Ray St. Louis
5/12/02
BETWEEN THE LINES
A long time ago, in a corporate headquarters far, far away…
“What troubles you, Luke?”
“Obi-wan, is that you?”
“Yes, it’s me, Luke. And call me Ben, like in the old days, when I still had a body, before I was a
hologram. Now, what’s the problem?”
“I just saw a screening of ‘Part II, Attack of the Clones.’”
“Yes.”
“I don’t much care for the new episodes, Ben. I think Mr. Lucas has lost his touch.”
“Luke, the company is raking in money by the millions. George must be doing something right.”
“I know, but it’s not the same. We rake it in because of the special effects and computer graphics.
But the story and the characters stink.”
“George is just following the same formula he’s always followed, Luke. You know, good versus evil,
underdog rebels versus imperial storm troopers. We’re still the good guys; they’re still the evil
empire. What’s the problem?”
“The problem, Ben, is that the characters are flat. And forgettable. You ask anyone to name some
characters from Star Wars and they’ll come up with Luke Skywalker, Hans Solo, Obi-wan Kenobi,
Princess Leah and Darth Vader. Who can even name these new characters?”
“Well, they might come up with Jar-jar Binks.”
“Only because he’s the most annoying character in the history of film making.”
“And maybe Anakin Skywalker, your father.”
“Oh, you mean young Darth Vader?”
“Yes, I see your point, Luke.”
“And that’s another problem. Who wants to cheer for a hero that everyone knows is going to turn
out to be Vader, the essence of pure evil.”
“Well, then they can cheer for the princess, what’s-her-name. Or is she a queen, I forget.”
There, you see? They’re all a bunch of no-personality bores. At least our characters had
personality. Well, not mine necessarily, but the rest of them did. And the actors who played those
characters had personality. Where’s the new Harrison Ford?”
“The movie industry doesn’t much care for personality and characterization anymore, Luke. They’re
more interested in spectacular visuals.”
“What good are visuals without a decent story and good characters? That’s like all frosting with no
cake.”
“I think George would say that he’s just giving the public what it wants, Luke.”
“I don’t believe it. It’s what he thinks the public wants, Ben, but he’s wrong. He surrounds himself
with yes-men who tell him he’s always right, but they’re just a bunch of out-of-touch corporate
clones with no imagination. I hate them all.”
“Don’t give in to hate, Luke. It’ll turn you toward the dark side.”
“And one more thing. The new episodes are supposed to take place before our original episodes,
but the ships and the weapons and everything else look better.”
“That’s because the original episodes were made 25 years ago. The technology or movie-making
has improved greatly since then.”
“Yeah, that was a mistake. Why didn’t Lucas just make the whole thing in sequence? Then when the
visuals improved with each episode it would make sense. But no, he had to get cute and make the
later episodes first.”
“You trouble over this too much, Luke. You must learn to let go of your feelings. Empty your mind of
all distractions. Make room for that which rules the universe and makes it all happen.”
“The Force?”
“Money, Luke. It’s all about money.”
“Too bad. I had hoped it was also about art and substance.”
“Spoken like a true idealist. You take the Jedi thing far too seriously, Luke Skywalker. Star Wars
isn’t art; it’s a corporate cash cow. Milk it, Luke.”
“You’re right, Ben. You’re always right. I guess I still have a lot to learn.”
“And now the time has come for me to fade out. But remember, Luke, I am always with you. Call me
anytime that pesky integrity thing starts acting up. Good bye Luke.”
“Good bye, Ben.”
“May the Cash be with you.”
“May the Cash be with you too, Ben, even if you are just a hologram.”