Movie critics and journalists worldwide say that Star Wars is for kids, and any adults who genuinely enjoy it are nerds, odd, and need to grow up. There are arguments that the characters are too young, the flashy lightsabers are too silly, and the quirky romances are meant for young minds. George Lucas, the original mind behind Star Wars, even stated that it was initially made for twelve-year-olds. However, Star Wars is not just for kids and is far more enjoyable for an adult crowd.
When the movies were first produced in the 1970s, they took the world by surprise. Movie watchers had never seen such expansive space battles and fancy costumes or props. Kids, adults, grandparents, and everyone in between became enamored with the Star Wars universe that George Lucas created. The toy industry took advantage of this and began producing thousands of toys and other Star Wars merchandise. I believe that the sudden increase of Star Wars’s association with these toys is what made it scream “for kids.” The ideals behind Star Wars are very universal. Every person, from young to old, needs to hear the idea of friendship and the moral battle between good and evil. However, the political landscape, morally vague civil war, and mass genocides are why I genuinely believe Star Wars is meant for more than a young audience.
Foremost, Star Wars is a political drama dealing with complex government systems. The entire prequel movie trilogy, which encompasses episodes one through three, is based on the Republic government system failing and becoming an empire ruled by a tyrannical emperor. Democracy is a heavy theme, and only those with a deeper understanding of government systems can genuinely appreciate the plot of the movies. A television show completely advertised for children takes the role of government a step further. The Clone Wars has several episodes that focus solely on political drama, drawing in several heavy themes of ethical warfare and the rights of the living. Entertainment Weekly even states that it may be one of the most political television shows. There are episodes solely centered around senate debates and behind-the-scenes schemes that sometimes take an adult mind to fully comprehend. Children may love the flashy chase scenes but adults are reeled in and shocked by the deep political battles that transpire.
In some cases, Star Wars has been called the Cold War in space. Civil war destroys the galaxy but not in the ways viewers always expect. War crimes, committed chiefly by the “good guys” and the morally correct Jedi, are some of the only reasons the light prevails throughout the saga. Most of the time, these war crimes consist of fake surrenders to catch the enemy off guard, which looks relatively innocent but teaches our young viewers a backwards message about lying and scheming to win. Meanwhile, adults can see this and understand that the “morally correct” Jedi and the light side are heavily flawed and that both sides of the civil war have their good and evil traits. This moral obscurity is another reason why only adult viewers can fully appreciate and understand Star Wars.
Ultimately, there are many times when the themes of mass genocide rule the stage. In the “kids” television show Star Wars Rebels, the main characters discover that the planet of Geonosis has been completely sterilized by the Empire. The first piece of Star Wars media released, A New Hope, shows the Empire annihilating an entire peaceful planet full of life. From the end of the movie Revenge of the Sith, throughout Rebels, the video game Jedi: Fallen Order, and in countless other books and comics, the Sith Inquisitors, dark force-wielders given power by the Emperor, hunt down any remaining Jedi and brutally exterminate them, sometimes including children and infants. These brutal scenes are enough to make grown adults cry and horrify the twelve-year-old audience Star Wars is said to be geared towards.
If the intricate political landscape and morally ambiguous civil war are not enough to convince critics that Star Wars should be more for adults than children, the constant showing of mass genocide and the extermination of entire species should be. Even the most flashy battle scenes include extremely violent amputations, stabbings, and decapitations. Star Wars will always have the best toys, children’s books, and lightsabers, but the media produced is not simply for children. Adults are the only audience who can truly appreciate and understand the vast galaxy far, far away.