Taking nostalgia out of a galaxy far away
Let’s start this one by taking something out of the equation. Nostalgia.
It may surprise you, but those original films weren’t on my radar for many years. I have no nostalgia for the 70s and 80s films over any of the others.
In our household growing up, anything that far into sci-fi would be seen as (shriek) a bit nerdy. Star Wars often got bundled together with Star Trek, I think. Even today, if you approach these films with anyone, you either get the “you’re one of those” look or a friend for life.
So the Sky box (one channel at once then, folks) was often booked up with football matches. That’s a fandom I truly have never understood. You’re pulling the “you’re one of those” look, aren’t you!
I watch Doctor Who too.
Back to Star Wars. Sure, I saw a prequel back at university when the done thing was to go and watch films. But what I saw was a film in the middle of the series. So for me, it was a film about a good guy turning bad without the whole build-up.
I also vaguely remember a school history teacher nearly stopping a lesson to discuss how a character named Jar Jar had ruined the whole thing.
Some years later, a friend at work loaned me the DVDs. I watched them from the film labelled 1 to the film labelled 6, which is apparently the wrong order. It’s supposed to be four to six and then one to three. But the DVDs were in order, so…
The “I am your father” reveal was met with… yeah, I know.
The sequels came out in 2015. I had a 3D TV and loved the way these films looked on it. They were about two hours of fun: good guys versus bad guys, laser battles in space. Much like with Ghostbusters, I felt the new cast were every bit as good as the old ones.
Admittedly, that last film in the series felt a bit disjointed. But I put that down to Carrie Fisher sadly passing away before the planned film. I would be interested to know how that story was originally supposed to end.
A lot of people cherish those original films. They perhaps have childhood memories attached to them.
I know from that school class they do.
But watching without that nostalgia, the more cartoonish corners of the films were always there. The Ewoks spring to mind. It’s always been a family-friendly thing.
I think seeing all the films as an adult removed that for me. I didn’t have a “my Star Wars” view.
What was left, though, were movies I had a good time with.
It’s also perhaps the best example I can think of of the cycle of nostalgia. A new film comes out, the older crowd hate it. But that’s okay. New eyes do like it. Fast forward a decade, rinse and repeat.
But when Beetlejuice came back? Now there’s one I did have nostalgia for.
Would it affect how it landed?
I’ll catch you in the next one.