Make sure your snark goggles are fully equipped before you head over to Tosche Station this afternoon: Brian has gone all-out to prove that the sequel trilogy Expanded Universe isn’t real Star Wars!
UPDATE: For those who fell into the sarchasm, Brian has written a follow-up entry detailing the point of the original post.
Yeah, it’s so sad to see people waste their time on not-real Star Wars like, say, writing entire blog posts about how not-real it is.
It’s a parody of how some fans talk about the EU.
I get that it’s a parody, or a gag, or sarcasm (however you want to label it). But these things never translate that well into text. Text cannot give inflection or tone that usually indicates sarcasm- as such, a lot of gullible people are going to take it literally and there will be crying and gnashing of teeth. Not to mention trolling by those who get it. I agree with and get the point, but this just rubs me the wrong way. It feels like the author is trying too hard, or is attempting to create an argument for the clicks. In the end, the point won’t get across and will be lost amidst the baiting and ranting.
If the comments above hadn’t said that this was supposed to be a joke/gag/parody, I wouldn’t have known. Not really impressed by that post.
There was a reason I wrote that post in the manner I did and it wasn’t for page views, I promise. It was an intentional setup for the essay Dunc linked to above in the update.
You know, the people I’ve probably found most annoying in the whole Episode VII sphere are the rabid EU defenders.
A lot of people, myself included, hold the belief that the Sequel Trilogy will almost completely ignore the current post-RotJ EU. This I feel is a rational approach, grounded in past precedent, and completely disconnected from opinion on the quality of the EU (I for one can say that I’m an EU fan – I don’t want to see it overwritten, I’m just fairly sure it will be).
However, raise this on certain message boards and you will immediately be struck with “why do you hate the EU” posts. Some people will also dogmatically refuse to believe that the ST could possibly disagree with the EU, and will shoot down any plot ideas along those lines.
As always, the majority of fans are logical, interesting people who respect the views of others, but it only takes a few people to taint the discussion.
I assure you, I’m anything but a militant and rabid EU defender and I don’t see the sequel trilogy as treading on sacred ground. http://tosche-station.net/?p=2932
I don’t want to get into a debate because A) this isn’t my blog and B) no one enjoys an online debate. All I’d like to do is point out why I wrote the satire piece the way I did. As I mentioned, it was a deliberate and intentional setup meant to lead into the essay posted today. If you don’t feel inclined to read that essay (and I don’t blame you), here are three paragraphs that explain the purpose of yesterday’s post:
“For many who aren’t exposed to the Expanded Universe, Wednesday’s post made them angry, and justifiably so. In that piece, I took some of the most commonly used (and infuriating) arguments, rhetoric, and tone that gatekeepers use to exclude and discourage those who are invested in the Expanded Universe and turned them against the sequel trilogy. Obviously the sequel trilogy is real and counts even though George Lucas has sold his stake in Lucasfilm and isn’t down in the trenches anymore. You would have to be deluded to think it doesn’t count and isn’t real. But why, then, is it wrong to use those arguments against the sequel trilogy but okay to use the same ones against the Expanded Universe or any other element of the fandom?
…
Think back to how you felt while reading the last post. If you didn’t catch on to what I was doing, you were probably upset with me. Rightfully so, I might add. It was patently unfair that I was calling your fandom into question and telling you that you were wasting your time. Now turn it around. Replace the words “sequel trilogy” with Expanded Universe, video games, prequel trilogy, original trilogy or any other element of this fandom. When you start using exclusionary arguments against other fans, they’re liable to feel the same anger and sadness you did while reading that post.
Don’t play gatekeeper. You don’t have to like everything that someone else does, but respect their right to enjoy any element of this fandom. We all have different lenses which we view the world through, and that means different things within Star Wars will speak to us more than others. Don’t try and regulate how others experience and enjoy this universe, because any arbitrary set of rules and standards can’t and shouldn’t fit everyone. As always, the litmus test for being a Star Wars fan is simple. If you can answer affirmatively when asked “do you love Star Wars,” you’re a Star Wars fan.”
I know that satire, sarcasm, and snark doesn’t always translate well and is often poorly received. My limitations as a writer (I’m an IT professional by trade with exactly one college writing course) don’t help matters, but it was important to elicit an emotional reaction from the first piece to make the essay posted today work. I aimed to use that emotion in order to force a bit of perspective on readers and allow them to see some hurtful behavior in a different lens that’s perhaps easier to understand.
The ability to understand where other people are coming from is critical to civil discourse in all walks of life, fandom included. Sometimes, looking at things from a different viewpoint can aid in developing that ability. These two pieces of writing were intended go hand-in-hand to give the reader that lens.
I do apologize sincerely and profusely to anyone who was offended, but if even one person read both of those pieces and used it as a catalyst to change their behavior for the better, it was worth it.
@Josh, what do you make of Lucasfilm’s brand communication manager, Star Wars author, and EU expert Pablo Hidalgo’s tease via Twitter?
“The people most surprised by the ‘news’ that the SWEU & the cinematic universe are separate are the ones most versed to see it.”
In October of last year, Pablo Hidalgo revealed in his blog: “…I’d get random requests for research from his office, and helped prepare documents, primers and writer guides for the next generation of Star Wars filmmakers, whoever they may be” (x).
Interestingly enough, he’s also written the Essential Reader’s Companion from an out-of-universe perspective, apparently the first Essential Guide to do so. It contains summaries of all the novels, novellas, and so forth from the SWEU. That and writing from a OOU perspective should help out the next generation of SW filmmakers, don’t you think? Oddly enough, the guide has been published during the same month Hidalgo wrote the above blog entry. Coincidence? Hmm… I leave it to your judgment.
IMHO, if you ask me, I think Disney will borrow a leaf from the Star Trek reboot’s book when it comes to the SWEU, mixing and embellishing various canonical storylines while keeping the major protagonists of the next generation of Jedi. They did buy the entire franchise, after all.
@Phil: This article has already fallen off the front page. If you want to carry on this discussion, might I suggest the “Episode VII and the Expanded Universe” thread on the TFN message boards:
http://boards.theforce.net/threads/official-thread-episode-vii-and-the-expanded-universe.50007053/