Re:9 Episodes... (Score 3, Insightful)

So if the screenplays suck, and the ideas are pedestrian, and Lucas is definitely NOT a genius... then why does everyone watch the films? It isn't because people are really dumb. Lucas has made it clear many times that he's trying to retell old stories and mythologies in a new way. It isn't that he can't think up other ways to save the girl or have his hero walled in... these stagings are INTENTIONALLY literal. The characters are represented in "black and white" because they are meant to be manifestations of mythological motifs that have existed in stories for thousands of years. The wize sage/wizard, the princess in distress, the hero's call to duty, the preverbial 'leap of faith' - all of these are designed to be instantly identifiable characters and actions. The power of the Star Wars stories comes from the way the archetypal characters interact with each other and ultimately how this effects a hero in realizing his destiny. Dialog is meant to advance the plot - nothing more - because like a greek play or comic book, the power of the story is conveyed through action, NOT dialogue. And you know what? People relate to this, just as our ancestors did. Lucas was a 'visionary' because he was smart enough to translate these mythic motifs to a modern media in an entertaining and yet unseen fashion. He set the stage for most fantasy and adventure films to follow (if you think the Lord of the Rings gets made into movies without Star Wars coming first, you're kidding yourself. Peter Jackson says as much.) The bottom line: Star Wars is great BECAUSE of the universality of the characters, not in spite of this. And if the dialog is a little wooden... well, who really cares?