The Kenblog: Why Star Wars Matters!

 

 

Howdy Folks!  It’s The Kendog!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Believe it or not, there are actually people out there in the world whose universe does not revolve around the cinematic phenomenon that is “Star Wars.”  (I know, weird right?)  They don’t understand the passion, the history, or the overall cool factor that Star Wars brings to the masses who do get it.  To that end, I will attempt to explain the importance of Star Wars, not just to me but to all those who are going to be spending a couple of hours with roughly a billion of their closest friends this weekend when “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” screens for the first time.  Don’t worry: I’m not trying to convert the unbelievers out there.  I’m just trying to help you folks to understand the phenomenon a little more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A lot of what makes Star Wars so special is that it is one of the only film series that qualifies as a multi-generational phenomenon (I guess you could say the same of “James Bond” but other than the Craig films, the Bond flicks are pretty much stand alone pictures.)  I was five years old in 1977 when the first Star Wars was released and the first image of that huge Star Destroyer gliding into frame made quite the impression.  That impression was even further reinforced by the hulking Darth Vader, lightsabers, X-Wings, Tie Fighters, and a planet destroying Death Star.  Were there a watercooler in my Kindergarten classroom, my friends and I would all be around it, talking Star Wars and debating important topics like who was better: Luke Or Han or would Luke beat Darth Vader in a lightsaber duel (remember, Luke and Vader don’t duke it out until “The Empire Strikes Back.”).   It was a time of our lives when we believed in magic and George Lucas and his production team made the world of Star Wars so real that we couldn’t wait to be a part of it again and again.

 

 

 

 

https://youtu.be/2WBG2rJZGW8

 

 

 

 

 

Flash forward three years and “The Empire Strikes Back” releases and the young film series matures much as the audiences have.  I’m a walker toting eight years old now, wise beyond my years in the way of the world and the new debate around the newly installed third grade watercooler is the validity of Vader’s claim to Luke of (SPOILER ALERT!!!) “I am your father.”  Mind. . . BLOWN!   I, of course, believing inherently in the evil of Darth Vader, argued the point that there is now freaking way he could be Luke’s father.  Vader’s The Bad Guy!   (That was the complex crux of my argument, but give me a break, I was eight, after all.)   That the film ended on a cliffhanger with Han on his way to Jabba The Hutt and Luke gaining a mechanical hand made the three year wait for “Return Of The Jedi” even more inexorable.

 

 

 

 

https://youtu.be/C-DeI3ohVbY

 

 

 

 

 

Flash forward again and now I’m ready for the retirement home at the ripe old age of eleven and at the time “Return Of The Jedi” was everything a kid like me could have dreamed of for a final installment.  Bigger space battles, the speeder bike chase (still awesome, by the way), the fight between Luke, the Emperor, and Vader for Vader’s soul. . .hell, I didn’t even mind the Ewoks (the are kinda cute, when you think about it.)   At the time we didn’t think we were going to get anymore Star Wars films, so we watched all three of those first movies with the fervor of a condemned man tucking in for his last meal.   These films were the great adventures of our generation and, during that time, nothing else ever came close to transporting us to different worlds and incredible adventures.   And you have to remember, there was no internet, no overreaching geek community that could anonymously nitpick at every single little detail of every single little frame of film until our eyes and ears collectively bled buckets from all the annoying noise.   The geek community was a localized affair, equally passionate, but not nearly as cynical as it is now.  (For proof of this, head on over to a sight like Ain’t It Cool News and look at any of the talkbacks related to Star Wars, J.J. Abrams or George Lucas.  I guarantee you will be nauseated by the amount of rampant cynicism, fatalism and out-an-out hate posters write under the cover of anonymity.)  It was a more innocent time for those of us growing up in the late seventies and eighties and Star Wars I think reflected that perfect balance of big budget filmmaking with a sole desire to entertain and enthrall.  (Yes I am well aware that it was also a big budget merchandising machine: I had all the toys and played with them until they broke, but it was still a great time.)

