Star Wars: The First Order's Modern Mistakes

"But the meta!"

All too often I have seen this excuse for works and their flaws. It doesn't matter if it's a novel, film or video game, this is something someone will argue and focus on in the face of problems. The analysis itself isn't bad in any regard as many works benefit from layers of meta-narrative, or even being written with it specifically in mind such as Cabin in the Woods. Yet, the problem is that this is so frequently praised that internet critics and fans alike seem to think this excuses any flaw. The act structure was terrible, and it relied on the rampant use of Deus Ex Machina? But the meta! The story was borderline incomprehensible and offered no time for any character motive or development? But the meta! It features a writer openly unzipping his flies, pissing on the franchise, annihilating it and declaring anything besides his new vision is wrong? But the meta!

The reason I cite this here is that such critiques have turned from intelligent discourse into an easy method of hand-waving away actual problems. It's less about exploring something than using such articles or thoughts to openly dismiss anything you dislike or handwave away any visions which disagree with you. In fact, one of the more infamous moments I personally experienced was someone who defended everything done to Warhammer 40,000's Iron Hands and the quality of recent novels by claiming the meta-narrative was all important, and how the fandom reflected the characters. It's part of why I try to avoid writing this these days as, while I always try to make it clear that my viewpoint is just one of many, it's an easy trap to fall into. Plus, sometimes, it's probably completely unintentional. Enter the First Order of the new Star Wars films.

The First Order itself really can be summed up as Galactic Empire 2: Imperial Harder, keeping many of the same visuals, distinctive iconography and visual traits. You have Stormtroopers, Star Destroyers, a new superweapon and everything right up to a replacement Emperor. For all intents and purposes, it comes across as an effort to easily introduce an excuse to have an Empire in the new films without dealing with the fallout of the original trilogy. It was made in emulation of what came before and, to be blunt, along with the Resistance I largely wrote it off as lazy writing. Yet, there is an angle, at least one interpretation of the First Order which would allow them some degree of much-needed depth: Realising that they are simply mimicking the Empire without ever wholly understanding it.

When you stop and compare information on the two for a moment, one thing which becomes readily apparent is how the First Order emulates the Empire and then attempts to one-up it. I joked about this in a previous rant, calling it the "Super Empire" but that seems to be how they regard themselves, simply as a means to try and succeed the Imperials. The problem is that every shred of information you find, every detail and concept all leads back to the same focus: Purely on the military. Beyond it, beyond anything which cannot be used to kill or control someone through the threat of death, you really have nothing of substance to them. Their focus is placed entirely on emulating the visual distinction and most noted capabilities of the Empire but without the infrastructure to back that up. When you start to examine that something starts to become clear: They really have no idea what they are doing. They are simply doing their best to copy what seemed to be a successful predecessor, and hoped that things would work out for the best. In the simplest of terms - The First Order is a cargo cult of galactic proportions.

You might immediately argue that Palpatine's Empire was no different, but in truth, it accomplished things in a very different manner. Palpatine took his time, he planned, schemed and slowly made one move at a time as he worked toward an end game. He established a war where he was in near total supremacy over both sides, used it to distract the Jedi while thinning their ranks, and accumulate power for himself. By the end, he had taken the Republic's governing policies, guiding principles and ideologies, and inverted them. He used the will of the people and all that had protected them to have him rapidly reshape the galaxy as he desired, with governors, system commanders and a battle-hardened militarized force under his control. By comparison, the First Order just decided to blow up the Republic and thought that is all they needed to do.

The First Order isn't a power with policies, doctrines and an internal infrastructure, it's a horde which is trying to utilise the momentum of past creators to achieve its goals. The emotions and thoughts relating to their ships, and the historical significance of its imagery, is enough in their eyes to accomplish all that they need. Even when something fails so massively to accomplish its intended targets, the First Order writes it off as a minor issue or even a hidden success, and keeps going despite it. They don't learn, develop or fully build upon past ideas, and when confronted with a contradiction they simply attempt to annihilate it while hoping for the best. The end result is a tenuous grip on authority which is supported only through sheer power, and means nothing without a juggernaut of a military to back it.

The concept of the First Order as a cargo cult has potential behind it and, while I do not think that the writers envisioned this as a subtle meaning, it has potential. It would be a means to change the franchise and offer a different take on events. Instead, it's simply the bad guy. Now, you might think that the meta element to be found in here stems from a comparison with Disney itself. There are criticisms and comparisons which can be made in how they are trying to relentlessly one-up the original trilogy while either copying or calling back to nostalgic feelings to earn cash. Instead, this seems to more widely apply to a multitude of modern franchises.

You can think of any number of classic cartoons, comics or film series which have recently found new life but bereft of their original charm and intelligence. They're the pale shadows, the mimics, the creations with Michael Bay's name attached to them. Often relying wholly on call-backs to prior successes or bringing back older actors, each is an effort to simply survive by reminding people of things they once liked. When another element of the franchise emerges which might differ from this or even overshadow them, efforts are made to supplant, erase, overshadow or simply discontinue them entirely. Purely so that they are the only definitive version of that franchise from here on. Even when they are being critically savaged by fans or reviewers for their failings, they try to drown it out and refuse to re-evaluate their possible problems, and simply press ahead. The First Order isn't a reflection of fandom, it's a reflection of what happens when a beloved franchise is given to the wrong person.

This really was just a stream of consciousness work - mostly due to the heat causing my computer to repeatedly crash - but it seemed worth putting to paper. If nothing else, it's been an excuse to ramble about a few possible ideas to build on for future articles.