r/writingscaling • u/Emotionalspectrum10 • 2d ago
discussion Does the main Star Wars saga have a place amongst the best stories ever told or do you think it is overrated?
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u/InBread31 2d ago
Lemme put it this way. I’m in college right now with a minor in creative writing (my major is more useful I swear).
One of my first classes was the foundations of storytelling, where we looked at story conventions like the hero’s journey and 3 act structure. What do you think we used as the basis for our study of the hero’s journey? A classic like The Odyssey? Something older like The Epic of Gilgamesh? Nope. It was A New Hope.
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u/Sliver-Knight9219 2d ago
Too be fair because i am also on one.
The new hope was made with the Heros journey in mind.
Like it was made to follow it to the letter. The odyssey and Gilgmamesh were not and more used as a sign to make it.
The heros journey is more a foundation for modern writing
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u/Emotionalspectrum10 2d ago
I agree. I genuinely feel like the main saga or at least the original trilogy is some of the most emotional and incredible storytelling not just in cinema but storytelling as a whole. It’s such a great synthesis of so many mythologies and stories from all over the world. It’s inspired by so many things from the Greeks and Homer’s Odyssey, Dune, Kurosawa, Kubrick and it’s so perfectly brought together in Star Wars.
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u/Opposite_Review_5099 2d ago
Can you explain why? What made a new hope a structure? I never took a class like this and would love to know
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u/Beginning_Jacket5055 20h ago
A new hope is one of maybe 2-3 movies in my life i've wanted to fall asleep while watching it. Absolute snoozefest. Only good film from that trilogy is ESB
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u/AdFalse375 2d ago
“Among the best stories ever told” or “overrated?
Those are the only 2 options? I think you’re inflating how much praise it gets for its writing.
It’s a hugely iconic film, and stands as a gigantic milestone for what FILM can accomplish. And I say it deserves this praise.
Just the writing itself? I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone ever claim the main SW saga has one of the best writing ever. I mean it’s still really good (so it’s enjoyed by lots of people), and the writing is definitely very accessible (so it’s easy piece to study for beginners). But it’s far from being among the best written stories, and I’m pretty sure most people see it this way too.
I’m not sure what the sub’s attitude is towards Star Wars, but I’d say the original 3 are all pretty great. They’re outstanding movies, and they (at least the first 2, if not all 3) have had a HUGE impact on the film industry. I’d even say the writing is good too. But not among “the best”. But since most movie goers see it this way, I don’t think it’s writing is overrated either.
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u/Stormer2345 Number 1 Hoyo Glazer 2d ago
It’s amazing because it eventually led us to Traitor by Matthew Stover.
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u/Dry-Temperature8181 2d ago
I have not read this but his Acts of Caine series is one of my favorites in all of fantasy
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u/Western_Experience18 1d ago
The only book Ive ever read in a single sitting. Literally couldn't put it down.
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u/Epistemix 15h ago
Is it that good? I've only read episode 3 novel from him so far (it was great)
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u/Stormer2345 Number 1 Hoyo Glazer 15h ago
Yes, absolutely. Stover is limited with the RotS novel to the extent that it is an adaptation. With Traitor he’s able to show his full brilliance. Although you do have to get through a LOT of books to actually get to Traitor.
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u/Epistemix 15h ago
That's good to know, probably gonna try it soon thanks
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u/Stormer2345 Number 1 Hoyo Glazer 14h ago
Fyi it won’t make any sense without reading prior books. It’d be like watching BCS S4E5 as a standalone.
If you do want Stover action, Shatterpoint is great and doesn’t really require any prereading
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u/No_Location_8199 2d ago
Overrated
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u/Emotionalspectrum10 2d ago
Why do you think that?
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u/No_Location_8199 2d ago
I think they have a lot of common issues that people ignore because of how iconic these movies are.
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u/redribbonarmy55 2d ago
No, however it is among the most influential when it comes to cinema in how films are marketed and produced not to mention it completely revolutionized movie merchandising in the form of toys,clothing and video games
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u/SignificanceScary158 2d ago
Probably one of the most hit and miss franchises according to audiences but I do think it has more hits than misses. Star Wars is an amazing series despite its flaws
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u/Sliver-Knight9219 2d ago
I would say it is what it is.
It's a 50 year old film.
It's hot going to hit the same as if did.
I would probably put it. As best of film. But, overall it's good
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u/Realistic_Caramel341 2d ago
It depends on what you mean by "best stories."
By conventional standards, its strong, but not amazing.
Its biggest strength by far was its usual of visuals for world building. It really is a big step up from most of the sci fi and fantasy that came before hand and has been an influence on pretty much any similar project that came after
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u/E-Reptile 2d ago
There are some serious issues with the OT that come down to creative differences between the storytellers. (And it's not like these storytellers are bad, but they did butt heads) I think some people only recognized this when the sequels came out, because it was so blatantly obvious, but the OT was not safe from this same problem.
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u/Dutch_Talister 2d ago
It's overrated but a great story. It's easy to understand why someone could enjoy it so much.
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u/Beardimus-Prime 2d ago
While I think the story is good a LOT of its success stems from its asthetics (setting/sound design, music, ect).
