We've
all been there. Something pisses us off, we complain about it and
then someone else says we shouldn't complain and instead should give
thanks for being so fortunate. Don't like the food? Be happy you've
got food, some parts of the world they'd kill for what you've got.
Dad messing up your plans by insisting you give him a lift into town?
He's been chauffeuring you around all your life, show some fucking
gratitude.
It
gets brought up a lot. First world problems some people call it, to
suggest that you shouldn't complain about trivial little things when
there are people fighting for survival. They wouldn't even be able to
conceive why you'd think something like that was an issue. You've got
a roof over your head, money in the bank, and food in the cupboard,
why the hell are you getting so worked up about the possibility that
the new Star Wars films are going to disregard the expanded universe
painted by its spin offs?
My
name is Jack Harvey, I'm angry that the new Star Wars films are going
to disregard its expanded universe. I get angry about a lot of
trivial little things, and I'm going to tell you why thats okay.
A
little background for this first example, but I'll get through this
as quick as I can. George Lucas originally planned the Star Wars
series to be nine films. The initial trilogy, the prequels and a
follow up. After the original trilogy his creative process kind of
got bogged down by turning the whole thing into a media empire, hence
it wasn't till many decades later that we got to see the prequels.
After years of tinkering, critical displacement and fan backlash
Lucas was pretty much done with the Hollywood machine, handing the
whole thing over to Disney and moving on to smaller projects/and or
retiring, and who could blame him?
Star
Wars was always bigger than the films though, and during all this
many great, and not so great, writers fleshed out Lucas' world in
ways the films couldn't even attempt to cover. As a result, the
further adventures of Luke and co has been told in depth by the
books, comics and games. There are plenty of sources online where you
can find a detailed break down of events, but I'll run through how
the story unfolds real quick. Sorry for the info dump and do bear in
mind light spoilers are in effect.
After
the fall of the empire Luke Skywalker essentially sets about bringing
back the Jedi order, while Leia, Han, Chewie and a cavalcade of side
characters go about bringing the rest of the galaxy together. This
does not run smoothly, at all. Luke ends up flirting whith the dark
side thanks to the Emperor having a bunch of back up clone bodies.
After that they have to deal with the remnants of the empire still
causing trouble, namely this blue skinned badass called Admiral
Thrawn. Along the way Luke meets this choice babe (literally the best
way of describing the character) called Mara Jade who he falls in
love with.
So
numerous adventures and escapades continue over the years. Leia and
Han have kids, Luke and Mara have kids, the republic is on the up and
up, the Jedi comes back. Everyone lives happily ever after right?
No.
This is when the shit hits the fan and everything goes batshit crazy.
The
whole universe essentially gets invaded by a bunch of
sado-masochistic fascist aliens. Oh, and they're not affected by the
force either so forget about all that. They basically turn up like
the Romans in Gaul, forcing the republic and the empire and finally
put aside their differences and set up a galactic alliance.
Characters die, planets explode, kids turn over to the dark side and
you can never go back.
Then
a century later we follow the adventures of Luke's junkie descendant
being used as a pawn in a Game of Thrones style civil war.
Thats
pretty much the gist of it, and theres other great stuff like Jedi
space truckers, rogue imperial guards and Boba Fett being Boba Fett.
So
naturally, when they announce the new films I think “Oh man, I hope
they don't plan on contradicting all the comics and games and books
with the new films!”. Yet, lo and behold, Abrams and co come along
and say they're not to concerned about trying to stick to the
boundaries of the spin offs. When I hear this, I get mad. Real mad.
Boycott Mad.
Now
fair play to the new films, there is a logic in this. If you have the
time I suggest you take a look at Bob “Moviebob” Chipman's
justification. He's a pretty clever guy, if you're not following him,
you should be. The video is about five minutes long, its okay, I'll
wait.
Done?
Good. Now Bob sums it up pretty well there. Trying to accommodate the
expanded universe would be logistical suicide, and it would also
stifle the new team's freedom, maybe even preventing them from
creating something truly great. It makes no sense in getting mad over
it right?
Wrong.
I got
mad, I'm still mad to a degree. I understand why they're doing it but
I still won't be happy. Why? Because I'm human. Because It's my basic
human right to want something. Because I don't want to go and see a
Star Wars film which goes; “Remember Mara Jade? Tough, she doesn't
exist any more, now watch Luke fall in love with some other woman.
