For as long as I can remember, "Star Wars" played a significant role in my childhood as did a number of films and fictional films from Lord of the Rings to Batman and more. "Star Wars" however, was the first major motion live action film that I witnessed as childhood as I fell in love with it. There was something about the idea of having the force, flying into space, and loving the bad guy that was interesting let alone fun and enjoyable. This article is dedicated specifically to the impact Star Wars has had on my life and how it has grown throughout. Now, strap yourselves in for lightspeed as we go down memory lane!
The Original Trilogy.
While I had a number of favorite childhood films in the late 90’s, none had a large impact that was greater than the original Star Wars trilogy. I was first introduced to Star Wars by my father in 1998, less than a year before then release of the first prequel installment, "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace." This was a time before Blue-Rays, DVD’s and the countless remastering editions that were released by Lucasfilms. This was the time when VHS was still popular, an elegant movie player for a more civilized age (no Star Wars pun intended…okay maybe). I remember sitting in front of the T.V. with my 4 brothers at the time as were in awe and blown away by just how amazing the trilogy was. While my siblings became greatly attached to Luke, Han, R2-D2 and countless others, I personally was drawn towards the dark side of the force. I thought that Darth Vader had the coolest looking helmet, uniform, and lightsaber. Beyond his appearance, that deep, heavy breathing voice did not fall short of awesome. From then on, I found the dark side to be even greater than the light side, something my mother was not too comfortable with. It is not every day that your son is a fan of evil after all. The idea of an empire sounded more appealing and cool than a republic, fiction wise. As we continued to watch the trilogy, I remember my jaw dropping in absolute shock when Darth Vader revealed himself to be the father of Luke. I honestly could not believe it! This was probably the first time that I was mind blown in my life, which is pretty awesome when you think about it. By episode VI, I remember crying towards the end as I saw the true face of Darth Vader, a man full of regret yet hope for his son to not make the same mistakes as he did. As Darth Vader’s body was given an honorary funeral, I couldn’t help but cry, something my brothers laughed at me for. The interesting part about enjoying Star Wars growing up was connecting it back to the Gospel, from the battle of good and evil to temptation and consuming of sin and darkness and redemption and forgiveness between Darth Vader and Luke. I guess I have always been known to be analytical about film, which really is not a surprise.
The Prequels.
Fast forward to about a year later when the Phantom Menace was released in 1999. While I have a distaste for the prequel series, I loved them as a child. The idea of a double bladed lightsaber was absolutely amazing. I remember when I was a kid, my brothers and I would reenact the lightsaber duel between Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn against Darth Maul with our plastic baseball bats. In the fight scene, Darth Maul actually performs a force jump flip from side to the other and as a child, I tried to reenact this flip only fail over an over again. On Thanksgiving however, as we were reenacting the fight in the backyard, I remember performing and landing the flip for the first time in my life! I was so proud of myself! This was the only time I succeeded as I had a large amount of trouble trying to perform a flip again to the point where I gave up. A few years later in 2002, the second installment of the prequel series was released in theaters, "Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones." I was not too attached to this film compared to the other episodes. Even then, I did not understand why the dialogue about sand was important let alone necessary. I did however catch on quickly to the symbolism of Anakin losing his arm in the battle with Count Dooku due to the fact that Anakin cut off his own son’s hand as Darth Vader in Episode VI. And then came the final installment of the prequels, "Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith." This episode was highly built up for me in hype as countless toys, video games, and television programs were released before the film itself. The original series "Star Wars: Clone Wars" (2003-2005) on Cartoon Network was one of the best series I remember watching growing up. General Grievous was highly built up in the series so much so that I was pretty disappointed insignificant he was in the third film. "Star Wars: Battlefront" (2004) & "Star Wars: Republic Commando" (2005) were one for the first Star Wars video games that I absolutely enjoyed and replayed constantly with siblings and friends. Later on would eventually be "Star Wars: Battlefront II" (2005), and "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed I & II" (2008 & 2010). When the third film was finally released, I remember begging my father to take me and my friend Daniel to go see it. Again, while I have my difficulties with the prequels due to my critical and analytical mindset, I enjoyed the film as a child. While it is really cheese and cliché to me now, Anakin breaking Padme’s heart broke mine as well. I also remember crying tears of sadness for Anakin when Obi-Wan cut off his limbs and yelled, “You were the chosen one! it was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them! Bring balance to the force, not leave it in darkness!” As Anakin yelled back, I hate you!” I continued to cry, knowing the relationship they had built throughout their time together. Lastly, Obi-Wan’s words stabbed my heart as he said, “You were my brother Anakin! I loved you!” It really made think and wonder if Obi-Wan broke the Jedi code due to the fact that Jedi’s are not allowed to love and if his love for Anakin played a role in Anakin’s fall from the light side. The things you wonder as a child.
Present Day.
While I still appreciated Star Wars over the years, the impact began to decrease as there was a long silence of no films. There was a large amount of rumor for a 7th sequel or spinoff series but nothing took off. When the news was released that Disney bought out Lucasfilms and were planning on filming a 7th installment, I become greatly conflicted as to what this meant. Could it be a better installment than the prequels? Will the hype be sucessful? In November of 2014, the first teaser of "Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens" was released as it exploded all over the internet. At first, I was like “Is this low budget?” Because let’s be honest, it felt like that for the first 10-15 seconds. When I saw the X-Wing fighters, I knew that it was the real deal and when Kylo Ren unleashed his triple bladed lightsaber, I was absolutely blown away but just how awesome it was! Was that even possible? Heck yes, it was! Half a year later, the first official trailer was released in April of 2015, which again exploded on the internet. It started off really well with the cinematography as Luke was giving his monologue. When Darth Vader’s burnt helmet made an appearance, I literally gave out a shriek of happiness as I became super excited! As I was being mind-blown by everything I was taking in, I nearly cried at the end when Han and Chewie made their appearance after 32 years! Later in the month of October, the second trailer was released which continued to blow my mind as I had more of an understanding of Kylo Ren, Ray, Finn, and everything else. When the time came for the film’s release, my friends and I all met at the Chinese Theater in Hollywood, waiting for the films release. People of all ages were there. Children who were just as fascinated as I was when I was their age to elderly adults as old as my father. I could not tell you just how much I enjoyed the film let alone was just excited by the opening credits and main theme. Nearly cried as I had the decade wait was finally over. Since that day, my love for Star Wars has returned as the new series is continuing to expand in multiple areas.
Final Words
While we all grow and mature into adulthood, we never forget the moments and memories that have made our lives amazing and memorable. We may grow out of childish behaviors and attitudes, but we do not forget our childhood. We keep the memories that we greatly care and cherish about that continue to play into our lives today, whether that is something like Star Wars or something else that we are passionate about. What has been your impact by Star Wars? Thank you for reading my story! Leave a comment below to let me know your thoughts and may the force be with you on May the 4th!
