Why I love the Prequel trilogy

There are many reasons why I love the Star Wars Prequels, and you can probably already guess a pretty important one. But it's not the only reason I love them so much.

Unrest

Truth be told, I don't like discussing politics, whether in the real world or online. The discussions often turn into very nasty slapfights where both parties end up none the wiser. Ad hominem attacks, as well as false assumptions (and sometimes even accusations) are often the result. This, from what I've found, is usually unrelated to political idiology and/or affiliation; most people are guilty of it. For that reason, I keep my personal political views private, including on this very website. I also usually kindly inform others that the subject makes me uncomfortable and ask politely that it should be avoided in my presence.

But that doesn't mean that politics don't interest me. The fact that I don't like discussing them with others is something I consider a separate matter. In my spare time however, when I'm alone, I tend to read about all kinds of subjects - including politics. And it's also not like I'm unaware of what's going on in the world around me; I am. I just don't like to talk about it.

Politicians are not to be trusted

Another reason why I dislike discussing politics is that I inherently don't trust politicians, even if I agree with their general standpoints. Inability to deliver on promises is a common reason, as well as issues such as nepotism, corruption, and related matters. There's also usually a distance between the political elite and the common man, meaning that their needs often don't align. Other times they're simply inept at what they've been assigned to do. Which is a problem, since a politician's task is to essentially run an entire country. And a good politician, in my opinion, should understand the needs of the people. This is usually unrelated to party affiliation.

This is also exactly a very important reason why the Prequels resonate so much with me, and why I consider them on par with the Original Trilogy. The movies detail perfectly how a system that was once great, has grown corrupt and compliant, having grown utterly blind to the Judas that was among them all along. Of course, Emperor Palpatine is the reason why the Republic fell in the first place, but in a healthy political system, one should always be alert for possible traitors and manipulators, even if they have an otherwise good reputation. Politicians are not to be trusted, after all.

Disillusionment

Let's talk about the character we're here for in the first place: Anakin Skywalker. Anakin, having grown up a slave, had been disillusioned with the existing political system for a good while now. He yearned for a stronger system that maintains order in the Galaxy. He also believed that this system would benefit the slaves, since the slave owners would be imprisoned and strongly punished for breaking the law. As a result of this, some of his views could be considered dictatorial - an extreme position to take, but given his situation it's somewhat understandable (if way too drastic). It is relatively easy to think of a dictatorship as the ultimate "peacekeeping measure", since it expects the people to agree with the status quo. It also actively squanders dissenting voices, meaning that "there is no one who opposes the government", keeping the system around due to a forced lack of opposition.

While I do not support dictatorships, I understand Anakin's frustrations, and at times I've even thought that a lack of dissent could possibly be beneficial to society. Of course, it's not how anything works in the world; you can't make everyone agree with each other. Maintaining order is in and of itself not necessarily a bad thing, but it can be achieved through other means. I'll leave it at that.

New fans

People are wrong to claim that people only like the Prequels "because of nostalgia". As I've already mentioned elsewhere on the site, I did not grow up with Star Wars in my life. And I'm fairly certain that I'm speaking for many other fans (both new and old) when I say that the political themes of the Prequel trilogy are a big reason why they like them in the first place.

As I've mentioned, while I dislike discussing politics with others, that does not mean that I'm unaware of the world around me. Without going into too much detail, we live in an era of unrest and war. People are becoming more aware of what's happening around us, and this includes the younger generation. Many of whom are watching Star Wars right now for the very first time. They did not grow up with the common conception that "the Prequels suck" or "the Prequels are boring". Many of them resonate with them exactly because it does not shy away from political issues. This is very important to consider and should not be forgotten.

