In the summer of 1999 I fell in love with a movie franchise. I had seen clips of older films in this franchise a couple of times and thought it was cool but this was the first time I was actually seeing it in theaters. I was also sick as a dog the day we went to the theater. I was feverish and on the verge of throwing up (something I had not actually done since 1993) but I told my stepmom I was going to go no matter what. This was in the time before recliners and seat reservations so you had to get to the theater sometimes an hour in advance if you wanted a good seat. I am not sure when we got there or how long it took us to get popcorn and drinks, if we got popcorn and drinks. Like I said I was in a fever dream of existence and remember very little other than the film itself.
So we arrived at the theater and made our way to our seats. Sadly the only seats available were the very front row. Like I said this was before recliner seats so sitting in the front row usually meant craning your neck back like you were looking for UFO’s or a solar eclipse. Now because I was too sick to be going to the movies I was curled up in my seat shaking with fever so I actually didn’t hurt myself because I was small enough and sick enough to curl up and watch. We got comfortable and then the lights went down…
Black screen, blue letters. “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…”
Horns ‘BUM BUM!!!’
We are off on a galactic adventure that had not been seen in theaters since the release of Return of the Jedi in 1983, 16 years earlier. This time there were more Jedi though. More ships, more aliens, more lightsabers, more of everything. It was a beautiful moment and I fell in love with this galaxy far, far away. I was pulled into this fantastic place of wonder and excitement. I think had anything been different about that day I would not have fallen so hard for this franchise. The front row, the fever, and everything else made it special and memorable for me 25 years later.
Soon after I was in a truck stop with my dad as we traveled for something and I asked if I could buy a book from the little spinning rack because I had finished all the books I had brought with me. I was and still am a ferocious reader when I make the time for it. That book was Star Wars The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime by R. A. Salvatore. I know a lot of Star Wars fans hate this series but I loved pretty much every book in it. I was in love with Star Wars at this point and I needed everything. I read almost every book written up to that point. To this day my largest collection of books is my Star Wars books at around 40-ish books, and I have donated about half of them since getting married in 2012.
I read everything and I even re-read books in the series, because why not. This was pretty much the only kind of book I would read through High School and College (Stephen King started making an appearance around 2002). When I finally got to college the internet was more readily available and I would spend hours just reading articles on Wookiepedia. I learned about lightsaber colors and fighting styles. I learned about Sith and Jedi from before the prequels. I started reading Star Wars comic books and collecting those. We would have discussions about Star Wars at lunch or dinner and I was always the one with the answer to some question. When I worked at a summer camp sometimes they would have Stump the Jedi and I would sit in a charge and answer questions from campers about Star Wars.
I wasn’t a crazy nerd wearing Jedi robes (outside of sanctioned costume events) or anything I just loved Star Wars books. I still do to be honest they were great reads and they probably kept me out of some more serious trouble. I learned right and wrong form these books, Jedi vs. Sith, Rebellion vs. Empire, and all those things. Yes there were clunkers and ones written before the reveal of Luke and Leia being brother and sister that skirted the line of incest. There were ones written by misogynists’ that didn’t really understand Leia’s character. There were books written that just re-hashed old storylines but with different characters.
Now I didn’t read al of the books. If they didn’t have Luke, Han, or Leia in them I usually steered clear but I read prequel stuff and high republic stories. I can’t say that I was an expert on ship classes and names either. I think I needed to be slightly more of a gear-head to know all of those. I mean I knew the basics, x-wing, Millennium Falcon, y-wing, star destroyer, death star, Naboo fighter, and AT-AT walkers. I could not name every Jedi but I could have held my own in a lot of conversations. I had a favorite Jedi that was not a main character (Kit Fisto was the best and everyone agrees). I knew why Mace Windu had a purple lightsaber and not a blue or green one. I knew that George Lucas would tell people Yoda was a frog when they asked what species he was. I was an authority on Star Wars and had you asked me in 2012 a subject I could talk about for 30 minutes straight without stopping it would have been Star Wars.
Then Disney bought Star Wars and all of my expansive knowledge was flushed down the toilet. I fell out of love with Star Wars and was very disappointed with The Force Awakens. Then The Last Jedi came out and I remembered what it was about Star Wars that made it cool. Of course that was destroyed when Disney capitulated to fascists and racists to make Rise of Skywalker but that is a topic for another day. The Last Jedi is the bets Star Wars movie unequivocally, the originals set a standard but for movie and storytelling they are mid-level films. I know blasphemy but I can go into that another time if you so wish just right now I am talking about why I am an authority on Star Wars pre-2014.
Anyways I am not the big Star Wars nerd I used to be and all of my brain cells that stored that knowledge I am allowing to absorb new information and content. I still know a lot of stuff but I find myself more and more looking information up because it has slipped away with the passage of time. I never watched the Clone Wars cartoon (I have always been an ardent hater of Episode II so it never pulled me in). I still never read the x-wing series of novels, I like Wedge Antilles but more as a side character and not as a lead. I will never understand how much people love Boba Fett, even with the books written before and after he is this iconic god-like figure and he is just lame in his first appearance.
I have found myself recently re-visiting some of the older stuff and re-watching the movies with my youngest, he really likes saber sabers as he calls lightsabers and jar-jar bink-binks. I have felt that passion I felt 25 years ago. Will I go see another movie if it comes out? Probably, I am sometimes a sucker for punishment.
So while I am no longer an authority I was for a short time in my life the most knowledgeable about a topic amongst my friend group. I guess 15 years is a good time to hold a title, right?
The Fresh Persepctive 