My Star Wars Story

I was introduced to Star Wars pretty late in comparison to everyone I knew at the time. The sixth movie, third episode, whatever you want to call it, had come out. My sister’s friend took her, and after seeing it, my sister bought all three of the original trilogy, if that’s what you want to call it. She went on and on about how great it was, so we watch them. We went through all of them really quickly, and then started again. We rented the first two of the second trilogy, and then we went to see Episode III in theaters, and I loved it. We watched them all the time. When the last film came out, she bought that trilogy, too, and we watched all of them repeatedly for weeks. We dreamt about Star Wars. We talked about Star Wars. It was all I could think about. We quoted the films and watched them all the time. It was addicting. There was nothing else. We watched all of the DVD extras, and would find our favorite parts again. I bought her a lightsaber for Christmas. My parents went to Disney World without us, and all I wanted was the little, stuffed Ewok. I love him. 

My mom told us that she remembers seeing Star Wars in theaters. She said, “There weren’t other episodes, and it wasn’t called Star Wars: A New Hope. It was just Star Wars.” It was clear that she held some resentment about the renaming of the movie. It’s just Star Wars. She liked the other movies, but not as much as the first one. She won’t watch the new ones. She told me that while all the other girls had pictures of Mark Hamill on their walls, she always thought Harrison Ford was cuter, and I agreed. These conversations with my mom add to my love for Star Wars. It’s something that we are able to share. 

Even 40 years later, Star Wars still has similar effects on new viewers. When it first came out, it only showed in a few hundred theaters because no one thought it would do well. Now, there are 6 films, three more on the way, and parodies all over. While I’m not saying everyone likes Star Wars, it is something that has universal appeal. It’s still extremely popular and loved, and appeals to all kinds of people.

I think it’s really interesting how much of Star Wars has been integrated into other pop culture. I watch Wreck-It Ralph this weekend, again, and there’s a scene where Ralph is under a lake of chocolate, breathing through a Pirouette, and it sounds like Darth Vader’s breathing. Family Guy has Star Wars episodes. There are quotes that get integrated into other shows and movies as a nod to the films. 

Watching Star Wars again this weekend has reminded me of all the feels I had the first time! It’s been a few years, I think, since I’ve watched any of them, and I desperately want to steal the rest from my sister and watch them all. I think a Star Wars marathon is in order.