Disney's "Star Wars:" The Fall of a Legacy - Part 3

Imagine a time when you are among a group of young, wide-eyed, novices. These novices desire to make a film, harkening to the Hero's Journey, but while it has an expected sense of medieval tellings of knights and emperors, it would be uniquely set in a land far beyond our own; far, far away from what we know, yet hauntingly familiar.

Imagine you remained close to those once young novices, now master-craftsmen of cinematography (debatably) having woven this science-fiction epoch that many at first could not believe to have worked, only to be enthralled in such a tale of hope, of evil striking back, and a return to a balance and peace.

Imagine that all you could do is watch as you, or rather, all you do with your lacking skill is just remain, causing you to be ignored by those master-craftsmen, but because you remained after they had left, with a much fatter wallet, you felt it necessary that you could do what they could not; surpass their greatness and their works, that YOU could challenge " 'God' Themselves" and prove to be superior for you feel you have a better understanding of the film, as you are a specific gender.

Imagine you are Kathleen Kennedy, the Original Sin, and for all the work you claimed to create throughout your years, the one that mattered was a tale that was never yours, so you would destroy it and remake it in your ideal image. The result is the Disney Star Wars Triology of The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker.

Make no mistake, Kathleen has a lot of money from the films she was involved in over the course of her time in Hollywood. Her position, while questionable in terms of effort, is substantial, along with her business acumen; equally substantial, equally questionable. Finally, it cannot be overstated that this is a viewpoint of dissent and should be treated as such. We begin with . . .

The arrogance of her belief in that she could piece together a better narrative has created the lack of cohesive flow a movie requires to draw audiences into the story. Instead, what we witnessed was inconsistency upon inconsistency and slights from the woman that has been kept in the shadows of Hollywood and film production for far too long. Her ugliness could no longer be contained. But she already made the critical error of going to Rian Johnson (which to the author's knowledge was a one-movie deal regardless), so instead of someone that will undoubtedly bring about her inevitable demise, she chose "the safe bet." This further cements the mistake of J.J. Abrams as he has now been notorious for destroying another Star "Opera" of sorts. The results are self-evident:

• Three Plot Devices proved to be irrelevant.
• Too many fake-out deaths (Hello Chewie).
• Exogul and the return of the Emperor, negating the Original Trilogy in one fell swoop, all to get back at the previous movie's director.
• Slights throughout the film direct AT said previous movie director (#BlameRianJohnson)

While these may have seen to be safe bets as many of the original fans remember the Emperor, they REMEMBER him being dead, not suddenly escaping his doom through a portal. They also remember that such an unnatural introduction to the Emperor, along with an unnatural main character in Rey cannot exist in Star Wars.

One cannot experience true hubris until one claims they are the only authority to speak of a medium's existence or extended interpretations of said existence.

Any Star Wars fans worth their salt are either aware or actively participate in the "Extended Universe." This "universe" is a series of "what-if" scenarios (some prefer to label these as "headcanon") that take place either before or after the events seen in the Original or even the Prequel Trilogy. There were new worlds, characters, and a more in-depth understanding of the Force; all while maintaining canonicity and being true to the story. THAT is a proper follow-up to the source material. That is where most people have issues with this woman.

"There's no source material." = "All things before I do not exist."

Keep in mind, she spearheaded this decision by coercing higher-ups at the Walt Disney Company to prevent passionate fans from creating their stories, thereby cleaning up any mess this current trilogy caused. This alienation of creativity and connection from fans justifies the rift that Kennedy deserved. It also doesn't help that her interpretation of the Force is suspect, but that is minuscule compared to her overall actions and contempt to those that help blaze her trail before her. I'm pulling punches here due to her status.

"I am Rey [Palpatine] Skywalker."

That is by and far a sentence that strikes at the very heart of this saga, and how evil not only triumphantly stands over the sunken corpse of goodness and hope in celebration but to parade their very names as their own; rewriting history and legacy in one fell swoop.

First, wherein the entire SAGA of the Disney Sequel is there any connection to Rey and the Skywalker lineage?

Go ahead. I'll wait . . .

