Reflections: My Journey Into Star Wars

One with the Force

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

A young little Padawan with a habit for watching TV upside down witnessed two droids trekking across a vast open desert. While most of the details were vague and the complete memory of this encounter eludes me, I do somewhat recall there being a sleepover with cousins all gathered around the old Panasonic TV in the sunken carpeted lounge, all on the floor laying around on cushions, most dozing off and others deep asleep already. Except for this little Padawan. By the moons of Tatooine, no slumber could joust me from my science fiction revelry! I was completely enthralled by the big gold droid with his funny quips and British accent and even more so by the little gliding blue and grey dustbin with his whistling toots and hilarious antics. And then those little funny droid-collecting dudes in brown coats that looked like Orko from He-Man. Little did I know that I had just experienced my very first viewing of Star Wars and that this was to be a part of my destiny in the years to come. 

Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?

Volume 14 of Growing Up With Science

Years passed and my recollection of those two droids dimmed. A few years later my father brought home a unique set of Growing Up With Science encyclopedias which I, being the short nerdy bookworm that I was, immediately consumed with gusto. It was here, in Volume 14 of the encyclopedias, that I happened across those very droids under the section labelled "Robotics". The little 'dustbin' droid was busy repairing the leg of the bigger gold droid on what appeared to be a spaceship of sorts. And with the picture, came a caption and a reference. Star Wars. It was a lightbulb moment for me and a flashback to that movie night with cousins. I knew then that, despite everything, I had to see this movie. Already a science fiction nut with movies and series like Star Trek, V, Buck Rogers and more, I craved and crave still for something that was set somewhere in a galaxy far away.

The force is strong in my family

My first cosplay with my little Ewoks

Star Wars was eventually broadcasted onto national TV in the early 90s and I managed to get my parents to tape-record "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" onto VHS cassette for me. Sadly the recording for "A New Hope"  got taped over - the perils of VHS that kids today will never know (break the tab!). Nonetheless, for two younglings aged 10 and 6, this was more than enough. Our first viewing with Darth Vader's famous line "No, I am your father" had us screaming into the TV screen. We loved every minute of it. My brother and I watched and re-watched and re-watched and re-watched Star Wars so many times that we lost count. We make-believe played through every scene, every Jedi encounter, every space battle, every epic daring escape. And, just like the He-Man, Thundercats, Ghostbusters, Bravestar, Robotech and Star Trek franchises, Star Wars became deeply ingrained into our lives and geek psyche.

Over the years, my love of Star Wars and influence reached many more members of my family. The force flowed through me to my brother and sister, cousins and more. Our obsession with Star Wars baffled anyone outside of the circle. Me, being the eldest and wisest of our Jedi order, guided and mentored as best as I could. But honestly, I wondered if there was anyone else in my age group out there in the vast universe that felt the same way.

You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy

Judge me by my size, do you?

Enter High School and the overall awkwardness and dangers of being a comic-loving, short and scrawny geek in the early 90s. It was here, amongst this cacophonous ensemble of bounty hunters, rebel scum and eerie characters that I happened across some scruffy looking nerf herders who shared interests similar to mine. Quite by chance actually. It was in a shared examination room that I spotted an Indiana Jones reference, another Lucas movie franchise that was a cornerstone of my inner geek. The reference was tied to a person, obviously with a high midichlorian count and the two of us, geeky Jedis, bonded over familiarity, movies, comic books, gaming and of course, our love of Star Wars.

These aren't the droids you're looking for

Popcorn boxes from the 1997 Special Editions

Star Wars, like many other franchises that piqued our geeky quartet's interests, became a natural point of discussion, debates and of course, dropping the occasional quote and reference into every day conversations. We collected toys, action figures, comic books and more. I especially LOVED the Timothy Zahn "Heir to the Empire" trilogy that was, in my opinion, the only cannon sequel to Star Wars. Then, of course, in 1997 we got the re-release of the trilogy in cinemas with the "Special Editions" which included tons of new footage such as Jabba the Hutt's appearance in Episode 4: A New Hope. With the remastered versions, came ALL the magic of Star Wars, including Mall events at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, which my brother and I dutifully attended. It was here that my young padawan sibling demonstrated his knowledge of the force...and Star Wars trivia to win a limited Luke Skywalker action figure, which had him beaming from ear to ear like a Wookie on a rollercoaster. We watched all three movies in the cinema, joined by dozens of similar geeky fanfolk like ourselves, making it seem like the very first fan-con in Cape Town.

A disturbance in the force

The hype around Star Wars from 1997 - 1999!

I remember the early news of a new Star Wars movie, a prequel, set before the events of A New Hope, that would cover the life of Anakin Skywalker and his eventual corruption into the dark side as Darth Vader. I remember watching the trailer for the very first time at my friend's house, in the early early hours of the morning. We must have watched it over a dozen times, analyzing every frame and extrapolating on every scene. Next came the marketing hype with Lays chips, Pepsi and KFC jumping into the Star Wars craze with some wacky toys and collectables. Of course, we scavenged all of it like Jawas at a droid buffet.

Adventure. Heh! Excitement. Heh! A Jedi craves not these things.

