I don't really agree with that. Most of the people who call it that seem to be doing it dismissively. It's like the people who say superhero movies or comics are for kids. And as I've said before, maybe that was true in the beginning but it is no longer true.
I agreed with someone who referred to it as "family friendly" in that it's a story that could be watched and enjoyed by kids and adults. The movie is rated PG so it's not so kid-friendly that it's rated G like, say, Star Trek The Motion Picture. There's violence and some cursing adjacent language like I think Han says "hell" at one point and if you think about it, Darth Vader would be pretty scary for little kids, especially that first scene where he comes out of the smoke and then when he's strangling people and stuff. There's also Luke's aunt and uncle who are scorched corpses, a bunch of dead Jawas, and a bunch of pilots who get blown up, none of which seems very kid-friendly. I mean, not a lot of "kid's movies" have a body count like a Tarantino movie. So it's really not something for toddlers, though my brother probably watched it when he was a toddler--I wasn't born yet. Of course some people have to exaggerate and say things like, "it features a giant teddy bear" referring to Chewbacca. Um, OK, they say that he rips off the arms of those who beat him at space chess. And really he looks more like a Sasquatch than a "teddy bear;" that would be the Ewoks.
Really though the thing about the story is a lot of it is similar to various myths and legends. The whole "Chosen One" story has been used for thousands of years. Even the Bible has Chosen One stories, most notably the story of Jesus. But really Luke isn't a Christ figure so much as a David using his slingshot (his X-Wing) against the Goliath of the Death Star. And while there are versions of the Bible sanitized for kids, the actual book isn't a "kid's book."
Of course Star Wars movies have always included kid-friendly elements like funny droids, goofy aliens--Jawas, Yoda, Ewoks, Jar-Jar, Porgs, etc--and fairly simplistic stories. But writing them off as "kid's movies" just seems too much to me.
But what do you think?
2 comments:
I think that some of the "Star Wars is for kids" thing comes from the fact that it was tied very closely to toys (and other merchandise) and a lot of the people who would be using social media have memories of playing with Star Wars toys as kids, their parents sharing the films with them on VHS, and/or going to the theater to see the movies. Also, Episode 1 leaned into the "kids" aspect more than any of the originals which doesn't help. The subject matter of Star Wars, especially the OT is not geared for kids specifically, but I think there's some degree of perception involved, especially if they are trying to be deliberately dismissive of something lots of others enjoy just to be contrary.
If it was really a kids movie, so many adults wouldn't like it. As for aliens like Jar Jar and Ewoks, I can only think they put those in for kids.
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