Why we shouldn't bank on Nostaligia to "save" Star Wars

“And I think if anyone can pull [Star Wars] out of the mire, it’s J.J. He’ll bring the fun back. Lucas seemed to misread what made the first ones great, and concentrate on things that people didn’t really care about, or wilfully ignore the things that people cared about. Whereas J.J. will embrace them all. “We’re going to see the Millennium Falcon again. We’re going to see those characters again. All the things that we loved about the first three, we will see again."
-Simon Pegg

 
A common theme with the hype for Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, at least in the minds of some trilogy fans such as Simon Pegg(evident in the quote above), is that nostalgia would be enough to "save" Star Wars as a franchise and restore it's greatness after the perceived disappointment of George Lucas' Prequel Trilogy.  On the other side of the spectrum however, are the Saga fans, or those who view all six Star Wars movies as equally good, or at the very least hold no ill will towards the Prequels.  Part of the reasoning driving the latter group is the the belief that the Originals were poorly received by mainstream critics when they came out and only build up the praise because of nostalgia from the generation that grew up with them; a fact the Saga fans hope to repeat with the Prequels.  And that regardless of the Prequels faults, they at least tried to expand into new territory instead of rehashing and appealing to nostalgia.

Yet JJ Abrams, when producing Star Wars Episode VII has implied a return to nostalgia over breaking new ground despite the wishes of the Saga fans.  This raises the question of whether nostalgia is "enough" to restore Star Wars to it's former glory, a question that trilogy fans have .  Yet when looking at how this appeal to nostalgia is applied in various  long-running series, it seems that evidence has demonstrated that this has often not been the case, but have often resulted in terrible choices resulting in the destruction of plot points and character development.

The fate of Jon Snow--my assessment

WARNING: Spoilers below so if you don't like spoilers don't read until you get to the finale!

Greetings

Greetings and let me introduce myself.  I am a political science student currently in my last year in university.  The subject of this blog however, dosen't have the most to do with university, but rather an analysis or reflection on works of fiction that I enjoy and the mentality of various fanbases I've come across.  In particular, how fiction influences discourse and how it's message may be relevant in the real world today and if fanbases choose to ignore or heed these messages.  I write these for myself and no one else, through updates might be sparse.

And as you can already see by the address of the blog, I am a huge Star Wars and Game of Thrones fan.  So for the latter, expect spoilers, analysis of fantheories and speculation, in any entry related to Game of Thrones up to the latest episode.  As for the former however, let's be clear that this blog does not take sides in the debate over the merits of the Prequel trilogy but serves as a way to analyze how the two trilogies bridge into each other and the Clone Wars(2003 and 2008) and the old Expanded Universe, while acknowledging their flaws at the same time.  So if you hate the Expanded Universe and cheered for it's downfall...or just want to strap me onto a chair while shoving RedLetterMedia reviews down my throat against my will for not doing enough to focus on the wrongs of the Prequels or try to justify some of the rather...less reasonable flaws...the Prequels have within the narrative because I don't generate enough "love" to these movies; than pull any of that shit at your own fucking risk.