Way back in time, in a Galaxy far, far away, a little girl saw a movie that reached out and grabbed her, and wouldn't let go. I was five when Star Wars came out, but I didn't see it until right before The Empire Strikes Back. This was back in the days before normal people had VCRs in their homes, and the best one could do was hope for a movie theatre to pick up an older film and run it for a special occasion.
The movie house in Pocahantas, Iowa, did just that in the run-up to the release of The Empire Strikes Back. I don't remember the drive to the theatre, which was 20 miles away, but I remember walking through the doors, into a sea of excited kids, and seeing those words appear on the screen, "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...".
For a least a year before the second movie, my best friend, Kim, and I had collected the Star Wars movie cards, clutching our quarters as we rode our bikes to the store, spending our allowance on bubble gum cards, carefully putting the cards in number order, in a shoebox we kept in Kim's closet (she didn't have younger siblings, so they were safe at her house). We played with her Star Wars action figures, rescued the galaxy, fell in love with Han Solo (we were both Princess Leia, so we had two Han Solos), and snuck her brother's Star Wars ships and other toys out of his room when he was gone.
The audible gasps from the audience when Luke found his uncle and aunt burned to death, and as Darth Vader struck down Obi-Wan were echoed by every kid in the theater. Many of us had been too young to see the movie when it first came out. We all knew the story, but seeing it was something entirely different.
My dad took us to see the second movie in Fort Dodge. Kim and I were so excited we could hardly sit still, while LeAnn was tagging along because the big girls were going. When the movie ended with Han Solo still frozen in carbonite, Kim and I cried the entire 30 minute drive home. My dad was at a loss as to how to console us. "It's only a movie," he explained.
But that's just it - it wasn't and never will be "only a movie."
Yes, the first two prequels were disappointing to many, if only because many of us who saw the earlier films as children expected more of the same, but with better special effects. But the point was, Star Wars was alive again. We knew as children that there was more to the story, and we wanted to see it, hear it, read it. It wasn't the only thing in our lives, but it was a common thread that linked the children we were to the adults we have become. And it links us with our own children, as they discover for themselves the stories of our childhood.
When I saw Revenge of the Sith, when it first came out, it was with my son and two of his friends. We waited eagerly for the movie to start, and sat in rapt attention, barely moving, for the entire film. We gasped when Anakin killed Mace Windu, and when he murdered the Jedi youth. We watched he became what he had to become, in order to fulfill his destiny. And as Luke and Leia were born, and Padme and the last human part of Anakin died, we cried.
But when Lord Vader arose, we cheered with the rest of the theater, for what is Star Wars without him? The villain who will become a hero in the end, to save the children that he did not know had survived until he met a boy named Luke Skywalker. In the end he finds the strength to kill the Emporer, and in doing so sacrifices himself, destroying the Sith.
Revenge of the Sith was released on DVD today. There will be no more Star Wars movies, or so we've been told. But this is a story that can never truly end, as long as there are children who pretend to be Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, or Darth Vader.
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