Star Wars: It's All a Marketing Game

I must have been about 10 years old when I saw my first Star Wars movie (Episode 4 as we would belatedly find out)and got hooked on Luke Skywalker. Last weekend, my husband and I, together with our 8-year old son, trooped to the moviehouse to catch Star Wars Episode 3 (Revenge of the Sith -- or is it Revenge of the Sixth...movie?)

You've got to hand it to George Lucas -- he really knows how to keep an audience. Imagine, two generations (my son and I) trooping to the moviehouse to follow the continuing saga that is Star Wars. News reports also state that Episode 3 has broken previous records for the biggest ticket sales in one day -- with the movie, taking in USD 50 million in one day. P2.75 billion in ticket sales?

Everything really begins with a good story. I don't know about the other people who followed Star Wars but technology aside, Episodes 4-6 were much better in terms of storyline. Somehow, watching Episodes 1-3 sometimes felt like someone was just trying to stretch the story for as long as he could. The ending of Episode 3 was quite abrupt, don't you think? It's as if George Lucas suddenly said: "That's it. I'm done with this."

Even the story of Episode 3, boils down to marketing. Anakin Skywalker (to become Darth Vader by the end of the movie) has bad dreams of losing Padme, his wife, in childbirth. He constantly worries about losing Padme and turns to both Yoda and Darth Sidius (of the Dark Side). What does Yoda tell him? "You must let go of that which you fear losing the most." (or words to that effect.) What does Darth Sidius tell him? The Dark Side will allow him to save Padme's life. Is it any wonder that Anakin chooses the Dark Side and becomes Darth Vader?

My mother-in-law used to follow some teleseryes on TV and now she has resolved not to start any of these stories at all. Why? Well, she says starting something leads you to follow the story -- even if sometimes they take the weirdest twists and turns. You just have to know what happens and how the story ends.

Well, the Star Wars series has ended. Or has it? 6 movies in a span of 28 years. George Lucas is a marketing genius. There are just some unanswered questions. How did the other Jedis get killed so easily in Episode 3? Why is Yoda's light saber green?