Didn't find anything? You're not alone, we all know as much. The only one that doesn't is Kathleen herself. But I digress; the point is, there is no connection whatsoever to the Skywalker name, legacy, nor marital betrothing (of course, that would require a living Skywalker willing to play second fiddle to this "Mary Sue"). In fact, you don't even consider the point of "The Rise of Skywalker" when watching a movie that unfolds the story of the Palpatine lineage; that in and of itself is equally as bad; regardless of how flimsy an explanation was given in regards to THAT side of Rey's "heritage."

Second, the Skywalker lineage was originally KYLO REN'S (or Ben Solo to the unconcerned) lineage, as he is Leia's and Han's son. He is dead. Thus the Skywalker Lineage is ALSO dead. While there IS the possibility of others that are of the Skywalker Lineage, they are explained in the Extended Universe, a universe (I must remind you) was removed per Kathleen via "Disney Decree." IF the dead were to speak, they would speak of the injustice of Rey appropriating a family name and history that has absolutely nothing to do with her.

Cultural Appropriation in a Galaxy Far, Far, Away. The Fall of a Legacy.

Third and probably the most egregious, the fact they had to BRING BACK the Emperor in order to bury this trilogy proves that the creativity of the Disney Trilogy was non-existent; as expected of taking the "Safe Bet." Undermining the Hero's Journey to provide a slight to the previous director's misdirection and mishandling of a beloved mythos brought about this outright lie and unholy abomination. How could fans NOT have contempt for this "movie?"

The author admits that such an ideology of "Get Woke Go Broke" escapes him, but the evidence of dwindling sales (while significant in their own right, they diminish compared to the Original Trilogy's numbers) and the overwhelming backlash from supporters of the Original Trilogy that holds a majority of the cash flow with their spending (or lack thereof) proves that this was a financial disaster.

To be honest, they DID recover the buyout of the 4 Billion dollars they gave George Lucas for the rights to Star Wars. So they "Broke" even, with "Corporate Pocket Change" to spare. Yes, millions of dollars in profits is a LOT for us human beings but for a corporation, they barely scraped above their "poverty line." Getting Woke does NOT get them significant profits. Perhaps it's best to end this . . .

The Disney Sequel Trilogy of Star Wars is at last dead. Finished. To be discarded into the Asheap of History and forgotten with all the instantaneous desires Star Wars fans can muster within themselves. It was an exercise of ego, cowardice, meddling with established successful formulae, disregard of talents and efforts, all financially backed by the hubris of the Walt Disney Company-er, excuse me, the Walt Disney Empire. Over this bloated and decayed corpse shall be a reminder to us all to never allow those incapable of respecting the dignity of a timeless tale to be at the helm of its future.

It was a circus act of nostalgia pandering in the first film, drawing unsuspecting believers to which only the most devoted could resist. Yet J.J. Abrams is good at masking mistakes into meaningful moments, no matter how contrived.

It was followed by a public death march to the execution of Luke Skywalker himself, led by none other than Rian Johnson (#BlameRianJohnson). This act alone forever destroying lore and legacy in one fell swoop for the sake of "subverting expectations."

Finally, to parade in the skin of the past stories and sagas that were flailed, crucified and sacrificed, "The Rise of Skywalker" was the final and deciding insult that denied any hope left for this anthology.

Such is the brainchild of Kathleen Kennedy; who was better off remaining in the shadows, quietly taking the revenue and aborting any ideas of reshaping an already established medium into her own pet projects and acts of entitlement. A miscarriage of the mind to her ideas would have saved her a greater deal of pain. She refused to follow better judgment, at the cost of all we enjoyed.

Yet, Kathleen Kennedy is also a victim; a victim of her own "fame." The fame of being something she is not, nor has she earned legitimately. Not when "The Rise of Skywalker" is the result. I am under no illusions of seeing this franchise be restored to its rightful place anymore than I am hopeful of Kathleen's removal from LucasFilms and exile from the Moviemaking Industry as a whole. Such a thing will not come to pass. All I can do is mourn; a pitiful end, to a once enduring tale of triumph, of struggle, of hope itself burning twice over in all of us; like the Binary Sunsets of Tatooine beyond the Horizon.

The. End.