Remember how Boba Fett came back from the dead? Tough, he's dead
again. Remember the Vong invasion?” etc etc.
It's
selfish sure, but hey, why can't we be a little selfish now and
again? This Star Wars film isn't for me, it isn't for die hards who
have obsessed over the spin offs for years on end. The new Star Wars
is for new viewers and fans who never went much further than the
films. When it's put that way, why wouldn't it be justified to be
just a little bit pissed off?
See
this is just one example, there are many other little things that
piss me off in the worlds of film, TV, games and comics. I get mad
when games drop certain characters to cameo levels in sequels. I get
mad when a film of a comic changes something for one reason or
another. I get mad when a certain part of the fanbase gets favored
over me. I get mad when comics reboot back to the start and throw out
the things I liked. I get mad and that's okay.
Why
was Kelly Chambers relegated to such a tiny role in Mass Effect 3? I
get why Pepper and Tony get together in the films, it makes sense in
the context of the story, but damn it I always loved Pepper and Happy
as a couple. I'm an old skool (sic) Doctor Who fan and I never liked
Rose Tyler, so it makes me fucking rage whenever she's treated as THE
MOST IMPORTANT COMPANION. Also I don't like it when the Doctor kisses
people. Never ever ever talk to me about the Power Girl comics coming
to an end and then being restarted without bringing back Terra. I cry
myself to sleep about that sometimes.
Every
one of those examples has a good reason why it was done, but that
still doesn't make things easier. I'm still angry. I'm still angry
about a lot of those things. I'm sure you can think of a lot of
examples for yourself, and upon bringing it up with a friend get
told; “Well they had to do it that way,” or “It makes sense
that they did that though,” or “They're a business, they exist to
make money,”. You can concede defeat, shrug your shoulders and
accept that argument and try to repress the rage.
I'm
here today to tell you that you don't have to.
No
matter how trivial, no matter how pointless, no matter what arguments
there are to the contrary, It is your human right to feel this way.
If someone tries to talk you down, argue your point. Get online and
let the world know what you think. Stand on the rooftops and shout it
to the heavens. You are angry about something, you have a right to
let that be known. You deserve to feel that way.
Now,
before you say that this attitude is going to cause a toxic
atmosphere lets put it into a bit of perspective. Just because you
have the right to get mad, doesn't mean you have the right to take it
out on others, nor should it give you a sense of entitlement that
everything should be your way all the time. Its your opinion, there
is no right or wrong answer. Remember the first law of the internet:
I
don't like Rose Tyler, but in no way does this reflect my opinion of
Billie Piper, who I'm sure is a wonderful person and has done some
great stuff over the years. Put me up against a Rose Tyler fan and
I'll explain why I feel this way but I won't think that I'm a better
person than they are, or think that it gives me an excuse to call them
a moron or an idiot.
Remember,
you have a right to get mad. You don't have the right to be a dick
about it.
Getting
angry should provoke debate, it should seek to create discussion.
Getting mad should ultimately lead to refining the art form into
something enjoyed by everybody. It's an important part of the
evolutionarily process of popular culture. Raging can lead to
pointing out flaws that others may not have previously noticed. Anger
shouldn't stifle creativity, it should encourage it.
And
sometimes it can change things. Another example; 2012 saw the release
of Mass Effect 3, the final installment of a computer/video game
series which garnered a dedicated fan base due to its detailed focus
on the relationships between the main character and the game's cast,
through romance, friendships and rivalries. The series is pretty damn
solid, the storyline is hardly the most original but the characters
and setting really drew you in. It created a hell of a lot of
emotional investment with its players, who would later go on to be
some of the most dedicated fans you'd ever see.
And
the ending did not go down well. At. All.
ME3's
ending has a lot of problems and different people tend to have
different opinions on why. Minor spoilers in effect, many felt that
it was too grim in comparison with the optimism shown in the rest of
the series. Some felt it was too brief for a game that, up until this
point, spent so much time making you face the consequences of your
actions. Some just wanted blue alien space babies.
For
my money, the endings real fault is that it doesn't match the tone
and themes that were the focus of the games. It's as if you went to
watch Star Trek with the last five minutes of Blade Runner. Up until
that point you were watching a campy sci-fi actioner and all of a
sudden you're being asked to meditate on what it really means to be
human, what it really means to have a soul. It comes out of nowhere,
It really does feel like somebody got the script mixed up with
something else.
