Summary
- A fleeting cameo has left Star Wars fans surprisingly divided, with Wookieepedia editors even receiving death threats.
- Although the debate was purportedly about classics, it actually went much deeper.
- Acolyte is just another front in the culture wars.
I freely admit that when I first saw Acolyte Episode 4, I never thought this would become Star Wars Fans are running high. I foresaw the Chosen One controversy last week when someone made an offhand remark that Anakin Skywalker might not be the first person born from the Force. But I never imagined that a brief cameo by Jedi Master Ki Adi Mundi would lead to death threats against the editor of Wookieepedia, the famous Star Wars wiki. I never expected the hashtag #WeStandWithWookipedia to trend on Twitter.
If you’re not really involved in online fandom, you’d be forgiven for being taken aback by the above paragraph. If you’re just on the fringes of the debate, you might have been following the online uproar, wondering what was going on. The issue concerns Ki-Adi-Mundi’s age, since – based on a CD-ROM released in 1999 and a 2013 trading card – he shouldn’t have been alive in 1990. AcolyteNeither of these obscure references are canon, and George Lucas himself changed the color of Key Adi Mundi’s lightsaber in later films, which contradicts the information on the CD-ROM. What exactly happened?
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What is canon in Star Wars?
It’s not what you think
At first glance, the whole crisis is about Star Wars Canon. The word “canon” is of Hebrew-Greek origin and can be translated as “staff” or “measuring rod.” It entered Christianity in the 4th century when the Church Fathers used it to refer to the authoritative books accepted as part of the Bible. More recently, though, the concept of canon has entered popular culture when referring to elements such as legends, character timelines, and so on.
The problem, of course, is that it’s easier to define “canon” in terms of the content of religious texts than to discuss an ongoing transmedia franchise—the last of which was written nearly two thousand years ago. Star Wars A movie or TV show changes the canon in a way because the canon is additive in this context; it’s always growing, always changing and developing. This inevitably means there are contradictions.
Don’t believe it? Check out Obi-Wan Kenobi’s speech to Luke Skywalker in Episode I Star Wars In the film, he gives a brief tour of the history of the galaxy. Obi-Wan claims that the Jedi have been protecting the Republic for a thousand generations, but George Lucas’s prequel trilogy tells the story of a thousand generations.Year Republic Day. Obi-Wan spoke of a time of peace and harmony, but Star Wars: The High Republic He was exposed for being too nostalgic. Of course, his claim that Darth Vader killed Luke’s father is now widely known to be a flat-out lie. The canon has completely changed.
The Ki-Adi-Mundi dispute is ridiculous
Ki-Adi-Mundi’s age doesn’t even qualify
The concept of “canon” brings up another thorny question: Who gets to decide what the rules are? George Lucas considers himself the sole arbiter of canon. Despite recent accusations, he doesn’t hate the old Expanded Universe spinoffs, but he also doesn’t think he should be restricted. I remember vividly the chaos in the community when the prequels came out, with fans desperately trying to figure out how their favorite stories would fit in other mediums.
Lucas sold it Star Wars In 2012, Disney bought the franchise, and in 2014, Disney wiped the Disney Expanded Universe from canon. This effectively wiped out the old Expanded Universe, allowing the new owners to start over. Disney wanted to tell the new Star Wars story, they knew such a complex continuity would be too limiting; so far, the Expanded Universe timeline has explored everything from the origins of the Jedi to a century after Skywalker, limiting future stories too much. The 1999 CD-ROM and the 2013 trading cards about Ki-Adi-Mundi? They don’t count anymore.
All of this highlights the absurdity of the Gi-Adi-Mundi controversy. I can’t help but think that many of those involved know this; the fact that some have shared screenshots of the Gi-Adi-Mundi Expanded Universe timeline from Wookipedia that have been carefully edited to remove the “Legends” banner is telling. If you’re actually discussing things in good faith, there’s no need to be so hypocritical.
Is this really related to Canon?
Something unpleasant is happening in Star Wars fandom
But the fact is, there is no “sincerity” in this debate. Until two days ago, no one cared about Ki Adi Mundi’s age, and now they still don’t care. This is just as artificial as the review bombing on Rotten Tomatoes, where the audience gives Acolyte The ratings were as high as 14%, and the score exceeded 10,000 (game of Thrones It’s as ridiculous as a quote from star Amandla Stenberg six years ago being edited and shared as if it were about Acolyteand misleadingly described as “recent”.
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Let me take a moment to clarify: I am not saying Acolyte it’s the best Star Wars The most amazing story ever (for the record, I think it is new HopeBut the debate continues Star Wars Fandom right now is representative of other debates, about the health of fandom, and famous figures who prefer to denigrate and provoke rather than focus on what they love. They are just another front in the culture wars, because Acolyte The film was directed by a lesbian and had no white characters.
Perhaps you think this is too harsh a judgment. If so, consider this: Acolyte A YouTuber took the trouble to count the number of white faces. When another YouTuber’s video complained Acolyte was demonetized, he claimed it was censorship; of course, the video is still there, he just doesn’t make money from it anymore. On Twitter, even Elon Musk weighed in Acolyte Discuss and share Kathleen Kennedy South Park A meme that has long since become obsolete.
This is the real context of the current debate, and sadly, real people are being caught in the crossfire of it. Acolyte It’s far from perfect, but I feel bad for the cast and crew that something they spent months making is being torn apart by trolls. I hate it, but the sad truth is that the history of this fandom is always about destroying rather than building; just ask Ahmed Best. I see history repeating itself, but it feels more intense because of the cultural context. Even the editor of Wookipedia has received death threats.
Does this mean Star WarsNo, because the fact is AcolyteThe backlash gives me hope. As I write this, #WeStandWithWookipedia is trending, a protest against a section of the fanbase that has fallen to the dark side of anger and hatred. Beyond the horror stories, there are passionate fans who have been willing to rally around those under attack. Like the Jedi Acolytethis Star Wars Fandom has its dark side that it must face; but there is also light, and I believe that light will prevail in the end.
Acolyte 
The Acolyte is a TV series set in the Star Wars universe, set during the end of the Republic, when both the Jedi and the Galactic Empire are at the height of their influence. The sci-fi thriller follows a former Padawan who reunites with her former Jedi Master as they investigate several crimes – all leading to a Darkness that breaks out from beneath the Earth and prepares to put an end to the Republic.
Actors Dafne Keen, Lee Jung-jae, Amandla Stenberg, Judy Turner-Smith, Joonas Suotamo, Carrie-Anne Moss, Margarita Levieva, Charlie Barnett, Dean-Charles Chapman
Leslye Headland, producer