Like
Iris, I honestly don't remember watching Star Wars for the first time. I think
I've probably seen the whole series once and that was when I was a young kid so
I don't remember much about it.
I
know most of the big things. I know that Darth Vader is Luke and Leia's father,
I know Luke and Leia are siblings. I know that Yoda is a small green dude who
talks strangely. I know that everyone hates Jar Jar Binks. I know about Leia's
slave bikini (and I remember reading somewhere that Carrie Fisher absolutely
hated that outfit.)
But
otherwise, I remember very little about the movies. So rewatching A New Hope
was like seeing it for the same time.
I
do have fond memories of wanting a lightsaber and of playing with my cousin's
Star Wars figurines. And I did read a few of the Star Wars books though I think
they were about Episode 1. I read one book about the Phantom Menace, but from
Darth Maul's point of view, which is cool. And I read one book from the point
of view of Boba Fett
And
now I feel like I'm making it sound like I was more into Star Wars as a kid
than I was! But I really have almost no recollection of watching the first
three movies. While my parents liked Star Wars, we watched more Star trek when I
was growing up. So I guess you could say I'm part of the notorious Star Trek vs
Star Wars fight that we've been discussing in class, though I do like both, I
just have a preference.
My
girlfriend, however, is so into Star Wars that when we began to watch A New
Hope so I could prepare for tonight's class, she was bouncing in her seat in
excitement and squealing when her favorite characters came on screen. And I
think seeing how much she loved it made me enjoy the movie so much more. I
think sometimes that happens with people we are close to. Passion about media
can inspire others to appreciate it more and I think that's what makes fandoms
so special. A group of people who so ardently love something can sometimes make
you want to look deeper to find out what exactly they are seeing and suddenly,
you're sucked in too. (There’s something to also be said about how important it
is that fandoms also criticize the media they are consuming but that’s a whole
different topic.)
This is so true, the fact about loving a fan in their fandom and using that as a sort of spring board into the fandom. Personally, I have found myself a lot more interested in tea, classical music and t-shirts due to a friend of mine (you know who you is gurl). Experiencing a fandom, an activity, what have you through the lens of a true fan is a great experience. You can tell exactly how much they love what they do and love sharing that with the rest of the world and it's infectious in the best way possible.
ReplyDelete