Give it a rest, George

For nearly 20 years Han Solo shot first. George Lucas said nothing. Then he released his Special Edition of Star Wars and changed it so that Greedo, a professional bounty hunter, shoots first and misses Han by a distance nearly as great as his gun was from Han. Cheeeeeeeesy! Did Greedo stop off at the bar first, and was shooting at the Han on the right?

Now, when he’s got a another release of money-grabbing movie coming out, he lectures us all that Greedo always shot first, and to think otherwise is to think that Han Solo is a brutal killer. Whatever George. Is that why you had Han shoot first on Bespin when the doors open and reveal Darth Vader? Leia shot the stormtroopers first on the Tantive IV, too. And they all shot first, with Obi Wan’s approval, when the stormtroopers went aboard the Millenium Falcon to help the scanning crew (and yet there weren’t any holes in the armor, oddly enough). So what’s the big deal?

I don’t know why this bothers Lucas so much. We made him a lot of money. Why not let us think what we want to think? Haven’t we paid for the right to think what we want to think? Why wait for 20 years and then try and “correct” our improper interpretation? It’s not like anyone is looking to Star Wars for proper moral guidance, anyhow.

And raising the issue again doesn’t seem to have improved ticket sales on SW:Ep1-3D, either, interestingly enough. It would be sad if Lucas alienated his fans and didn’t get the support he feels he deserves for all his projects. But if that happens, remember that you shot first, George.

This entry was posted in Random Musings. Bookmark the permalink.