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Popular Culture Review
DVD release of the film replaces the older version of Anakin with a younger
version from the newer movies depicted by Hayden Christensen digitally
inserted in its place. This choice not only alters the scene, but erases one actor’s
performance completely in favor of another. Certainly, the “Director’s Cut” of a
given movie is now commonplace. Yet Lucas does not want to simply provide
audiences with an alternate take on the original films. He systematically
eliminates previous versions of the movies and limits access as much as possible
to their former incarnations. It was not until September 12, 2006, that Lucas
agreed to release the original, unaltered trilogy to DVD, albeit only until
December 31, 2006.
For Lucas, Star Wars exists as a “never-finished text” (Johnson 42), yet
he fails to take into account that the films as they were, complete with sparse
(and sometimes lacking) special effects by today’s standards, enthralled
moviegoers all over the world. Bloo’s appropriation of Darth Vader’s dialogue
brings up the question of textual authority and ownership. Star Wars exists as an
essential component of American popular culture, and as such, the culture which
brought the films to mythic status feels a sense of ownership over the story.
Lucas holds all creative reigns over the Star Wars universe, deciding which
events are “canon,” and changing the story at will. While as author, he certainly
has the right to amend his own material, he stands on a precipitous point. He
runs the risk of completely alienating his audience permanently when he tries to
stifle the ability of the film’s fans to make the films their own, perhaps
expanding or altering details of their own in their imaginations, by writing fan
fiction, or creating their own movies. Bloo may completely misuse dialogue
from Star Wars, but he exerts ownership over the material, making it his own.
“Challenge of the Superfriends,” as the title implies, also takes aim at
comic book superheroes, who may also be found in cartoon or movie versions,
and are now “part and parcel of modem pop culture” (Fingeroth 23). Movies
like the X-Men or Splderman series appeal to a wide audience, no longer strictly
the domain of a small cadre of fans. Imaginary Man and Nemesis exemplify the
superhero and the villain. Imaginary Man’s appearance is hyper-masculine,
complete with bulging muscles and booming voice. He always shows up in the
nick of time to avert disaster, and especially to thwart the plots of the aptlynamed Nemesis. He also uses the invented term “awesomerific” as his official
catchphrase. Nemesis dresses primarily in black, although she sports an
alarmingly large mane of pink hair, and pink accents on her clothing. She
constantly seeks to destroy Imaginary Man, primarily by wielding pansies, his
kryptonite.
The gender stereotyping continues as the episode unfolds. Danny
Fingeroth writes, “Somehow, the superhero—more than even the ordinary
fictional hero—has to represent the values of the society that produces him”
(17). “Challenge of the Superfriends” deftly forces the viewer to question what
these values might be, and how they relate to both boys and girls. The episode
blurs the line between Imaginary Man and Nemesis expressing gender