Ms. Tang has missed the point.

She apparently has neither understood the movie nor the book from which it is derived.

"LOTR" is about duty, honor, friendship and bravery in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles and evil.

"Star Wars" is about an adolescent's resolution of his Oedipal issues. Given, this resolution does take place in overcoming obstacles and evil. But the point of the three-film serial is the son's saving his father by his decision not to kill him.

Both are excellent stories and films. Both are fairy tales. Both set the standard for cinematic effects and storytelling for their time.

However, I have found that, following the seemingly overwhelming evil of 9-11, "LOTR" moved me much more than "Star Wars" ever did. And in some small measure it has confirmed my hope.

-- George M. Greene

I find amusing how people, even of the intelligent and articulate sort as Mrs. Tang seems to be, can be fogged by personal preferences as fast as the most simple-minded fan.

Certainly "Star Wars" and "Lord of the Rings" share similarities, but ultimately they belong to different species. For so eagerly drawing comparisons between the two I must assume the author is a "Star Wars" devotee, especially since she is ready to pass over the film's own flaws in a clear manifestation of bias.

Or maybe she is quite aware of her lack of objectivity but is willing to bear it for the sake of calling attention to her writings. In which case she has succeeded.

-- Edgar Montemayor

"Star Wars" is by Lucas' own admission a Saturday morning adventure serial, and heavily derivative of Tolkien's work, like nearly all works in the fantasy genre that Tolkien unwittingly revitalized.

"Lord of the Rings" is an epic borne of Tolkien's desire to give his beloved England a coherent body of myth all its own. Jackson created a moving and compelling film out of that. Comparing Lucas' and Jackson's work is shaky at best.

I love both films, but when I look past the nostalgia and childhood memories, I see "Star Wars" as a chance phenomenon that occurred at just the right time and place; while the film may not have succeeded without its story, the story would not have held up without the then-groundbreaking special effects. The "restraint" Tang applauds is hack writing and cheap laughs.

-- Lee Nichol

I would like to thank Salon for allowing Jean Tang to write this article, despite her obvious handicap of having done no research whatsoever.

First of all, if she's going to champion "Star Wars," at least she should watch the film, or at the very least, check out the Internet Movie Database, so that she'd know that Luke's uncle was Uncle Owen, not Otto.

Second, she should try to hold "Star Wars" to the same standards she sets up for "Lord of the Rings." She asks why the orcs are evil. Well, why is Darth Vader? Why are the storm troopers serving the evil empire? Why is the whole empire evil in the first place?

Just as Jackson's "LOTR" fails to answer such questions, so does Lucas' "Star Wars." (Also, contrary to her implication, Tolkien's trilogy does not answer the questions she raises, for the most part, though several of the answers are detailed in Tolkien's other -- much less read -- work, "The Silmarilion.")

For that matter, the question of what the Force is has never been fully explained, but who cares besides Jean Tang? While we all hope "Star Wars" may answer certain of the questions in the next two films, if Jackson gets no credit for his next two (as yet unreleased) installments, then neither does Lucas.

I agree with her that "Star Wars" will not be dethroned by Jackson's "LOTR" as the foremost cinematic cultural reference marker, but the reason for that is entirely different than the flaws she notes. The reason "Star Wars" will hold preeminence is that the characters are rather one-dimensional melodramatic archetypes devoid of any subtlety or reality. That makes it far easier to relate to the characters and to see their analogs in both ourselves and in those with whom we deal on a daily basis. All melodrama is like that; the simplicity enables the viewer to draw parallels to his or her own experiences.

While "Lord of the Rings" certainly has its melodramatic aspects as well, and while I would hardly claim that the characters are well developed, "Star Wars" is simply on a different level. That is its greatest strength; "Star Wars" is so absurdly melodramatic and the characters so shallowly developed that it cannot possibly take itself seriously, and it's from there that it derives its (admittedly campy) charm.

-- Kurt Yost

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