I don’t know exactly when I latched on to this franchise, but Star Wars spoke to me as a kid. I didn’t look at it as being well or poorly directed films. I didn’t analyze the special effects. There was nothing about the script that said, “Oh, this is a play on the classic Greek hero’s journey.” All I knew for certain, after seeing the movies, was I wanted to be a Jedi and save the day, or maybe a Smuggler and travel the galaxy with my Wookiee co-pilot, there were times when I thought it would be cool to be like Boba Fett or even Lord Vader and not let anyone stand in my way. I just fell in love with the idea of being in the Star Wars universe. It was all magic and special to me.
More remembering the joy of Star Wars after the Jump…
Now, we are getting close to the release of something that will actually be bigger than anything in existence for this franchise. For the most part, there has been excitement and joy, especially when most of us found out around three years ago that this MMO game was being created. But as we get closer to the actual launch, we have started to become jaded, calloused and cynical. When did we get the right to take ownership of this franchise and claim we know what is best? Who deemed we know how this story should be told, directed, edited or even cast? Yes, this is near and dear to the hearts of everyone who love Star Wars, but I know for certain my younger self would tell me to “shut-up old man, you are ruining the story.” We all love this world that George Lucas has created and that so many others have added to by their views through, comics, fan fiction, novels and videogames, including this very large and ground-breaking MMO game, The Old Republic. We all need to go back there and remember what it was like to want to be that hero in our Star Wars dreams.
I have had the great opportunity to introduce the Star Wars universe to my nieces and nephews, my younglings and padawans. Yes, I showed them about the magic of Star Wars and the Force, but they are the ones who have taught me to see it all again through their eyes. The pure joy and wonderment of every new detail and their eagerness for more, no matter what the content was or the amount, to them it was something new and held the “wow” factor. They get to see the same Friday updates that I see and yet, the ones I’m just sighing about, they say with excitement, “Really, that is part of the game?” as their jaws drop open from amazement.
My “charges” in the Force, may have gotten the Star Wars bug from me, but they are the ones who have taught me how to find that young boy who first dreamed of that place…A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.
So, now we’d like to know what captured your heart and made you fall in love with Star Wars. Can you describe it?
Did you have a memory like an earlier CRR article showed of the boy finding out that Vader was a certain someone’s father? Maybe even a favorite Star wars videogame that brought back a feeling of being in a Star Wars movie, like the X-wing games. Let us know what you love and can clearly remember about Star Wars, from when you were younger in the comments below.
I remember the music. To this day the opening credits music can still give me goosebumps.
The whole story did such a great job of transporting me into another world and the music powerfully enhanced the impact of the story.
@gamerladyp The music, especially the open score is truly a memory! It transports you to that galaxy 🙂
@Jason
TY for writing this article. What you are doing with your nieces and nephews is exactly how my uncle gave me the “Star Wars” bug. It was my treasured memory as when the uncle, who had just moved back to town, took all of us cousins for a night, bought us all Star Wars figurines, and lets us watch all three movies in one night. From that night on Star Wars has been a constant in my daydreams. Let us enjoy a new story in the galaxy far, far away, that we love.
I remember going to see the first movie with my mom and brother, totally oblivious to the cultural impact that Star Wars was eventually going to have on the world. It happened to come out at the same time that Close Encounters of the Third Kind was out, and I remember people trying to compare the two, just because they both had something to do with things from outer space. Nowadays, no one would ever ask, “Which did you like better, Star Wars or Close Encounters,” but that summer, people asked it all the time.
Also, Star Wars re-energized the whole fantasy/adventure genre. Aside from the occasional Sinbad movie, people weren’t really making these types of movies anymore. Funny to think about that in this day and age of comic book movies.
Oh! Also, Star Wars is generally given credit for starting the tradition of summer blockbusters. I believe Jaws was also a summer release, but in general, the movie industry was still avoiding releasing movies in what they considered the summer doldrums season.
@remmyngton Thanks your comment! I’m glad it help bring back memories with your uncle. It is great to remember how the movies transported us and let us be the heroes. Yes, there are some themes to give someone pause for thought, but they were made for fun and to give us, like Kathy mentions, the blockbuster movies again.
There are room for movies to teach me, discus political views, etc., but after movies like Star Wars, and its success, it was okay to director and produce “popcorn” movies. Kathy is also right, where would today’s superhero movies be without the notion of summer blockbusters or all the special effects?
There is so much to complain about in this day and age, but I hope we can just even for a little bit, remember the joy we get from Star Wars and franchises like it. 🙂
Seeing Star Wars (Ep 4) at age five is actually one of my earliest memories. It was a family affair. My parents and myself (only my sister at age fifteen didn’t go, she was too cool I guess). It was my first drive-in I ever went to and it blew my young little mind away. That truly was “the big screen.”
@David S. Yes, the drive-in…that was the “real” big screen! We are lucky enough to still have one around this area. The first Star Wars was a huge event!