Enjoyable Does Not Equal Good: Aesthetics Vs. Fandom
People often conflate enjoyable and good. If they like something, it's good. If they dislike something, it’s not. That's too bad. We'd be better off separating the concepts. We can see why by looking at two recent Disney+ shows, The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.
To start, we need criteria for what makes something critically good and what makes something enjoyable. There is, of course, a subjective element to both concepts, more so with enjoyable, though. But that doesn't mean there are no standards. For a television show to be good, it needs several uncontroversial things. It requires a certain level of craft; it needs to look good. It needs to be original, has an interesting story, and be internally consistent. It's easier to be enjoyable, requiring one thing, such as nostalgia, fun, or excitement.
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The Mandalorian checks all the boxes for both good and enjoyment. The craft is there, has movie-level production values on the small screen, and is original. No one has told the story of the Mandalorian diaspora after the fall of the Empire before. Plus, it has new characters that are well-developed with distinct personalities and story arcs. The story is engaging, as evidenced by people's investment.
The Mandalorian became a cultural phenomenon. And it is internally consistent. Mando and Grogu behave in ways that are right for the characters rather than the creators' whims or the fans' calls. No one wanted Grogu to go off with Luke, but nothing else would have made sense. In terms of enjoyability, The Mandalorian has nostalgia, fun, and excitement in spades. Nostalgia in seeing stormtroopers and Luke Skywalker, fun in Grogu's antics, and excitement in both the story and the action scenes.
On the other hand, The Book of Boba Fett manages to be enjoyable without being good (in my opinion). Nostalgia, fun, and excitement are all present in the scene of Boba riding a rancor into battle on Tatooine. But that's also the show's downfall. It's nothing but seven episodes (or five episodes, depending on how you count them) of fan service and nothing more. It is well crafted, capturing the look and feel of Star Wars, but that's as far as it gets. The story is confusing, at best. It's not original, as it just recycles a bunch of old characters from other shows and movies. It's not interesting.
No one was wondering what happened to Boba Fett after he died. And it's nowhere near internally consistent. The two main characters both died in canon before the time of the show. So they had to explain, sloppily, two resurrections. Bib Fortuna was never the kind of character that could take over and run Jabba's criminal Empire for five years after Jabba's death. He was a toady and nothing more.
Why does this matter? Who cares that The Mandalorian is good and enjoyable while The Book of Boba Fett is only enjoyable? Well, Star Wars is famous for its toxic fanbase. Understanding the aesthetics could go a long way towards diffusing the toxicity. If fans could realize that something can be good even though you don't enjoy it and something else can be bad even though you enjoy it, differences of opinion would no longer threaten anyone's identity.
I enjoyed The Book of Boba Fett without ever, for even a second, thinking it was good. It was like watching my eight-year-old friends play with Star Wars toys in the backyard. I enjoyed The Mandalorian, too, but that show was soul-satisfying. It's a show I can watch again and again and still enjoy it. It made me think and feel. Unfortunately, The Book of Boba Fett is a one-watch show. Nostalgia and excitement wear off with repeated viewings. By recognizing why I enjoy the things I like, it's easy to hear someone disagree and just move on. It would be nice if everyone could let people like what they like without fighting about it.
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Source(s): Cinemablend