Today, a new trailer for Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens was released. It’s difficult for me to write about what Star Wars means to me. In some ways, I’m not your “typical Star Wars fan”. For one thing, I’m too young, I guess. I was born the year Star Wars came out. I remember vaguely my family telling me that they took me to Episode VI when it came out, but I would have been 6 years old, and honestly I don’t remember it at all. My first explicit memory of Star Wars was when I was a junior in high school and I went to a summer camp at Florida State, and one evening the counselors at the dorm arranged for a marathon viewing of all 3 episodes back to back. I remember that I was already a fan of the movies at the time, so I must have seen them somewhere, but I honestly don’t remember where. And, while I was a fan, I wasn’t a Fan, you know what I mean? I just thought they were cool, like very red-blooded kid of that age. Darth Vader was cool. Light sabers were cool. The Force was cool. Girls didn’t like it much, but that was OK; girls didn’t like anything cool.
So, in many ways, my first real “Star Wars fan moment” had to wait until the prequel trilogy came out; Episodes I, II and III, that is. By that time, I was an adult, and I could participate along with everyone else. We saw the trailers, debated the minutiae of them frame-by-frame, bought the early release Burger King cups, then stood in line to watch the actual movie, waiting several hours. It felt like the whole world shut down that day. Watching the first movie, I remember actual really enjoying myself. Jar Jar was super annoying, yes, but other than that, it seemed like fun. It was actually a bit surprising to me when everyone hated it so much. I can recall arguing with my friends a bit; because I thought it was “only mediocre”, I found myself having to defend it against my angry friends. In those days, the internet was absolutely a thing, but it didn’t yet quite have the style-defining importance that it would come to have later. I remember Ain’t It Cool News was really upset at the movie. Talking with my friend Mark today, I realized that one reason that perhaps I didn’t think the prequels were all that bad was because I didn’t have that intimate relationship with the first three that some people had. The low lows required higher highs, so to speak.
Now, I’m further along in life, getting closer to what some might call middle age. And here we are with the third go-around. But there’s a few changes this time. First of all, I now have something to be nostalgic about: namely, the prequels. They happened so long ago now that they define a time in my life. It so happens that, by coincidence, I’m in Austin this week, so it’s doubly poignant in a way. As some of you know, right around the time of the prequels - a bit after them, if I remember right - I spent 3 years working on a Star Wars video game. So to me, Star Wars, and the prequels, are all tied up with that time in my life - a time when I was married, when I had a solid group of acquaintances. When I had people to shoot the shit with - and Episodes I-II-III were very popular shit to shoot, to coin a phrase. It was a simpler time, both for society in general, and for me in particular. And I *am* nostalgic for it; maybe not for the movies, per se, but what they represented for me. The Star Wars movies feel like signposts in my life - the first one came out the year I was born, and the second set came out in a very defining phase of my life. There’s another change this time, too: this time around, our most recent experience is that Star Wars sucked. So there’s a dialectic to confront. I feel strongly that part of the reason people disliked Episode I so much was because they liked Episode IV so much. So it stands to reason that part of the reason people will like Episode VII so much is because they disliked Episode III. And lo and behold, that seems to be happening. The three series of movies form their own arc of three acts - the first good, the second bad, the third a redemption. And this time, I get to participate as an adult. In some ways, these sets of movies represent my life; a great childhood, a rocky transition, and now a bit of a redemption as an adult; a rebirth, if you will.
So, yes - the trailer is good. And I’m looking forward to setting up all six movies on iTunes; even if I have to watch them by myself. And I can’t wait for the new - new - Star Wars.