Nostalgia Through the Years
I have a bend towards all things nostalgic. My parents and brother understand this in me. A couple years ago my dad found an old troll doll (you know, the kind with the straight, fluffy hair) with pink hair in an antique store and gave it to me to for Christmas. He also found an I Dream of Jeanie bottle for me. These nods to my childhood mean a lot to me.
Other people must yearn for that childlike wonder. Furthermore, I think J.J. Abrams knows full well that fans crave nostalgia, and the new Star Wars film delivers.
My brother preordered our tickets to Star Wars: The Force Awakens on October 30th. He went to the theater around 3:45 on Thursday with his fiancé, and got us the second place in line. I went over after work at 4:30. And we waited. We waited, and didn’t mind waiting.
The Star Wars nostalgia started in my family when my dad was in high school. I remember going into his office when I was under 5 years old and watching parts of A New Hope with him on VHS. I remember being with Mom when she found the VHS box set of the original trilogy. We would watch parts of it together, but we didn’t watch The Return of the Jedi until my brother and I were both old enough to handle the Rancor pit and not have nightmares. We had to cover our eyes, but I remember that first sneak peek through the gaps in my fingers and being scared, but curious.
We didn’t see The Phantom Menace in theaters because my parents had heard they cut someone in half and they didn’t think we could handle it. But we did see Attack of the Clones in theater. I remember getting pizza afterwards and speculating about what would happen next. When Revenge of the Sith came out I was sad. Sad for a lot of reasons—because the movie was so dark and because I thought it would the end. I thought, in my young mind, that surely George Lucas would die before he could get to a sequel trilogy.
Thankfully there were books though. So many books that I couldn’t hardly read them all, but I did try. And I still can’t help buying one on occasion. Now that the new movie has come out those books (that I loved) are not part of the universe. I’ve had to adjust my thinking a little, it’s not like this movie is an adaptation of the books so I can’t be annoyed that the writers didn’t follow the books. It’s like there are two possible Star Wars timelines in my head—both valid and both interesting.
So while we waited in line for a movie I had been waiting for since I was fifteen, two boys from the school I work at came to also wait. Two third grade boys. And I felt like I was looking back in time. I was about their age when The Phantom Menace came out, and I can only hope that they feel the same mystery that I felt.
I’m excited to continue the Star Wars journey, and I’m excited for the next generation of fans.