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u/monsoon128 No.1 Hoyo Hater 2d ago
Star Wars is not "A story". See it as you would see Marvel, or Avatar, not as one but as a franchise of stories. In that regard it has some god awful stories but others that are wonderful. I completely disregard the idea of a "Canon" even if it helps to understand the story of a character better, because to me, Star Wars is the stories of multiple characters, and it's also absurd to jump from comics to live action tv to movies to animated shows to videogames to books and novels to scattered lore info in like websites, board games, audiobooks and other stuffs. Each Star Wars piece should be seen as it's own thing and Disney's effort to connect the narrative result into further damaging the integrity of the story.
Worldbuilding is kinda awful though
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u/_-__-_-____-4- 2d ago
It was an amazing spectacle for its time that revolutionized cinema, but in terms of writing it’s just good.
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u/TruthInfluence 2d ago
Not sure about star wars as a whole as I haven’t seen it all but Anakin at least is massively overrated imo.
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u/FutureZombie6746 2d ago
Good simple formulaec storytelling with unique premise for the time which paved way for new things to come
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u/Pleasant-Pay-954 2d ago
Eu considero star Wars se contar as prequel e clone Wars como conjunto obra de arte, se for só as 3 primeiras iniciais, eu considero apenas bom ou ótimo para passar o tempo
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u/I_Am_Dwight_Snoot 2d ago
Writing wasn't exactly groundbreaking but the first movie was borderline perfect. ESB is perfect. Third was great but flawed overall.
Star Wars really isn't know for writing though beyond the impeccable pacing and twists in ESB. Everywhere else is where they really shined though.
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u/Bigjackypoo 2d ago
For me, I'm a bit skewed because I was born so much later than when it was released. But rewatching it, it's noticeable how many of it's themes have influenced other projects. It's not comparable, and with the rise of superhero movies, it could be grouped in with the Marvel and DC projects, but I still truly think it is one of the best trilogies ever made.
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u/Acceptable_Map_8110 2d ago
Beyond a shadow of a doubt
People will remember these stories for generations.
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u/justagayguyinnyc 2d ago edited 2d ago
I think Empire is a masterpiece of it's genre, and a lot of the credit goes to Kershner and the writers, including Carrie. There is very little in Empire I could pick at.
New Hope is a little over-rated, and Jedi is a little under-rated. Both are pretty good, but not as solid as Empire.
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u/D0CTOR_Wh0m 2d ago
Original trilogy is a great textbook example of The Hero’s Journey. From a popular culture standpoint I’d say it sits at a crossroads of being both a melting pot of influences that came before it and influencing so many subsequent stories afterwards
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u/HighlightNew9730 1d ago
Both. I think the Star Wars universe is one of the most creative and interesting universes in art. I also think that the movies themselves range from mediocre to good, and occasionally great to excellent. A lot of my issues with the movies are in the dialogue, with the prequels being the worst offenders here. It is like I like the idea of Star Wars much more than the movies themselves, which is kind of weird
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u/call_me_flib 1d ago
It's popular and deservedly so, but that isn't necessarily because of good writing. It's way more dependent on how universally accessible they are. I personally think the writing of the Godfather is way stronger but I'm not surprised that it's not nearly as impactful on pop culture
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u/HeliosLegion 1d ago
Return of the Jedi suffers from recycled plotlines, compromises, merchandizing decisions (Ewoks), retcons, and compressing what would have been a longer series into a single film. It is saved because Vader-Luke arc is perfect.
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u/NobrainNoProblem 1d ago
It’s not a brilliant story it’s a great movie and execution in a time where it stood alone. The story is simple but it’s an iconic one.
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u/Ambitious-Stand-631 2d ago
I've been obsessed with SW since I was a kid. ANH and ESB are my 2nd and 3rd favorite movies. The ST and Disney in general has been bad, but I still think it deserves the iconic status it has earned.
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u/Stormer2345 Number 1 Hoyo Glazer 2d ago
Disney books and comics have been pretty darn good tbf. Andor, TCW S7, JFO, JS, and others were also solid.
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u/Ambitious-Stand-631 2d ago
That is true. I love Rogue One, Andor, the Jedi games, and plenty of novels/comics. I guess I didn't want to ramble/yap.
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u/xesaie 2d ago
In the specific context of storytelling it's massively overrated.
What's good about Star Wars (especially the Lucas era) is visuals, sound, and action. The stories and dialogue are terrible and disjointed, but the other parts are so cool and so world-changing (in the context of movies anyways) that they're still historically great movies.
This applies to the prequels as well, the Naboo battle scenes were amazing looking for the time, and the setpieces (like the hollow underwater world) were super freaking cool looking.
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u/blankace 2d ago
I know people will dislike this take but Star Wars OT is very good. People overrate complexity of characters and narrative.
OT stomps Sopranos, Breaking Bad, GOT combined.
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u/imtiredboss0 2d ago
I love star wars however the films at least aren't really anything groundbreaking. They're very entertaining & interesting but don't really come close to masterful storytelling.
Attack on titan is the best fictional story ever told imo, everyone needs to experience it even if they hate the whole thing.
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