curated: why we don’t ‘see’ Star Wars anymore…

Many good thoughts here — ones I agree with — in this New York Times piece by essayist and cartoonist Tim Kreider. The headline and subhead give you a taste:

We Can’t See ‘Star Wars’ Anymore

The cultural industry that the 1977 film spawned has ground its original charm and wonder out of existence.

I especially like and second this:

Subsequent sequels, tie-in novels, interstitial TV shows, video games and fan fiction have lovingly ground this charm out of existence with exhaustive, literal-minded explication: Every marginal background character now has a name and a back story, every offhand allusion a history. But Mr. Lucas’s universe just doesn’t have the depth of Tolkien’s Middle-earth; it was only ever meant to be sketched, not charted. Sequels and tie-ins, afraid to stray too far off-brand, stick to variations on familiar designs and revive old characters, so there’s nothing new to discover.

This was the problem with Solo: A Star Wars Story, and it’s a big problem with Rise of Skywalker… my review of which soon, when I can rouse myself from my disappointment in it is here.

h/t reader Danielm80