
George Lucas may be the single most important figure in film, or even the entirety of popular culture, with regard to what he has simultaneously given to and taken away from his fan base. As the creator of the Star Wars universe, he was the man most beloved by millions upon millions of people. The impact of those original films was unprecedented, and the success was monolithic. George Lucas instantly became one of the most important figures in entertainment. This lasted for around two decades before the much hated/debated/discussed prequel trilogy landed in cinemas in the late 1990s. From here on, the tide turned against Lucas, and the once loving and faithful masses were now calling for his head. They wanted justice, for their voice to be heard by the man they believed had forsaken them. In 2010, filmmaker Alexandre O. Philippe took up this challenge and presented to the world a documentary that sought to look into this dynamic. Order in the court… this is The People vs. George Lucas

Philippe is certainly no stranger to approaching popular cultural properties from a fan’s perspective. His second film, back in 2004, was Earthlings: Ugly Bags of Mostly Water, which looked at the relationship between Star Trek fans and that franchise’s most war-horny race, the Klingons. There does already exist a sub-set of documentary films within the larger classification of fan films (i.e. films made by fans that exist within a given fictitious universe) about fandom and how those fans represent themselves in connection with the object of their passion. For example, look at another Star Trek-based documentary, Trekkies; or the Firefly-inspired Done the Impossible; or Ringers: Lord of the Fans, inspired by… well, you can guess. It’s important to note that these documentaries are not simply films about a given property (like, for example, Lord of the Rings), but about the specific connection that comes as a result of being die-hard fans of that property. This connection is one that doesn’t just unite those that would deem themselves as fans, but one that seeks to reach through the creative barrier and connect those fans to those responsible for the creation of the property. It’s a form of cultural interaction that goes beyond basic reception called participatory culture.

This is perhaps the single most important point within The People vs. George Lucas, though it should be said that neither the film nor its makers actually endorse or deny this position themselves. The reason the hate flows through these fans so strongly is because their love for the franchise was, at least previously, utterly boundless. Subsequent to the prequels, these same fans were apoplectic, furious that the thing they had loved so much had been, for them, irreparably changed for the worse. What was once was suddenly was no more, and their immersion in the fantasy was no longer possible. This is actually what marks The People vs. George Lucas apart from the other previously mentioned documentaries is that this is one that fully embraces, and in fact find its genesis in the negativity to come from the fan base towards both the franchise and its creator. And the negativity is widespread. Throughout the film, there are numerous people who say that Lucas is akin to a “Holocaust denier”, that they feel like an “abuse victim”, and George Lucas “raped” their childhood. There are even those who (jokingly, of course) fantasise about Lucas dying years ago, before he could release anything after the third Indiana Jones movie. Ugly words when you look at them like that, and only a modicum of what Lucas has been faced with for around fifteen years now.

The People vs. George Lucas may not have too much appeal beyond the borders of Star Wars fandom, with outsiders perhaps regarding both sides of the debate as a bunch of weirdos who take all of this Star Wars stuff far too seriously. But fan films and, to a degree, documentaries about fans aren’t really for the consumption of outsiders. Films like these are for the people who “get it”, who find a stronger than normal pull in the worlds in which they lose themselves, or at least those who understand what it is to do so. It’s not always pleasant, sometimes it can even be downright unhealthy, but the heart of a passionate fan is one of extreme feeling. And this documentary manages to pull at all angles for this debate, lighting on points both big and small, not to try and find answers, but provide a way to help the viewer find their own.
So, I ask you, what is George Lucas to you? Benevolent creator? Artistic tyrant? Maybe somewhere in between? Perhaps the film can help you decide.