So
many, myself included, got mad. We discussed why we got mad and word
spread so fast and so loud that the writers had to go back and
release a DLC to 'fix' the ending. I'm still not sure if caving was
the right thing to do, or if the writers should have stuck to their
guns. Plus the DLC didn't really change that much, just elevated it
from 'bad' to 'acceptable', but it goes to show that when people get
mad other people listen. Were they acting like a bunch of entitled
little shits? Maybe, but when you've got a billion people acting like
entitled little shits it gets you to thinking that maybe they have a
point.
Getting
mad can do good in many ways. You may think it pointless being pissed
off about one little thing in a video game that only you seem to care
about, but hey, that guy in the pub you were talking to about it may
one day go on to be a video game developer, and he may remember what
you said and think; “Is this action justified or is it just going
to piss people off?”. You could be sitting there moaning about this
or that change to a character in a comic book film and this might be
overheard by someone who one day goes to work on a comic book
adaption and say; “We need to keep this character the way they are
in the comic, it's just going to piss fans off if you change it.”
And
it can run deeper than that. I'm pissed off that every book, film and
game I pick up these days seems to star white heterosexual male.
Gimmie a change guys. As someone who wants to get into writing, I
make it a conscious choice to create a protagonist who doesn't fit
this mold. Why would I want to write about a white heterosexual male?
There are plenty of good stories out there about those characters
already.
And
people will say to you; “If only you could get as passionate about
important things instead of your stupid hobby,” well screw them
because who's to say you won't? You've had the practice, one day you
might really want to make a difference about something important. It
could be about the poor treatment of migrant workers, or womens
rights, or poverty or the cure for cancer. Remember that time you got
so angry that you got a video game company to admit they were wrong
and change the ending of a game? You've had the practice, one day,
those skills might really come in handy.
Get
angry. It may seem selfish, it may seem childish, but it's your
right, and one day you might do something good with it.
In
closing, here is an abridged list of trivial (and some less trivial)
things that I'm angry about:
The
new Star Wars films are going to disregard the expanded universe.
Kelly
Chambers having such a tiny role in Mass Effect 3 and not getting a
proper romance
Jack
not being an f/f romance in Mass Effect 2.
Morrigan
not being an f/f romance in Dragon Age.
DC
finishing the Power Girl series and then restarting it without Terra
as a character.
The
Doctor having lots of romantic interests in Doctor Who.
Pretty
much anything Games Workshop does.
Allicorn
Twilight.
People
who insist a humanized Twilight can't have a dark complexion.
Default
male Shepard being the focus of all the marketing for the Mass Effect
series.
Male
Shepard being the intended protagonist of a proposed Mass Effect
film.
People
who read manga but refuse to even touch a comic book.
When
western properties make an official anime spin off film when the
style is unsuitable.
That
there are never major gay characters (barring a few exceptions) in
anything Star Wars related.
Superman
and Wonder Woman being in a relationship when they have never had any
chemistry.
Changing
the ending of the Surrogates film.
Rose
Tyler.
That
Native American Indians never get to star in anything outside
westerns.
Jonny
Depp is playing Tonto.
That
the Drive-By Truckers aren't bigger.
That
Laurie J Marks' Elemental Logic series is so obscure.
Fans
of Doctor Who who have no intention of watching any of the original
series.
That
Paul McGann never got a Doctor Who series.
Unreal
Tournament 3 losing everything that made the series great to work on
better graphics in a game where nobody cares about graphics.
The
lack of Planescape: Torment fan art.
Brian
Blessed not being cast as Odin in Thor.
DRM.
No
development on Half Life 3.
The
new Command and Conquer not having a single player mode.
That
nobody makes traditionally animated films anymore.
That
they changed Deadpool's character completely in X:Men Origins:
Wolverine.
That
nobody makes expansion packs any more.
That
Dark Messiah never got a sequel.
The
affinity system in Dragons Dogma.
Despite
the success of The Avengers people still keep fucking up superhero
adaptions.
It
taking a year for each Game of Thrones season coming out on DVD.
Adventure
Time and Regular Show not being out on DVD in the UK.
The
IDW Dungeons and Dragons comic being canceled.
4th
Edition Dungeons and Dragons rules.
Tieflings
in 4th
Edition Dungeons and Dragons.
