May 4, 2021
#09: For me, there are and always will be two very different versions of Star Wars.
As of the writing of these words, it’s Star Wars’ highest holiday: May the 4th. Each year on May 4th, Star Wars fans, of all eras, celebrate and bask in their love of the saga. No matter if you are a lover of the Original Trilogy or a Prequel purist, the day brings something for everyone. For me, each year, I’m always reminded of where my love started.
The genesis of my Star Wars fandom is the same as many others: I was shown the Original Trilogy as a kid, and the story captured my heart and imagination.
It started in the cold basement of my childhood home. My dad and I, for some reason, were down there watching TV, and by happenstance, clicking through the channels. We passed by TBS right as Han Solo blasted the prison communicator and said under his breath, “Boring conversation anyway.” Having seen all the movies during their original release, my dad left the channel on, and he watched me watching the scene play out.
Red blasters were flicking through my irises as I watched Han and Luke Skywalker rescue Princess Leia. The trio were cornered in a hallway with no escape, and I was on the edge of my seat. I asked myself, “How are they going to get out?” Only seconds later my question was answered with Leia shooting a hole in trash grate and jumping in, followed by the others. It was here were the movie paused for a commercial break.
My dad asked, “Do you like this?” After immediately signaling yes, he continued, “We should stop watching it. It’s coming out in the theaters next week, and we can go see it.” And we did just that. My father, brother, and I went to see A New Hope on the big screen in January of 1997. We loved it, and we went back with the rest of the family for showings of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. By the time all three were seen, I was hooked. The universe felt alive, and the unanswered questions about what came before and what came after were left to my imagination.
Our imaginations are a powerful part of who we are. Our ability to use it and fill in what’s between the lines separates us from the beasts. It is also my belief that the lack of information in the original Star Wars trilogy is what made us all love it in the first place. It allowed us to use our imaginations and participate in the story. Throw away lines of exposition like Obi-Wan Kenobi talking about the Clone Wars, allowed us to envision what that looked like. When we found out that Darth Vader was Luke’s father, I was able to picture how the fight between him and Kenobi went down.
In the years after experiencing the trilogy for the first time, those unanswered questions were all answered, and in painstaking detail no less. What were the Clone Wars? Here’s a movie and seven season of a TV show that covers it. What was the fight between Anakin and Obi-Wan like? Here’s a 45-minute fight scene and 25 issue comic book tie-in that shows it. How did the rebellion obtain the Death Star plans? Here’s a subpar movie on just that! And so on.
For me, there are and always will be two very different versions of Star Wars. One of them is the continuation of the story by its current owners. Sometimes those stories are exploitive cash grabs, but other times they are emotional, and story driven. (I’m looking at you, Mandalorian!) The other, however, is a fusion between the original story and my imagination. Now that version of Star Wars is truly amazing.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying the story should have ended back in 1983, but I want Star Wars to engage with my imagination again. I want it to leave me asking questions and then have the restraint not to answer them.
It is this engagement, between story and audience, that has made Star Wars what it today.
Thanks for reading.