Jake Lloyd in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)

Things We Saw Today: Looking Back at Twenty Years of The Phantom Menace

Hating the prequels isn't a replacement for a personality.
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This week marks the twentieth anniversary of The Phantom Menace, as well as the anniversaries of other prequels Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. io9 ran a fantastic piece on twenty years of the film, as fans at Star Wars Celebration reflected on what the prequels meant to them both growing up and watching it as adults. There have been some bad prequel hot takes, including one saying the films need to be remade, but it’s time that people stopped complaining about the prequels.

Lucas wanted to tell a different story with The Phantom Menace and the prequels. He wanted to get political, to show the Jedi to be a flawed organization, and to tell a darker, more tragic story than the original trilogy. While there are some missteps, the prequels are not the worst films ever made. They gave us The Clone Wars and Ahsoka Tano. They gave us the endlessly courageous Padmé Amidala.

The Phantom Menace centers on Padmé as a teenaged queen of a planet who takes matters into her own hands. It gives us a younger, more brash Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the best lightsaber battle of the series. It has a gorgeous score, and the worldbuilding is fantastic. Most of all, for those of us who were kids when we watched it, it’s amazingly fun. There’s podracing and laser swords and cool costumes. It does what it is supposed to do: expand the Star Wars galaxy and entertain the audience, and even if it’s not perfect, it still means something to a great number of fans.

Besides, the prequel jokes are old. A good “I don’t like sand” meme is one thing but hating the prequels (and the sequels) doesn’t seem like the best way to express love for the franchise. It’s possible to critique what you don’t like without turning it into a personality trait, and to also respect the fans who do find meaning and love in the prequels. Don’t tear down fans of any age who love the franchise because they found it through the prequels. It’s not a good look.

What is your favorite prequel memory? Did you see The Phantom Menace in theaters?

(via io9, image: Lucasfilm)

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Being a part of tv history is an honor but it also comes with some massive backlash. There has been many stories floating around about this show and me. One of the reasons I hesitated to say yes was for this crap. The only thing I’m a control freak over is my health. Trying to stay healthy and positive. I realized this morning, that I have a fear of doing what I love because of headlines like this. Not only because there is zero truth to it but because it lessens me and my journey, battle, experience with cancer. Why should I be scared to work? And why aren’t people held accountable for their fabricated stories? I refuse to be cast in the same villain role because “journalists” lack imagination and I certainly refuse to be cheapened as a survivor and as a woman by them. Yes, i am a strong woman. I have been thru hell and back. I am compassionate and caring. I’m multi faceted and not someone to be pigeon holed. I am a woman with my own story. Please stop trying to tell your wildly inaccurate, exaggerated story of me. I promise… you don’t know me.

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It’s the weekend! What’re you seeing out there?

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Kate Gardner
Kate (they/them) says sorry a lot for someone who is not sorry about the amount of strongly held opinions they have. Raised on a steady diet of The West Wing and classic film, they are now a cosplayer who will fight you over issues of inclusion in media while also writing coffee shop AU fanfic for their favorite rare pairs.