 

 

 

 

https://youtu.be/HgY3rOOascY

 

 

 

 

 

More importantly, many of my fondest family memories are rooted in experiences around the original Star Wars movies.  I remember in the summer of 1980, after my parents had already taken me to see “The Empire Strikes Back” the decided to go to the drive in to see something different.  Despite this incredible personal offense to my person (“The Empire Strikes Back” was the only film I wanted to see during that summer) I agreed and we ended up going to see a film starring George Hamilton called “Zorro The Gay Blade.”  My father seemed to be under the mistaken impression that it was an action flick, but it was more of an adult oriented comedy and I didn’t understand at the time that the “Gay” in “Gay Blade” did not mean “Happy.”   As a result, the film was a total bore but there was hope in the air as just two screen to my right there was, before my very eyes, “The Empire Strikes Back.”

 

 

 

 

https://youtu.be/KvJDItC6tE0

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now being eight years old, I came up with a dulcetly clever plan to watch as much of “Empire” as I could.  Of course, being eight years old the plan I came up with consisted solely of asking to go to the bathroom every five minutes or at least at the exciting points of “Empire.”  At this point I have to give my Dad credit for putting up with my crap for as long as he did.  He indulged me three or four times before calling a halt to the proceedings, probably swallowing a gallon of laughter as my rather straightforward path to the bathrooms had a tendency to weave to the right like a drunken sailor.  His tolerance might have also had something to do with the fact that “Zorro The Gay Blade” was an awful movie and perhaps his bladder was experiencing the same level of intolerance as mine.  The end result was that I didn’t get to watch much of “Empire” but I remember my brother and I looking through the back window of the old Blue Volkswagon Bug at the final snow maze chase in “The Shining.”  Good times.

 

 

 

 

https://youtu.be/4wSG3m4VNlo

 

 

 

 

 

Another strong memory involves one of the several times I saw “Return Of The Jedi” in movie theaters.  My best friend at the time was a fellow named Charles Johnson and his father worked at Mather Air Force Base while it was still a functioning base.  About two months after “Jedi” was released, I found out from Charles that the base had a full sized movie theater and were going to show “Jedi” and, oh by the way, would I like to come.  One guess as to my answer, heh.  I don’t know about you, but this was my first time at a movie theater on a military base and boy was it a doozy.  Standing for the Pledge of Allegiance, the screen bracketed by huge American Flags, and the audience was the most polite crowd I’d ever seen a movie with.  The audience cheered when Vader throws the Emperor down the reactor shaft and it was the first time I’d ever experienced anything like that.

 

 

 

 

 

https://youtu.be/_RFYoZ7H67A

 

 

 

 

 

My grandfather wasn’t a Star Wars enthusiast, but fortunately he was a grandson enthusiast.  Not only did he spoil me rotten on Christmas with every Star Wars toy ever made, but he listened to his verbose grandson’s dissertations about the meaning of every scene, every character, and every plot point in the Star Wars films with genuine interest.  I think it was our conversations and his interest in what I had to say, even at such a young age, instead of the toys and other gifts that cemented a deep friendship that lasted and grew until he passed over eight years ago.  That incredibly special relationship had its roots in Star Wars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now by the time the prequels came along, I was well into adulthood, married with a job and so they don’t have the same value to me emotionally as the original trilogy, but I have a niece who grew up with Episodes I-III and thinks the original trilogy is a little slow and lifeless.  And that’s what I mean by multigenerational:  Star Wars has been around for almost forty years and each set of films has a rabid fan base.  Parents can debate the merits of one trilogy over another with their children now and each film in the series can be a shared experience.  I don’t care how flawed the prequel films are (and they are flawed, make no mistake) but watch “The Phantom Menace” with my niece and watching her eyes light up when Darth Maul activates his double lightsaber the same way my eyes lit up when first watching “A New Hope” twenty-five years earlier is a special sort of magic that can’t be replicated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I guess what I’m saying is that Star Wars fans love not just the movies, but the whole life experience that being a fan of Star Wars brings to the table.  Yes, it’s geeky, nerdy, or whatever derogatory term you wish to ascribe to it, but the experience is also passionate, loving, loyal, and a whole lot of fun for those of us who choose to embrace it.  In a world that is increasingly lacking in magic, wonder, and altruistic intentions, I think it a fine notion to be an adoring fan of the Star Wars universe and it’s a notion I embrace wholeheartedly.   I will be seeing “The Force Awakens” at the Esquire IMAX tonight at the first seven o’clock showing and I’m sure that it will be an absolute zoo with massive crowds, overly intense cosplayers, and a sense of chaos that makes your average Black Friday blitz look like an orderly church service.

 

I wouldn’t have it any other way.   SO SAYETH THE KENDOG!