Then, in 1999, Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace arrived. I'll never forget that absolutely magical feeling. People were lined up, dressed up (I had my micromachines lightsaber strapped to my belt) and most of all, worked up and really excited to see Episode 1. I watched it a total of 4 times in cinema and, well, it was Star Wars but it was different. And I absolutely loved it. At the time, I actually wrote my very first movie review on Episode 1, for a local paper. It was an amazing and fantastic movie, filled with so much substance, so much intrigue, epic space battles and lightsaber duels and breathtaking visuals that blew me away and still does so, 24 years later. Yes, there were corny moments. Yes, we hated on Jar Jar mostly. But this was Star Wars and it was spectacular.

I have a very bad feeling about this

Opinion matters not. Only the Force.

However, not everyone took kindly to the prequels. When "Episode II: Attack of the Clones" hit theatres, it didn't have the same gutsy impact of The Phantom Menace. In fact, most of my friends at the time hated the overall movie. Yoda with a lightsaber going crazy monkey? Why George Lucas, why??!! Well, I thought that was one the greatest scenes to witness, almost as good as the Duel of the Fates from Episode 1. I watched AOTC 3 more times in cinema. At the time, I met a very special lady who I would eventually go on to marry and, yes, we watched Episode II together in cinema and no, it wasn't for our first date. We even got married to the theme track "Across the Stars" and no, I did not need to use my Jedi powers of persuasion for this. It was entirely her choice. "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" arrived in 2005 which is also the year we got married. Episode III brought the prequels and the original trilogy to a full circle and was a spectacular, albeit tragic end to the Skywalker story arc. Or so we thought! 

It's a trap!

The Old Collection

Episode III may have brought the prequels to a close but that certainly wasn't the end of Star Wars. Soon after came the release of the first feature length animated Star Wars movie in decades, "The Clone Wars" which then went on to span a very successful 7-season animated series which got me hooked right back onto the Star Wars marketing trap. Suddenly, Star Wars was everywhere again. From amazing video games such Knights of the Old Republic and Battlefront and Jedi: Fallen Order to board games such as Imperial Assault, X-Wing and Armada to comic books, clothing, toys. Legos and merch. But it didn't stop there. Rumors of a Star Wars sequel, an episode 7, started surfacing and me, being the obsessed fan that I was, hitched a ride through hyperspace for any news of the galaxy's next big event. 

I find your lack of faith disturbing

The naysayers and critics had their opinions about the sequels. "Episode 7: The Force Awakens" released in December 2015 to overwhelmingly positive reviews. However, there were a lot of dark side interpretations of the new Star Wars. Criticism about Ben "Kylo Renn" Solo, about the film's pacing and the re-hashed plotline didn't sit well with a lot of fans. For me, personally, I loved every minute of TFA. This was Star Wars for a new generation and yet it had all the magic, a lot of nostalgia and a chunk load of fan service. Following soon after we got a stand-alone movie with "Star Wars: Rogue One". What a fantastic movie with an amazing story and a jaw-dropping final act.

"Episode 8: The Last Jedi" garnered the same, if not worse, reception that Attack of the Clones had when it released. People criticized director Rian Johnson's take on the Star Wars mythos. For myself, again, maybe this is the fanboy in me speaking, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The defeated shadow-of-his-former-self Luke Skywalker was spot-on perfect. It had humor, it had action, plot twists and above all, it also had one of the best final acts in a Star Wars movie that I have ever seen. Then, finally, we got "Episode 9: The Rise of Skywalker" and here, again, the overall reception was not great. I thought it was a fitting ending. Yeah, it did have a few moments that I felt could have been handled better and with a deeper explanation. But, the mystery of the force and its interpretation thereof is what makes Star Wars so captivating and that was the true strength of TROS. It was also the darkest version of Star Wars that I have seen in a long time. So, to all the critics that have a one-track view of how the Star Wars Sequels should have been handled, remember that "only a Sith deals in absolutes".

No, I am your father

Padawan learners in training

There comes a certain defining moment in every parent's life and one of those moments was in watching through the entire Star Wars series with my girls. We did one movie trilogy over two weekends and it was awesome. They loved Star Wars, maybe not on the overly-geekified level of their Dad but they loved it nonetheless. They each had their own favorite movies (Revenge of the Sith and Rogue One) and they each had their own views and opinions around the force, the Jedi and the Sith. Most of all, we juxtaposed the lessons from the movies into what was happening in the world with phrases such as "Wars not make one great" and "Rebellions are built on hope" and "This is how liberty dies... with thunderous applause".

Do or do not. There is no try.

Okay I admit, we're pretty saturated in Star Wars. With so many series from the successful "The Mandalorian" which set the stage for Dave Filoni's Mandoverse to Obi Wan and Ahsoka, Disney's acquisition of the franchise has ensured that Lucas's legacy will endure for eons to come. For the newcomers and young padawans discovering Star Wars for the first time, this universe can be a little overwhelming at times. But fear not! Just follow your instincts and star somewhere. Start with the prequels or the original trilogy or even the sequels if you like. Or hop deep into the lore with some of the streaming or animated series or the books or comic books, video games, board games or even cosplay. Whatever you do, just do, don't try. I promise you, it's a franchise that is worth investing time into. Yes, there are epic lightsaber duels and ancient prophecies and space battles and riveting action and nail-biting suspense but above all of this, there are central themes: Good VS evil, light VS dark and of hope VS despair is a familiar tale to all and is at the heart of it all. Welcome to a galaxy, far away, welcome to Star Wars.

May the force be with you, always.