to view any of the series past Attack of the Clones if their children are big Anakin fans.

Stick with the books written by Hugo Award winner Timothy Zahn. The Heir to the Empire Trilogy was extremely well imagined and realized.

Kevin J. Anderson is a hack of an author who has managed to mangle stories in both the Star Wars and the Dune franchises.

I pity you James. My children prefer the original series. My soon-to-be fiver year-old’s favorite character of all is Skywalker Luke. (That’s what he thinks his name is) Part of this no doubt has to do with the fact that I own the original trilogy, but not the second and that they like playing the original trilogy levels on Lego Star Wars more than the &*^#% trilogy levels.

I have to disagree with the A New Hope comments. Sure the dialogue can be corny, but it flows a whole lot better than the prequels. Also, in terms of film-making it was great. It showed a vision of space no one had seen before, it’s editing was brilliant, and it told the story in an effecient, effective way. I’d also argue the old-school storyline (rescue the princess from the castle) makes for more compelling storytelling.

Also, my parents loved it and not even my son can make it through Phantom Menace in one sitting. There’s one scene that’s basically CSPAN with floating chairs.

Hi James
If you are looking for some good childrens Star Wars novels then I would turn to Jude watson, particularly her Last Of the Jedi series.
Also try listening with your Jr to any of the Star Wars Audio Books, particularly those read by Jonathan Davis.
I would recommend Labyrinth of Evil-its a direct prequel to Episode Three and with music and sound effects, is an engaging listen.

For me I enjoy both prequel and original trilogy, though prefer the spiritual aspects of The Force to the militaristic focus of the Clone Wars.

Cheers

The generation gap in Star Wars does not exist.

Ya’ll just havent caught up to the rest of us. I grew up on the original trilogy, but Im not lost or stuck to it.

First off, the so called “children” who like Episode I … are in College and many many are graduates getting Master degrees and PHD’s, being storm troopers in Afghanistan, Iraq, Colombia etc coming back home in body bags, raising children, and starting up businesses. We have to ask ourselves how old is Stewart’s son? … its not 10. Episode I is over a decade old. I also remember being disgusted by it when I saw it … but in retrospect and accepting the fact that there is no Luke or Han or Leia in it, it is a very awesome movie.

Second Star Wars is connected to the times because it is great relevant mythos. We are in an era of endless wars. The orginaly trilogy started in the 70′s, a decade remembered by rebellions world wide against US and Russian imperialism. To not understand today’s realities or yesterday’s is to allow oneself to be disconnected from the greatest mythos of our time. And as any true Star Wars fan knows “Myth mirrors reality”. Our wars have not ended and will not anytime soon, in other words expect more Clone Wars and expect it to get darker.

Somewhere out there, u can download all the novels (almost 200 books) in digital format, and over 15gigs of Star Wars comic books. Most of the video games dont take place during the Clone Wars either.

To close, most of the canon is not from the Clone Wars, its dispersed throughout 5,000 years of Star Wars history found in comic books, video games and even the novels that many children read, not just adults. If you are up on it, its not about generation gaps, but about what you know and dont know. If you just want to focus on a single series and pretend all of the other work does not exist, that is your personal disconnection from a great mythical story not the truth for most.

Im sorry, let me add something to this generation gap “problem” as it is posed. Its not a problem! I remember playing Star Wars in the school yard in 2nd and 3rd grade a long, long, time ago. I almost cried when I worked at an after school program not too long ago going out into the school yard on my first day seeing 2nd and 3rd graders playing Star Wars, they invited me to play and were shocked that they didnt have to explain anything to me. This time we all had Light Sabers, not just Luke abd Vader. =)