[Nerdspresso] A Long Time Ago in a Movie Theater Far, Far Away: Confessions of a Middle-Aged Star Wars Fan

It was 1977. My dad took me to the movies, which was a rare treat. My mom had friends over so it was boys’ night out. We hopped over to the General Cinemas at Fashion Square Mall near the Navy base. I wasn’t really sure about this movie. I had wanted to see a documentary about the Lincoln assassination, but my dad reassured me. He said that it had come highly recommended. All his friends said their kids really dug it. 

We sat in our seats and the lights dimmed. The movie started with this simple phrase: “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,” followed by this loud majestic music. Then the title appeared with a prologue that set up the story. It was a time of galactic civil war and the rebels had just won their first victory against the evil galactic empire. As these words slowly ascended, the screen was filled with spaceships. A smaller one being chased by the biggest spaceship I’d ever seen. It went on forever. Star Wars blew my frigging little kid mind. 

I go to every movie since then looking to be transported in the same way. It doesn’t always happen. There have been maybe a dozen times since then that a flick has grabbed me like that in its opening moments. It’s the magic of the movies. It’s the power of storytelling. But could it also be something else? The Force, maybe?

Four decades and so much merchandising later, we have forgotten what a big deal Star Wars was at the time. As an 8-year-old with Star Wars on the brain, I devoured whatever Jedi goodness I could find. I was in deep with comic books, toys, t-shirts, trading cards, records, pajamas, bedsheets and bubble gum. I tied a bath towel around my neck and used an old cardboard tube as a lightsaber to vanquish imaginary Sith Lords.

But that was barely enough to feed the beast (wookiee?). Back in the days before streaming, Blu-ray, and on-demand, if you wanted to see your favorite flick, it either had to be playing at the local picture show or you waited patiently for it to come to network TV. Fanboys soon settled for knock-offs like Battlestar Galactica, the Gil Gerard version of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and Battle Beyond the Stars. Some of these were quite good and created a sweet subset of the fandom and some of them were Star Crash.

Nothing compared to the real thing. Every three years from 1977 to 1983, the faithful masses eagerly consumed a new chapter in the Star Wars saga. In between films, we read tie-in novels and comic books that promised to fill in the gaps. And then following Return of the Jedi, it was over, minus some really awful TV movies featuring Ewoks. It had only been about six years, but that was enough to leave me hungry for more. Oh, wouldn’t it be great if George Lucas would make more movies? Didn’t he say he had a plan for twelve chapters?

Be careful what you wish for, young one. About 15 years after Return of the Jedi, Uncle George released more Star Wars. They were special editions of the original movies to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first flick. They had been re-mastered with better sound, better special effects and some narrative tweaks best not discussed in polite company.

Greedo shot first? WTF??? 

Then in 1999, we got the first installment of a new series of movies that took place about 30 years before the first Star Wars movie, where we meet young Obi Wan Kenobi and his apprentice Anakin Skywalker, who will ultimately become the awesomely evil Darth Vader. I couldn’t wait. These movies sounded amazing.

Some things are better left to the imagination. Turns out all those storylines we concocted as kids while playing Star Wars in our backyards were better than the plots to all three new movies.

The prequels were slow, bloated affairs.  Lucas was more interested in world building and special effects than storytelling. These movies were baloney sandwiches with gourmet mustard on artisan bread. Fancy, but unsatisfying. 

Over the years, nostalgia (and a crappy sequel series) has a whole generation of fans reevaluating the prequels. They appreciate them as eye-popping spectacle and enjoy the tracks they lay down leading to the original trilogy. My disappointment has mellowed, but they’re still not great. They just didn’t come close to capturing that feeling of seeing the original trilogy in the theater for the first time. 

Maybe it was because I was a little kid. Maybe it was because I was with my dad. Maybe it was just that experience of sitting in the dark with a bunch of strangers watching a story unlike anything I’d seen before. I also think it had a little something to do with the fact that I’d spent the previous two decades watching my version of those movies in my head. 

It was going to be pretty hard for anything to measure up to my expectations. Princess Leia could have worn that gold bikini and sat with me while I watched those prequels and I’d probably have been dissatisfied. Well, maybe not, but I digress…ummm, where was I?

Star Wars is now almost 50 years old. That original movie was a game-changer, not just for movies, but for pop culture itself. Star Wars is now in fashion. It’s part of the fabric of our lives. It is freaking everywhere. You can put your baby in a Darth Vader onesie, make dinner in a R2D2 crockpot, and use a C-3PO toothbrush before you climb into your Yoda jammies and go to bed. 

The last 10 years has seen Star Wars return to the screen, both big and small. We’ve gotten a lackluster trio of sequel movies, some cool TV shows and a whole theme park attraction. There are new shows and movies on the immediate horizon. It’s never been a better time to be a Star Wars fan. Here’s where the fun begins. 

Leaving the theater with my dad on that warm summer night in 1977, I never would have dreamed that I would one day take my own son to see a new Star Wars movie. I couldn’t imagine the possibilities of actually sitting in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon or drinking blue milk in an intergalactic cantina while taking a selfie with Boba Fett. 

But I do sometimes wonder if all this flash and spectacle really is better than wielding a cardboard lightsaber while wearing a bath towel cape in my backyard. Now that little kid me has everything he ever wanted, I miss dreaming for something more.  You know, sometimes the yearning is half the fun.  And those movies in your head can be pretty awesome.