Re: What is 'canon' re: Star Wars?


"M D Chubb" <MDChubb@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:29513-491C56AA-469@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
As I understand it (and maybe I don't) there are allegedly "levels" of
canon. I don't agree with that, since it would seem to me, at least in a
biblical sense, it's either in or it's out.

First level would the theatrically released films.

Second would be any material that was made for TV. Although I understand
some material televised in the US was released theatrically abroad, so
perhaps first level would be contained within the arc of the six film
saga (all three Clone Wars series fit within that arc, as will the yet
to be produced live action series, so I'm not sure if that would "up"
their status).

Third level would be publications like comics and novels.

Finally, the fourth level would be everything else, from roleplaying
games to the character descriptions on the back of action figure
packages.

Personally, I would adopt a much simpler aproach to determining what is
and is not canon. Since Lucas has randomly chosen to adopt or contradict
much of the lore established beyond the films, the best bet would be to
classify anything he is directly involved in creating as canon. The rest
is NOT. There are no "levels".

Personally, I think "canon" (in the non-reglious sense) is just a load of
nonsense held onto by idiots who can't or don't want to see anything outside
the movies, and usually just Original Trilogy in their original non-SE
version. And it's usually these idiots who continually ask a question and
then won't believe the answer simply because it wasn't in the movies where
there was no answer. :-\

In reality "canon" has to include various levels and the answer to any
question is taken from the highest / most "official" level you can get it
from, so if the Prequel movies contradict a novel, then the movie answer is
correct since that is more "official" and higher up the list.

I'm not sure where you get three Clone Wars shows, unless you're counting
the two season made by the Samurai Jack guys as two separate ones or the
animated movie and the follow-on show as spearate.

You get these basic levels (no doubt they could be divided into further
sub-levels as well):

- George Lucas' six Saga movies

- George Lucas' animated movie, Ewok movies and TV shows
(not including the disowned Holiday Special)

- novels, books based on the above (often keeping "deleted scenes")

- TV shows by other people (so far with some inclusion of George Lucas)

- novels, kids' books, comic books and computer games
(which again could have two levels: Lucas and non-Lucas)

with two further levels that could be included when answers can't be found
in any of the above:

- common sense

- fan fiction

BUT, there is some inter-mixing with (for example) the novel writers often
taking information from George Lucas' own back story to the movies.



.

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