I just read a rather interesting post by Ross Douthat, made in responding to Michael Lind’s criticism of Star Wars as “primitivism”. Douthat argues that the prequels were more like Lind’s preferred Star Trek, writing:

“…the lost Old Republic that the rebels fight to restore in the original films was revealed to be , well, ‘a sort of galactic League of Nations or UN,’ with the Jedi Knights as its peacekeeping force and the lightsaber as the equivalent of the blue helmet.

For Lind, then, I can only assume that watching the prequels was an immensely gratifying experience. And for the rest of us, the knowledge that Lind’s prescription for “Star Wars” helped produce three of the most disappointing science-fiction blockbusters ever made should be reason enough to reject his prescription for America.”

I agree with Douthat’s analysis, though not his conclusion. Because, you see, I thought the prequels were better than the originals. No–that’s not quite true. I thought A New Hope and The Phantom Menace were about equally good. Other than that, the prequels were better.

Someday, I’ll have to write a post about that.