Star Wars Magic
Star Wars fervor. Better yet, Star Wars fever. That’s what everyone has right now, today, tonight. The newest installment of a worldwide craze starts tonight. And I will be a part of it, thanks to my Star Wars fanatic husband. It will be fun, no doubt. But it leads me to wonder, what is the wonder of such a thing? Is it merely hype? Or is there a deeper magic at work? I’m sure there have been many articles and pieces, possibly books even written on the matter. But what does it mean to me? I’m sure it’s a little different for everyone. For me, the newer installments hold a little less thrill. Don’t get me wrong…I still get excited by Star Wars weekends at Disney World. I still love Chewie and Yoda and especially the Ewoks. But why? Is it simply because it is an ingrained part of my youth and upbringing? My husband and I watched episodes four through six to prep for the latest installment over the last week. In doing so, Jeff was a little concerned that I would be reluctant to take a break from the Christmas movie kick we have recently been on since Thanksgiving. But funnily, Star Wars IS like a holiday movie trilogy to me. I remember one Christmas, long long ago, in a galaxy far far away, getting the Star Wars Trilogy as a family Christmas gift (probably from Santa or something). On Christmas Day, we watched with euphoric wonder in state of post Christmas-present-opening, food coma bliss, making Star Wars seem very Christmassy.
And yet that’s not it. That wasn’t the magic for me. Something else had me. At some point in my adolescence, I turned to movies for answers, for belonging. I felt awkward, different. And only in watching movies, I felt less alone, somehow complete. Like I would find the answers there. In some cases, I did. Yoda was speaking to me. Luke WAS me, going through growing pains as I was going through growing pains. And Han was me, trying to be arrogant, swaggery, tough. Yet he was really a marshmallow. Insecure. No, Leia doesn’t love Luke like that. She’s his sister. Ahhh. And Leia…I was her too. A woman in a man’s world, trying to be both strong and vulnerable, having a tough time balancing the two.
But mostly it came back to Luke. The emotional side of Luke. His infancy, his growing, his attempt at swagger (leave it to Han), his brokenness, his coming into his own strength. Then, ultimately, his real self discovery, realizing he was as weak as he was strong and that was okay. That he could always overcome the fear, the failure, as long as he believed and felt his way through to his courage and his own power, beyond what the force could even give him.
I remember recording actual scenes on a cassette tape so I could fall asleep to them (since I had no television in my bedroom). I did this with a few films - Casper and Edward Scissorhands (yes, I was a teenage girl) and Return of the Jedi. The Return of the Jedi scenes I taped were three: Yoda’s passing away/Luke’s Leia discovery with Obi-Wan; Luke, Leia, and Han on the Ewok village rope bridge; and Luke’s final fight with his father. Each of these scenes had two common threads - emotional “pivotality” and amazing John Williams’ music I felt to my center. As a musical person by nature, these scenes touched me. I felt them. I felt them to my very core. And they affected me up through to today. I must pause to remember this. Because with all the hype, this specialness is easy to forget.
So, some may wonder, what’s the big deal about Star Wars. As I said before, I am sure it is different for everyone. Some love it for its classic awesomeness, the art of an artistic film master and genius. The imaginative timelessness that somehow reaches far beyond any special effects of today. I do not even like the remastered versions of the first three (episodes four through six). The classics were enough. More than enough. They were special and still are. Others may beg to differ. George Lucas even seems to beg to differ, considering how he overrode his own originals (that he made sure are not even available for purchase any more). Some may cling to episodes one through three, especially the younger crowd because these are what they grew up with. I can understand that. Others may be eager for the new BB-8, having sucked off the teats of the cartoon Clone Wars. All of it is great and amazing, special for each individual for their own reasons in their own way. And one thing is for certain, it is not going away. With a new Star Wars Land in the works at Disney World, I look forward for what is to come. But perhaps I will not fully buy into the new fervor. I like the old and what it has done for me. The specialness it held and still holds if I pause and take the time to remember. The magic I try to find and feel through all that I do now as a writer, for who doesn’t want to give and feel magic? Thank you Star Wars.