A brief discussion on BlueSky made me realize that Star Wars Needs a ‘Ford v Ferrari’ moment. In other words, the franchise needs to reckon with itself, and get out of its own way. More on that in a moment, but first – what can the Ford GT40 tell us about Star Wars?
Don’t take the ‘Ford v Ferrari’ movie as gospel. Hollywood loves to shoehorn history into histrionics, and Ford v Ferrari’s no exception. Caroll Shelby did NOT design the GT40, but never mind that now. One of the subtext story arcs of Ford v. Ferrari is the entire Ford company – led by Henry Ford II – putting their reputation and institutional history on the line to be true innovators. You can see a bit of that playing out in this scene:
“I had no idea,” Ford says “I had no idea I wish my daddy – he were alive to see this, to feel this.” Ford was absolutely right. By the 1960s, Ford was so big that it had culturally lost the spirit of innovation and discovery that brought us the Model T and assembly lines. Good, bad, or indifferent – the movie shows Ford rediscovering himself. That’s what Star Wars needs to do if it wants to survive.
Parasocial v. Parasitic
The pure and unvarnished truth is that Star Wars pioneered the concept of monetized parasocial relationships. You have a pyschological relationship with movie characters? Guess what, we’ll extend you the ability to continue your adventure … for a modest fee, of course. It worked, for a long while, but then, capitalism.
Money-driven decisions caused Star Wars to pivot from philosophical discussions into cheap, watered-down character development and story arcs between laser battles. You know it, I know it. Star Wars gonna Star Wars. What I find interesting is that, while some dunk on Star Wars like it’s a full-time job, no one’s figured out the larger problem. Star Wars doesn’t consider itself a parasocial relationship anymore – they’ve pivoted into a parasitic model.
Whereas the original series explored deep thematic elements like heroes, loss, sacrifice, redemption – any new stories absolutely refuse to exert the level of artistic integrity required as an antidote to toxic fans. Disney – capitalist juggernaut that it is – could absolutely say ‘We’ll have our Dagobah moment – sit in a swamp until the new student arrives. If that means cheap, low-budget-but-well-told Star Wars stories – well, that’s all you’re gonna get for a while. You have to get out of your own way, then we’ll play together again.’
Disney hasn’t figured this out yet – they’re cannibalizing Wookipedia for new ideas (“I know – a reality show where the Gungans and the Galoops compete for prizes!”) and sucking all the money they can off of Galaxy’s Edge in Disneyland. At the end of the day, it’s about those margins, baby. When normal fans don’t have a voice anymore, you aren’t a parasocial relationship – you’re parasitic. Stop it.
I Know This Is Hard to Hear
Why am I right? Simple – look at the landscape. Star Wars already knows that it needs to do this – remember The Last Jedi, where Rey and Leia sit together and realize that they have ‘everything they need.’ Hope, an idea, sacrifice. Sadly, the fans and the franchise couldn’t get out of their own way and TLJ suffered for it. This doesn’t have to be the beginning of the end for Star Wars – it can be the end of the beginning.
Perhaps one day Star Wars will have it’s ‘Ford. v Ferrari’ moment. If that happens, I’ll be celebrating along with you. Until Star Wars reaches that moment, my policy is still ‘you can love Star Wars, but Star Wars doesn’t love you.’ Our job is to get out there and imagine new universes to discover. Back to work.
Write on!