That other trilogy (no, not the Original one)

Some people try to claim that the Sequel trilogy is "too woke". I disagree. Without going into whether I even care for the term or not, I simply don't think it applies to the Sequel trilogy at all. In fact, one problem I have with the Sequels is almost the opposite - there's almost a complete lack of depth and risk-taking, especially when it comes to political themes. This is a rather baffling choice to make, considering that Star Wars is a story about, well, war. Politics are an essential aspect of war, and the main reason why they happen in the first place. Even the Original Trilogy had political elements; and although there was less focus on them than in the Prequels, they were still present. (It does help that the Galactic Empire had already been in charge for several decades by this point, meaning that the tragic fall of a Republic did not need to be depicted.) The Sequels, on the other hand, tell us nothing new in that regard. They don't make us think in the way that the Prequel trilogy can. The few political elements that do exist were just rehashed from the Original Trilogy without thinking twice about it, often to an illogical degree just because "the fans like them, so we put them in". This causes the Sequels to lack depth and (perhaps ironically) audience resonance, especially once you look past the flashy visuals (which, for the record, I actually think the Prequels did better, too).

But enough about those films for now.

Internal consistency

Another main reason I love the Prequels is the fact that they're the most internally consistent Star Wars trilogy. For the record, I forgive the Original Trilogy for its early hiccups; George Lucas was still working out the finer details of the story, and he was also not yet sure whether Star Wars would even be a success. Because of this, while he did have a larger story planned, he hadn't yet had the chance to work everything out the way he wanted to. But when A New Hope (then just known as "Star Wars") became the resounding success it ended up being, as well as Lucas' smart playing of rights ownership, meant that he had full reign to develop the story how he wanted to. Finally he had a chance to fill in the finer details of the story he wanted to tell - nobody will forget "I am your father". I certainly haven't. It's a big reason why this website even exists in the first place.

But enough about the Original Trilogy. Lucas wasn't just thinking about the Original Trilogy anymore - no; there's a reason he eventually added "Episode IV - V - VI" to the title cards, years before the Prequel trilogy was even made. That's because, while they weren't yet made, at this point in time they were certainly planned. How did the Empire rise in the first place? How did Anakin Skywalker turn to the Dark Side and become Darth Vader? Those were all things that everyone had on their mind, and the Prequels answer those questions.

Because of Lucas' clear vision and strong planning by this point in time, there are very few (if any) retcons and/or strange plot decisions between the Prequel movies. They tell a consistent story from beginning to end, adding a lot of interesting lore to the Star Wars universe in the process.

And this will be the final thing I will say about the Sequel trilogy on this page: it has none of this, either. They simply put elements in the movie that "the fans liked" without a proper plan; without considering whether the story made sense. And that is why the Sequel trilogy failed for me, in the end.

Conclusion

A big reason why I (and many other new fans) like the Prequels is because its themes resonate with us. Yes, a big part of its recent increase in popularity is also due to memes (which I certainly also enjoy!). But an important reason why those memes exist in the first place is because people like the movies. The large majority of the memes, aside from some light harmless ribbing, are clearly made by people who actually cared enough about the movies to pay attention, and it's clear that, to whichever degree it may be, they enjoyed them. And the theme resonance is a big reason as to why that is; I fully and honestly believe so.

And I appreciate the fact that the Prequels discuss these themes with George Lucas' amazing talent for visual storytelling. Too many modern movies treat their audience as if they're idiots, which is a gross underestimation of their capabilities (they "underestimate our power", if you will). "Show, don't tell" is an art that's dying, and I find it sad and completely unnecessary. It's a good thing to make audiences thinking about what's happening on the screen. This isn't just about the Prequels anymore, and not even strictly about Star Wars either (the Original Trilogy, as well as George Lucas' other films, are also very strong in this regard). But imagine being a young person who only knows such amazing (cough) dialogue such as "He's right behind me, isn't he?" or "Whoa, muh big explosion!". Suddenly, "I don't like sand" seems quaint in comparison, doesn't it? (It certainly didn't kill the movies for me; it's just one line, and one that makes sense for Anakin's character to boot.) (I still enjoy the memes, though.)

That's all for now. May the Force be with you always.

~ Darth Cuddles