'Star Wars: The Force Awakens': Generations of fans unite for the new movie
The first 'Star Wars' movie having debuted in 1977 means that multiple age groups are now participating in 'Star Wars' activities like having lightsaber battles and, of course, going to see the new movie.
The first 'Star Wars' movie having debuted in 1977 means that multiple age groups are now participating in 'Star Wars' activities like having lightsaber battles and, of course, going to see the new movie.
If there was any聽doubt that 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� is more than a commercial Force, one need only peruse social media. Less than two months before the Dec. 18聽release of 鈥淪tar Wars: The Force Awakens,鈥� photos of children dressed up in Halloween costumes inspired by a galaxy far, far away dominated news feeds.
It was like 1977 all over again, when their parents and grandparents sported galactic and聽droid聽outfits and costumes of their own while under the then-recent spell of the original 鈥淪tar Wars.鈥� Some parents in 2015 even dressed up as 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� characters alongside their offspring,聽often boasting Jedi Master/Padawan聽or hero/villain themes.
Lightsaber Battles 2015, originated by flash-mob organization聽Newmindspace, is hosting聽Dec. 18 events in聽San Francisco聽and聽Los Angeles, and聽Dec. 19聽events in聽Seattle聽and聽San Diego. At the time of this post, more than 19,000 had RSVP鈥檇 on the Facebook event page for L.A.
Those mass gatherings of faux-saber-wielding enthusiasts will take place after countless parents, aunts, uncles, and family friends have rewatched the first 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� trilogy 鈥� and possibly the disappointing prequels 鈥� with next-generation fans. 鈥淭he Force Awakens,鈥� in turn, will serve as a bridge between the old and new by featuring the return of much-loved characters such as聽Han Solo, General (n茅e Princess)聽Leia, and聽R2-D2, alongside new favorites, including聽Rey,聽Finn, and聽BB-8.
Composer John Williams has returned to score 鈥淭he Force Awakens,鈥� revisiting some timeless musical themes. Familiar ships are returning, too, with a fallen Star Destroyer, the Millennium Falcon, and scores of X-wing and TIE fighters eagerly spotted in popular聽鈥淔orce Awakens鈥� movie trailers. 聽
鈥淚n the past few years, we鈥檝e really seen the Internet diversify in a way it wasn鈥檛 before,鈥� says Luke Y. Thompson, editor of聽The Robot鈥檚 Voice,聽a pop culture website. 鈥淪tar Wars fandom is easier to find ... online versus fans of 鈥楢kira鈥� or 鈥楩irefly鈥� or whatever else,鈥� he adds. 鈥淭he principle, though, is the same ... there are millions out there who share the interest, and once that awareness hit it became OK to say so in public.鈥�
The science fiction franchise鈥檚 immeasurable influence could be also be seen in viral pictures of Star Wars sand sculptures in Japan by the artist聽Katsuhiko Chaen聽and a statue of Vladimir Lenin in Ukraine that was transformed by fellow artist Alexander Milov into聽a paean to Dark Lord and original antagonist Darth Vader.
Where a 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� enthusiast was once a stereotypical male nerd, that fan base now spans all the way to the Obama administration, which issued a humorous response to a聽whitehouse.gov petition for a government-built Death Star.
Even the popular ad line might need to be changed to 鈥淏aseball, apple pie鈥nd Star Wars.鈥� In 2015, 25 of 30 Major League Baseball teams held Star Wars-related events at their home ballparks. Minor League Baseball (MiLB) squads, in turn, hosted 46 Star Wars-themed games this past season. (The winner of the 2015 MiLB alternate themed聽Jersey Joust聽was the Potomac Nationals鈥� Lando Calrissian top, with other Star Wars graphics featured on another seven of the 80 entries.) 聽 聽 聽 聽聽