ST This Is Madness: Old fans, new fans and TFA.

When I was over at starwars.com voting in the This Is Madness event, something struck me...

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How popular Ahsoka has become. I knew that she had grown to be loved by many fans, but not at that level that we see here. Luke has a fairly safe margin leading to victory here, but how could it even be THAT close? What I think that we are seeing is the new reality of the overall fanbase.

We, the old guard (folks that grew up with the OT) are not the be-all and end-all of Star Wars fandom no matter how much some of us like to believe that we are. There is an entire generation of fans that are not going to be bothered if Luke's on-screen presence in TFA is relegated to a nod at what is to come in the next two films.

We have a HUGE sect of the fanbase who are fans of the "new" Star Wars. This is evident with the other polls as well...

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Granted, these are early play-in rounds and the Big 3 of the OT will likely dominate later rounds, but consider the winners of the last 2 years. Yoda and Obi-Wan. Their popularity skyrocketed due to the PT and even more so with TCW. There is a big shift in the fanbase.

We old-timers cannot be arrogant enough to think that how the Big 3 are handled is going to make or break this sequel trilogy. It might make it or break it for some on an individual basis, but overall, much of the fanbase has moved on from the PT as being the best of Star Wars. This is what JJ and KK are dealing with. They are crafting a new trilogy for a new era of Star Wars. Our OT heroes are here to facilitate that while hopefully giving us some closure for those characters.

I said it before and I took some heat for it, but I will say it again. Star Wars is moving forward. There will come a time when Finn, Rey and Poe are every bit as loved as Luke, Han and Leia are.

Anyways, these are just some thoughts that I had. Recently in my personal life I have had to come to some conclusions about my age and how things have changed. It sucks, but it's happening and it is what spurred me to post this thread.

 

It's also probably due to the fact that more young fans visit the Star Wars website than older ones and are therefore more likely to vote in these polls. But as you said, The Force Awakens will be the first Star Wars experience for a lot of young fans. Rey, Poe and Finn will be their Luke, Han and Leia.

I like Ahsoka but only 4% off of Luke? C'mon.

 

You're absolutely right. And I hope that Disney understands that both OT AND PT nostalgia won't cut it. Making a great movie, and creating new icons, is all that matters. The ST must stand alone, or the fan base will wither.

Ironically, this also suggests that it doesn't really matter if the ST has story elements and dynamics that draw directly from the OT (or the PT). The new fans will be less familiar with/ wedded to the first six episodes than we are, and will not get irritated if a character says "I love you" and the other says "I know."

In other words, OT and PT nostalgia, if it's comprehensible, is likely to annoy the old OT and PT fans more than the new ST fans. The new ST fans will just be looking for a great movie with iconic characters that are fun to hang out with.

Heck, I still compare the fun levels of my own friends to Han, Luke and Leia. The new kids need to love Rey, Finn and Poe just as much, or this franchise will be done before it gets off the ground.

 

I don't know if it is that much of an age thing, though. I personally saw ANH in the theatre day one and I still voted for Ahsoka over Luke (it was a hard choice). Asajj was an easy choice for me in that one. Strange thing is, I'm not even that big of a fan of TCW (and I hate that Anakin has a padawan in canon...), but those two characters were really brought to life.

Another thing to consider is screen-time. People know an awful lot more about those Clone Wars characters than they do about the OT (or PT) crowd. Asajj and Cad have a TON more screen time than the other bounty hunters there - you'd have to vote for them *purely* based on nostalgia or looks.

I don't imagine that your thinking is totally off, but I imagine there are plenty of older fans that would choose other characters (though I imagine I'm in the minority on the Luke/Ahsoka one...)

 

I think you're right not to overestimate these deeply inexact polling results. This was not a professionally administered poll, and it did not have "identify the opinions of the entire Star Wars fanbase" as it's goal. The respondent pool is indeed biased towards those highly-active Star Wars fans.

However, I think BBP's point holds independent of the statistics. The old fans get older. Some of them die, some of them have kids and start paying attention to other things, etc. But a new generation of Star Wars fans is in the wings, including people who didn't grow up on the PT either. They will become primarily ST fans, for the most part.

And in order to keep the OT, PT and ST fans interested and excited, you simply need to make great movies with enjoyable characters and memorable images. That's it. If you plunge into the swamp of fan service, you lose sight of what matters most to people regarding Star Wars: good, fun sci-fi fantasy flicks that are on a different plane than other blockbusters.

 

Ahsoka and Sabine polling highly - now you know why they went with Rey as the main character of TFA.

 

I am not claiming it to be scientific. I am saying that it is a snapshot of the current fandom.

 

but all the medium set between VI and VII will have the Big 3 in front and center and they also appear in VII and the ones that survive VII will appear in VIII-IX, so the new fans will get to know about the Big 3, it is unavoidable.

 

Agreed that newer fans deserve newer heroes and villains to fall in love with. Recycling the OT would be the death of this huge franchise.
At this point, there are generally four generations of SW fans. 1. those who were kids at the time of the OT (70s kids) 2. those grew up with the OT on TV/VHS (80s kids) 3. those who were kids/teens during the PT (90s) and 4. those who grew up with the OT and PT after the PT (00s). And there's diversity within each of those. How do to satisfy all those fans? As you said, concentrate on making good, fun movies that evolve and expand naturally.

 

you forgot to mention in #2 90s kids.
I watched all 3 OT in 97-98 then the year after Episode 1 came.

 

Looks rigged to me. Wicket or Chief Chirpa should be #1.

 

@starocean30 Ahh, overlap! Cool. Did you see the OT the theater?

 

nope TV/VHS.
so essentially I grew up with both the PT and the OT at the same time.

 

Gender is another huge factor. The viewership of TCW was 50% female at one point. Another reason that these newer characters could be doing better than some of the OT standbys is gender identification.

It's interesting to see, regardless. But the problem is we don't know *why* anyone voted a certain way or who they would have ranked in second place, or what kind of cross section of people is voting, etc...

 

Of course it's rigged. It's gambling, and that's controlled by The Hutts. Just like those awful races.

 

starocean90 That's pretty sweet, still.

@mykindofscum the gender factor is an interesting point to bring up. I know that there have always been girls who like SW (my own sisters included), but it may increased over time. Don't know what that means

 

This isn't about "us vs them" or "OT vs ST", it's about a fanbase that holds a wide-array of interests. It is arrogant at best for any of us to consider that our take on what makes Star Wars best is what makes it best for the fandom as a whole.

 

I was just saying that new fans will get introduced to the Big 3 with any stories set after VI including the ST,which is unavoidable.

 

Just remember to let the wookie win.

 

I grew up with the OT but never fell into the mindset that being from the 80's somehow makes me a truer fan. I've always felt that loving all six films made me one of the lucky fans. I think it would be depressing to hate half of something you love. Having a love hate relationship with Star Wars would be damn near heartbreaking.

 

That's not very relevant considering that the big 3 are also in the new films. I don't think that I or anyone else in this thread made the notion that new fans do not know or won't know the big 3. I DO make the notion that there are fans who know the big 3 and still prefer the newer gen of characters.

 

that was not my point at all, oh well nevermind.

 

I'm really liking Kanan. After reading the book and then watching Rebels he's really grown on me. Hera would be my second favorite. I think the Ghost crew deserve a live action trilogy of their own. Would have the potential to be just as good as both the OT and PT.

 

You're right. It is depressing to deeply dislike the PT. That's why I envy PT fans, rather than ridicule them (as some OT purists do). I wish I could enjoy those films. I just can't.