Just recently, the Star Wars fandom had undergone this internal check-up with fans trying to weed out the toxic members of the community. As a lot of people know, this toxicity isn’t new, and has been going on ever since the release of The Phantom Menace back in 1999. BBC Newsnighthas shared this interesting interview with George Lucas as he addresses the toxicity of the Star Wars fandom.
Check it out:
As Lucas points out, the so-called ‘toxic’ fans are usually those who like to think that Star Wars has no room for comedy or childish characters—which is entirely absurd because Lucas had made the movie specifically for children.
You can even hear the same complaints in The Last Jedi where some people hated that Hux had become this sort of buffoon character from the First Order.
As for the topics of racist alien characters, Lucas says that they were a stretch for him as well. How would people equate Jar Jar as a stereotype for Jamaican people? How are his floppy ears even supposed to represent dreadlocks?
At least now, we know that the toxic fanbase has been called out, and more optimistic Star Wars fans are trying to #ForceOutHate. I mean, it’s fine to criticize films, but it’s never cool when other fans harass actors personally, or prevent others from enjoying new material.
Star Wars Episode IX comes out Dec. 20, 2019.
See Also: Mark Hamill Discusses The Difference Between Disney’s Version Of Star Wars And George Lucas’ Version
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