The Worst Star Wars Movie Was A Generation’s Greatest Work Of Art?
Movies are art. No one would contend with that statement. Though many would claim (rightfully) that some movies are clearly more artistic than others. Even if art is subjective and on a spectrum it will be easier to put some movies in the art box than others. Would anyone put Star Wars in the truly artistic box? Probably not, save one.
Art critic Camille Paglia wants American culture to embrace the story of art, which is why in her 2013 book Glittering Images: A Journey Through Art from Egypt to Star Wars, she contended that George Lucas‘ Revenge of the Sith is the greatest work of art created in the previous thirty years.
Art critic Camille Paglia contended that George Lucas‘ Revenge of the Sith is the greatest work of art created in the previous thirty years.
We’ll give you a few moments to let you process that. Maybe she watched Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith with the sound off?
In an interview with Vice.com, Paglia worked to back up her Star Wars claim. She began by saying, “The long finale of Revenge of the Sith has more inherent artistic value, emotional power, and global impact than anything by the artists you name. It’s because the art world has flat-lined and become an echo chamber of received opinion and toxic over-praise.”
She then went on to say, “It’s like the emperor’s new clothes — people are too intimidated to admit what they secretly think or what they might think with their blinders off…
I had considered using Japanese anime for the digital art chapter of the book, but it lacked the overwhelming operatic power and yes, seriousness of Lucas’s Revenge of the Sith.
On the one hand, if Paglia was genuinely moved or affected by Revenge of the Sith, good for her. For us, the Star Wars film simply doesn’t work on a cinematic level at all. It was dull, tired, and stale, in spite of its keen visual eye.
Cinema is far more than just visuals, and the only way Revenge of the Sith would seem to be the greatest work of anything is if your sample size is limited to Episodes I, II, and III.
That being said, it’s hard to argue with at least the premise of her statement’s thesis. If the idea is that many people didn’t recognize the inherent artistic value of Revenge of the Sith because they were preconditioned to not like it, then it needs a reexamination.
Additionally, if the prevailing artistic critique from Star Wars fans was akin to groupthink without anyone “brave” enough to point out the movie’s art, then yes, we were all looking at the emperor with clothes (to use her analogy).
Then again, maybe we’re all wrong about this one. Maybe in 30 years we’ll see Revenge of the Sith in museum galleries and the centerpiece of stimulating lectures on art history in the digital world. If that’s the case, let’s hope this sequence will be on museum walls for all time.
Star Wars’ Revenge of the Sith as the greatest art of a generation? It’s a tough one to swallow. But maybe we were just a bit too hard on it the first time around, especially considering we’re still talking about it today.
