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Tuesday, November 29, 2016

A NOVEL new viewing order for Star Wars


For quite a while, my preferred order of the Lucasian Star Wars movies was Episode 4, then 5, then 1, then 2, then 3 and finally 6.  This would make the "Prequel Trilogy" a flashback in the middle of the "Original  Trilogy", and preserves ROTJ as the climax of the six.  I call this the "Flashback Order".  It is sort of a variation on the "Machete Order", which does the same thing, but skips Episode 1. (Reading about the Machete Order is what got me thinking about what happens to the narrative if you change the viewing order.)

But recently I thought of a new NOVEL way of being introduced to Star Wars.  By "novel", I mean that this viewing order would have the audience to jump back and forth in time throughout the saga, just as would be perfectly normal in a written novel.  So, what I call “The Novel Order” would be as follows:

  • Episode 4 (ANH), then
  • Episode 1 (TPM), then
  • Episode 2 (AOTC), then
  • Episode 5 (ESB),  then
  • Episode 3 (ROTS) and finally
  • Episode 6. (ROTJ)  
This is what I think is the best order...probably.  But WHY is this an optimal order?  You have to think about what you learn in each movie and how the narrative would play out.   As I said, written novels jump around this way all the time as a narrative technique.   You begin in the middle of the action to get you interested in the setting of the story and the characters affected.  Then, once you're invested in the story, more mundane details to give backstory and context more depth and texture.  Each chapter of the story moves the story further along, while creating a richer and deeper saga to experience.  Lucas' use of "rhyming poetry" between the Originals and the Sequels makes this method even more appealing.  I think it would be amazing to experience SW in this order.   

Here's a breakdown of the rationale for why it works, by thinking of what you learn in each Episode:

Episode 4 (A New Hope):
We jump right into the action.  We immediately get the sense of the state of this Galaxy far, far away with the opening shots of the cool looking spaceships...one that is small and plucky being chased (picked on) by one that is  massive and imposing.  We meet Vader. Boo!!! We meet Leia...quite the fiery leader! We meet Luke..will this headstrong idealist get caught up in some damn-fool crusade? We meet Obi-wan...hero of The Clone Wars and comrade of Leia's father, Bail Organa. We meet Han...can he escape his past and do the right thing? We learn that Luke's father was a hero killed by Vader. We learn there is a galactic empire that emerged after the Jedi were destroyed.

Episode 1 (The Phantom Menace):
We already know that the Jedi were wiped out by Vader, so, the first thing we see are Jedi in action.  And not just Jedi, but a young Obi-wan and his master.  Obi-wan...the only Jedi to survive the Dark Times, as far as we know.  This Padme sure is a brave leader, despite being so young.  And we meet Anakin Skywalker.   We see him use The Force to help his friends and to escape from slavery.   What a great kid.   I can totally see why he'll grow up to be a great hero, just like Obi-wan said.  Him being separated from his mother sure was a touching moment.  I sure hope he learns to cope with that loss.  We get to see Jedi being Jedi...just keeping the peace throughout the Old Republic.  I wonder what Old Ben could have been talking about when he talked about Vader wiping out all the Jedi.  That'll be a tragedy!  And that Yoda guy is pretty cool.  I wonder who that guy in the dark robe pulling all the strings is.  Wonder why that red faced guy is so upset.   He was pretty awesome.

Episode 2 (Attack of the Clones):
The Old Republic shows a bit a tarnish.  Whoa...Anakin seems to have gone through a lot.   Wow...killing those sandpeople seems pretty dark.  Anakin must feel pretty awful knowing that if he had used his power in the first place his mother would be alive.  Hmmm.  That Yoda guy teaching the younglings was pretty neat.   I wonder if he taught Obi-wan when he was that age?  We meet Jango Fett and his son Boba.  Cool armor.   We meet Bail Organa.  Isn't he the guy whose planet got demolished in Episode 4?  Hmm.  The Clone Wars erupt.  Wow...Vader must be coming soon.  The Seperatists have the Death Star plans.  And we know Vader is connected to the Death Star.  So, Vader will probably be a Seperatist General.  Maybe even the guy who takes over after Dooku.  This Clone War must be when all of the other Jedi get killed leaving Obi-Wan as the only surviving Jedi. 

Episode 5 (The Empire Strikes Back):
We catch up with Luke and friends.  Hokie smokes!  Yoda survived the Jedi purge!!! Wow...what happened to him?  Sure is neat to see him training Luke.  Yoda seems so dark and jaded.  I wonder how bad it got for him to end up marooned on swampy planet.  Oh...we see Boba Fett grown up now working with Vader.  Hmm...that Emperor in the hologram looks a lot like Palpatine...could it be that they are one and the same?  Aww...Han and Leia seem to fallen in love.   Luke will be so sad...but obviously there is still quite the strong connection. Vader reveals he's Luke's father!  (Spoiler Alert)

Episode 3 (Revenge of the Sith):
We get to see how Anakin falls and becomes Vader and how Palpatine becomes the Emperor.   We get to see the Jedi wiped out.   Oh...that's what happened to Yoda!  And we FINALLY learn that LEIA is Luke's sister...and has been the whole time!   Oh, THAT is why Bail Organa is connected to Obi-wan and how he knows where he is.  

Episode 6 (Return of the Jedi):
Now we know the whole backstory of it all!   Time to wrap it all up in a neat bow for an AWESOME CLIMAX!!  Yub nub!!  Celebrate the Light!!

Episode 7 (The Force Awakens):
And now we're ready for the final chapters.  There has been an awakening.  Have you felt it?  The dark side and the light. The Force...it's calling to you.  Just let it in.

Episode 8 (The Last Jedi):
I have no idea yet how Episodes 8 & 9 and the anthology stories would fit.   Time will tell.  I would expect them to fit in in the order released.

Thoughts?