Uhhm. No ones forcing anything upon you dude. Like I said, they're just movies. NOT a cultural phenomenon. Just very succesful movies. They're not part of our heritage. They're entertainment. Meant to pleasure us, not teach us. And why not give Homer a word processor? Bet he sure would have appreciated it then. And the films are still appreciated as landmarks for technical and special effect breakthroughs. In no way have they been weakend.
I still dont understand why a person cant revisit his earlier work and touch it up. What, when he releases it, it automatically beolongs to the people? C'mon. If anything, the movies are HIS intellectual property. His works of art, He spent his own money on. For what? To pleasure you. Not to teach you. To make him money? Maybe, but he doesent need it. He's making loads off the technical advancements he's developed. Let alone THX, ILM, Skywalker Sound. Digital film making. Most probably he's only making them because he wants to. Who the hell has the right to tell him "NO, you cant do it." And why would anyone do it?
Watch the trilogy DVD commentary. Empire wasn't really acclaimed by many of the fans. Why? because it was different. It didn't have that happy, kiddy feel of the first one. It was darker, menacing, had a downer for an ending. People left feeling bad. They were dissapointed. 5-10 years down the line, its pritty much everyones favorite. Because they got used to it, they saw it as a part of a bigger picture. As will happen with the first three films in time.
Its not about culture, its not about making a mythology, its NOT IMPORTANT. They're just movies. Like star trek. Stargate. Dirty Dozen. Driving Miss Daisy. Resevoir Dogs. Mary Poppins. They should not be taken seriously. They can't be worshipped. Its make believe, its something you spend a few hours watching. A play. Entertainment.
So if someone goes back to his older work, sees a few flaws, and touch them up. So be it. Its his vision, he can do what the hell he wants. Its not a travesty when he replaces something that was heralded as landmark. Why? Cause you can still see the old stuff if you want to. Just pop in your vhs. And to all those people who wish the original non remastered, non special edition on dvds, its possible. Find the japanese Laserdiscs and burn those on dvd. They are out there.