My Anxiety Files - Episode IX and Holiday Turkeys


             No spoilers, but in the end, do spoilers really matter?
             We may have witnessed a minor cultural shift.  It could be a genuine change in the way my generation behaves from here on out, or it could be merely a blip on the radar and my ego is blowing it out of proportion.  Assigning significance to just about everything is the American way, so at least I’m being consistent.
             The reviews and reactions to Star Wars - Episode IX are in and they are mixed. ‘Mixed’ is the modern euphemism for ‘we can’t decide if this sucks or not’.  It is messy and problematic, but I still enjoyed the experience.  Buried inside that idea is something that us Gen-Xers, now in our late forties or so, should fully understand.  We grew up on a steady diet of pop culture, and it really doesn’t matter if it was good then, or it still resonates today.  It was fluff made for fun and to sell toys.  Did you have fun?  That’s all that matters.
             The split on Episode IX isn’t like the last movie.  There were a bunch of white nationalist, racist, Trumpy pieces of garbage that had a problem with women in space movies and one of them have the audacity to be born with an Asian heritage. The movie wasn’t great, but it was still a coherent movie.  Ep IX is a dizzying barrage of Star Wars stuff.  Even people who love it agree it felt rushed.  I did.  But I wasn’t upset by it.  Why?  I understand these truths:  I’m forty-seven.  I was entertained. Most Star Wars movies aren’t A-plusses anyways.  But I loved them, and I will continue to do so. 
             As an adult, I can use the metaphor of a holiday dinner.  Everyone has had the experience of a shitty Thanksgiving, Christmas spread, or anniversary dinner that didn’t go over well.  The oven broke down, the stuffing was underdone, the potatoes were gummy or your dog jumped onto the dinner table and humped the turkey.  It was a meal you looked forward to, and it was disappointing.  You get older and you laugh at these things because its all you can do.  It's funny.  You know you’ve had wonderful meals before, and you’ll have wonderful meals in the future.  You don’t stop having holiday meals because this one sucked.  You just throw that turkey out.
             I’m not an apologist. If you want to hate on Episode IX, there’s plenty to pick apart.  That’s fine.  I just don’t want to do that shit anymore.  I had a blog post a week ago that detailed all my nitpicking about the prequel movies.  I started that in my twenties, and I don’t want to spend another moment of brain time dissecting fluff.  There is an entire universe of books, comics, and games that tell other Star Wars tales that are pretty damn good.  As for picking apart this stuff or superhero movies or TV shows with crappy endings, I will announce my retirement for giving a shit.  Any criticism will be for fun and conversation, any consumption will be purely for the intent for which it was intended. 
             It’s also not a cop-out.  I’d be making excuses for the movie if it was a cop-out.  I have no excuses to make, nor do I care about copping out.  I am moving on. Rising above.
             The rest of this piece could be about nerd culture, fandom, the cultural obsession with distraction, the need to pay closer attention to the things that matter, unplugging, and a dozen other possibilities.  But it’s not.  Nothing I say about any of those things really matter and that might be my point.  It’s about me, and how I deal with the giant culture that surrounds me.  It makes me ill most of the time, but there are things about it that I love.  I don’t want to leave it behind.  But I have to adapt and grow as a person, and that includes how I engage with it.
             Isn't it better to take it for what it is?  Leave the significance at the door?  We're adults.  We should be able to tell the difference between a nourishing meal and cotton candy.  Do we need a debate on whether the last serving of cotton candy was better, or they had better cotton candy twenty years ago? 
             I honestly believe I would have walked out of the theater the same way if the movie was a solid A+.   “That was fun.  It’s over now.  What’s next?”



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My Anxiety Files – Keepin’ Busy