A more optimistic view

JB said: "I believe the mightiness of Star Wars and its effect on America and moviemaking is at that end."

I think there's a more positive way to view the failure of the Star Wars prequels. As I sat through these movies and watched them again, at some point I am always struck by the thought, "I could do better than this. I could tell a better story." Some of this is ego, but more than that it's a failure of the prequel story to live up to the original story. Where Lucas inspired us with his ability to weave a compelling narrative in the original, he left us dry and empty at the end of the prequels. Of course the prequels won't have the same effect as the originals: they show us that flashy visuals and amazing action sequences cannot carry the weight of a bad story. The failure of the prequels to give us a good story and answer our questions will give rise to better Star Wars stories and those mediums available to the creative people really interested in telling them (as opposed to Lucas, who seems to be only interested in his gross take): book-length comics, novels, and video games. So if the only thing the prequels do is reaffirm our basic desire to be told a good story than means something to us and speaks to our common human condition, and inspire the next generation of creative people to give it a try, then the effect on America and moviemaking continues. Who knows... maybe someday decades from now we'll exit a great movie whose director or writer saw the Star Wars prequels as a kid and said to himself "There are better stories to tell."

Maybe that's hoping too much... I'm sure one could lay blame at the feet of a rabid and consistently loyal fanbase who will shell out cash at every turn to get their Star Wars fix for the debasing of the movies. Speaking of which... I was in the book store a few days ago and saw a full-length color picture book entitled "The Making of Revenge of the Sith." It was $25 so I didn't get it, but I read a chapter and I'd recommend it for anyone who wants to dive into psyche of George Lucas as he directed the Sith, and point out all of his missteps along the way.