I heard a story today that someone who’d already seen the new Star Wars was giving away the big secrets. I am not going to be that guy, so if you tuned in just for spoilers, begone, heathen!
For those who aren’t interested in ruination I have another bit of talk to give. No, this isn’t about football, or politics, or what madness has descended upon my life this time. This isn’t even about writing. No, this is about things mattering, and why I think it is important to care about Star Wars.
Let me start by saying Star Wars doesn’t actually matter in any greater sense of the word. It is a piece of storytelling–a mythology designed to entertain and, in a sense, inspire and inform. In that sense you can say that Star Wars is important. You can compare it to some of the greatest stories ever told–stories that people attach meaning to and live their lives by. As we all know, humanity is about popularity. The more popular a story becomes, the more important that story becomes. In the modern era we tend to attach monetary value to such things in terms of marketing, franchising, and the ubiquitous toy rights. However, when you rewind everything to its base you are in fact talking about a story that one person told another person with the dual purpose of entertaining them and perhaps informing them or allowing themselves to reflect on ideas and feelings they don’t truly understand.
By now some of you readers are waiting for the inevitable comparison of Star Wars to religion. That isn’t going to happen. We all accept that Star Wars isn’t real, though the concept of the force is no more ludicrous than a man rising from the grave, another man parting the sea, and, well, you get the idea. The primary reason I won’t compare the two is that religions take on a greater purpose. Star Wars serve the role of being that one great thing we use to mark an era. I remember being alive for the first (4,5,6) three movies and recognizing how that did, in a sense, define a generation.
The new series (7,8,9) as with the last (1,2,3) serves the role of connecting new generations to the wonder we experienced as kids when we first saw a beam of light escape from the hilt of a saber. For that reason alone it matters. It matters to me to remind my kids of what was and what could be.
May the force be with you all.