Can you enjoy part of a story without enjoying all of it? Can you ignore part of a story and just enjoy the rest- or even pretend that the ignored part doesn’t even happen?
I’d argue yes. For me, the most relevant example is the "Star Wars" sequel trilogy. To understand how much I like "Star Wars" take this info as you will: I have a tattoo on my right wrist of the Rebel Alliance insignia and back home in Greensboro I attend a "Star Wars" dnd-style pen and paper group every week.
I was super excited to go see "The Last Jedi" when it came out in December. I even had a countdown on the door to my room in my apartment. I’m surprised my roommates didn’t kill me for how much I talked about it.
I didn’t super enjoy "The Force Awakens" but I didn’t hated it. Luke is my favorite character (possibly in all forms of media) so I thought "The Last Jedi" would be all about him kicking butt and being the optimistic cinnamon roll he is.
Needless to say, that isn’t what I got.
My own opinions on why the movie is awful aren’t really the point of what I’m trying to say.
I don’t like the Sequel Trilogy- does that mean I no longer enjoy "Star Wars"? ((Which would just be awkward consider again, I have a tattoo for SW)).
No. I love Star Wars, for me it’s movies 1-6 ((Yes, I like the prequels.))
It’s the comics that I’ve read and enjoyed ((Seriously, go read the Vader Comics. The new canon of how Vader found out about Luke is just jaw-dropping and amazing)).
(((Do I need to tag spoilers for a movie that came out in 1980?)))
It’s the video games like "The Force Unleashed" and "Knights of the Old Republic".
Heck, sometimes it’s the fanfiction I read too. Honestly, after some point it’s not uncommon for the lines of fanon and canon to start to blur.
I like the parts that I like. So, what do I do when I am constantly seeing advertisements, gifsets, social media posts about the sequel trilogy? Aside from getting incredibly over-annoyed I just have to brush it off.
((Kylo Ren, aside from being an awful character, is NOT the heir of Darth Vader.))
I consider the sequel trilogy very poorly written Fanfiction. And, in a way, it is since George Lucas hasn’t had much to do with this new trilogy.
For me, "Star Wars" more or less ends after the Battle of Endor. To make a sort of weird connection, think about religion.
(Oh yeah, "Star Wars" has its own religion but that’s not where I’m going with this.)
A lot of people I know, at least, who are religious don’t usually subscribe to every single aspect of their religion. Like, Christians don’t follow every single word of the bible. Or, not usually.
Why not do the same thing with fictional stories?
I don’t really enjoy the fourth "Harry Potter" movie or book, so I usually just skip it. Or maybe someone doesn’t like an arc in a manga or something.
What’s wrong with just skipping? Not a darn thing, in my opinion.
It’s media, entertainment, or whatever- experience how you want to do it.
Personally, I’m just going to keep ignoring the "Star Wars" Sequels and take the anthology films as they come out.
