Tasty

I think it's high time for an honest conversation on the topic of taste. Just as the reception of artistic expression is thoroughly subjective, all such expression is thoroughly manipulative. Consequently, the fact that someone finds something that's hugely popular to be hugely terrible as well does not necessarily mean that this person has better artistic judgment. It merely means that they're not susceptible to that particular form of manipulation. We confuse our personal tastes with quantifiable quality at our own risk, especially when we seek to make those tastes fundamental parts of our identity. With that said, should I listen to David Bowie's album Never Let Me Down or watch The Phantom Menace again?

Star Wars: The Hidden History (Episode +/-BBY)

Let me preface this by saying that it's hard to refute the idea that anyone who writes and directs something like the Star Wars movie Attack of the Clones deserves all the flak they get. That said, there is something off-putting about the way over-zealous Star Wars fans, stinging from a perceived betrayal on the part of George Lucas, seem intent on denying him any credit for the parts of the film series that are almost universally enjoyed.A recent piece from Cracked.com about pop culture visionaries who get too much credit is just one fairly public example. This is especially pronounced when it comes to The Empire Strikes Back, where everyone tries to present the film as being good in spite of Lucas rather than because of anything he did. What makes this so comical (and asinine, really) is that the two elements that people most often cite are absolutely down to Lucas.

The first thing people point to is the screenplay, without a doubt the best script of of all the films, where all credit is given to Lawrence Kasdan. Kasdan wrote some of the best screenplays of the 1980s, but he wasn't the only person with a hand in that script. The first draft was written by Hollywood veteran Leigh Brackett, and though it's unclear just how much of her work is reflected in the final version, she shares credit with Kasdan. And though Lucas does not receive screenplay credit, it's documented that he was involved in writing at least some of the drafts and, as the story credit indicates, the credited script-writers were working from his framework.

The other one is the directing. The late Irvin Kershner was one of Lucas' professors at film school and had a good reputation for working with actors. That point is key to why Lucas hired him for what he clearly intended to be a more character-driven chapter in the saga. When people talk about the performances in Empire being much better than they would have been had Lucas been directing, they're somewhat missing the point. The performances were better because Lucas hired the right man for the job and let them do that job.

There's no question that the prequel trilogy was a disappointment or that much of that disappointment derives from Lucas decision to write and direct those movies himself rather than work with collaborators of the quality he had on the earlier trilogy. What doesn't hold up to scrutiny, though, is the idea that the failings of the more recent productions somehow invalidate the quality of Lucas contributions to the earlier ones. There's lots worth criticizing, but there's no need to make things up because you feel that Lucas' later work somehow tainted your childhood.

Acting Figuratively

While Hollywood’s focus on Summer blockbusters has led to some undeniably terrible movies, there is at least one undeniably good thing about it. It’s helped raise the profiles of some of Britain’s finest actors. The trend started in 1977 with Alec Guinness’ and his Oscar-nominated role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars. Since then, the trend has only become more widespread, reaching the point where some writers have joked that entire Royal Shakespeare Company productions can be recreated with movie-based action figures based on people like Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen. Interestingly, this latter-day “British Invasion” points to one of the key reasons that people love British TV.

As different as a BBC mini-series with an 18th century getting may seem from an effects-driven blockbuster, they both hinge on the skill of the actors for their success. As much as moviegoers may love the spectacle of a space battle or alien invasion, if it doesn’t work on a human level, it won’t connect with viewers. This is just as true with period dramas where all the fancy costumes and elegant settings are a pointless detail if the characters don’t ring true. As mainstream movies seem to place an increasing emphasis on spectacle, the need for the kind of absolute conviction that British actors supply so well is all the more essential.

Interestingly, the trend seems to be extending to behind the camera as well, with director Kenneth Branagh winning praise for giving the film adaptation Thor a palpable (some would say, Shakespearean) sense of human drama. To my knowledge, despite his many film and TV roles, Branagh himself hasn’t been turned into an action figure. Of course, for an artist of his talents, including it a knack for injecting humanity into a CGI world, it’s probably just a matter of time before he joins Sir Patrick and Sir Ian on the shelf.

Star Wars - The Hidden History

Like many fictional worlds, the history of the Star Wars universe is better documented than some actual civilizations. Still, even in this obsessively chronicled saga, there are gaps in our knowledge. The reasons for these gaps are unclear, but since Star Wars fans are required to blame everything on George Lucas I will attribute it to him. Thankfully, I have been able to uncover The Hidden Journal of the Whills so that I can bring you some of these little-known details "Darth" Lucas" doesn't want you to know. Today's inaugural installment focuses on Princess Leia.

Many Star Wars fans know that rebel pilot Wedge Antilles is one of the few characters to make it through all three of the original Star Wars movies. What they don't know is that he had a fling with Princess Leia in the gap between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Hey, we've all been there - falling into the arms of another when your true love is encased in Carbonite. Wedge understood what Han meant to Leia and requested a dangerous assignment near the planet Sullust to ensure nothing further would happen. Though Leia was furious at first, she came to appreciate Wedge's gesture and he was later asked to be Bendu-patra (Star Wars equivalent of godfather) to one of her children with (we think) Han Solo.

Princess Leia was wrapping the chain around Jabba the Hutt's neck in Return of the Jedi remains one of the most iconic moments of the whole saga. What most people don't know is that Jabba was really getting into it. Though he initially thought that hanky-panky in the midst of Luke and friends' escape attempt was the wrong move, the crime-lord's depraved impulses won out, so he went along with it - until it went too far.

Check back soon for another disturbing installment of Star Wars - The Hidden History.

Disclaimer: Star Wars is George Lucas' intellectual property, and parody is my legal  right. Can't we all just get along?