A moment of geekdom.
Sep. 21st, 2004 10:09 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
davywavyI was five years old when Star Wars first came out. I know I have earlier memories – isolated snapshots of school, of holidays, of little moments in time. But it’s odd to realise that some of my earliest coherent memories are of a cultural event which ushered in a new era of marketing to children just like I was then.
I remember standing in the a queue which stretched around the building and down the street, people standing in Star Wars t-shirts, advertising a film which they could not possibly have seen yet - and I remember wanting one myself. I remember my mother distracting a group of fractious, excited children by getting us to go and count how many people were in the queue. I remember my plastic container of bright orange, tartrazine-laden Kia-ora. I remember my heart in my mouth as the Star Destroyer rumbled across the top of the screen. I remember, at the moment when Darth Vader first made his entrance, knowing exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up.
And I remember believing.
I didn’t see blue lines around spaceships, stormtroopers hitting their heads, and Alec Guinness waving round a stick. I saw aliens and faraway worlds and robots and adventure amongst the stars. I saw just exactly what George Lucas wanted me to see. I saw bravery and honesty and excitement. I cheered with everyone else when the Millennium Falcon returned at just the right moment.
I remember owning an inordinate amount of Star Wars tat. My prized Darth Vader and R2-D2 action figures were the envy of my five-year-old classmates. I remember how my classmates and I would boast about how many times we’d seen the film. I remember Star Wars lollies on a hot summer day in Park Road playground.
I was reminded of all of this by watching the DVD on the big screen in Virgin on Saturday. For all that time and cynicism have overtaken me, for all that I now find suspension of disbelief impossible and I expect a knowing, post-modern wink to the audience from my media, there was something oddly comforting about watching a film I probably haven’t seen in a decade or more. There’s a part of my childhood there – a big part, from a time when I didn’t have to worry about going bankrupt next week. It’s an escape to a time when I could just sit and believe, wide-eyed, because everything was going to be all right.
I know that when I’m eighty and my cloned cyber-grandkids think I’m a drooling old imbecile fit only to be rendered into cat food and glue, something of this will remain. Because I remember. Because the force will be with me, always.
And I remember Han Solo shooting first. So there.
I think I have to buy the DVD release.
I remember standing in the a queue which stretched around the building and down the street, people standing in Star Wars t-shirts, advertising a film which they could not possibly have seen yet - and I remember wanting one myself. I remember my mother distracting a group of fractious, excited children by getting us to go and count how many people were in the queue. I remember my plastic container of bright orange, tartrazine-laden Kia-ora. I remember my heart in my mouth as the Star Destroyer rumbled across the top of the screen. I remember, at the moment when Darth Vader first made his entrance, knowing exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up.
And I remember believing.
I didn’t see blue lines around spaceships, stormtroopers hitting their heads, and Alec Guinness waving round a stick. I saw aliens and faraway worlds and robots and adventure amongst the stars. I saw just exactly what George Lucas wanted me to see. I saw bravery and honesty and excitement. I cheered with everyone else when the Millennium Falcon returned at just the right moment.
I remember owning an inordinate amount of Star Wars tat. My prized Darth Vader and R2-D2 action figures were the envy of my five-year-old classmates. I remember how my classmates and I would boast about how many times we’d seen the film. I remember Star Wars lollies on a hot summer day in Park Road playground.
I was reminded of all of this by watching the DVD on the big screen in Virgin on Saturday. For all that time and cynicism have overtaken me, for all that I now find suspension of disbelief impossible and I expect a knowing, post-modern wink to the audience from my media, there was something oddly comforting about watching a film I probably haven’t seen in a decade or more. There’s a part of my childhood there – a big part, from a time when I didn’t have to worry about going bankrupt next week. It’s an escape to a time when I could just sit and believe, wide-eyed, because everything was going to be all right.
I know that when I’m eighty and my cloned cyber-grandkids think I’m a drooling old imbecile fit only to be rendered into cat food and glue, something of this will remain. Because I remember. Because the force will be with me, always.
And I remember Han Solo shooting first. So there.
I think I have to buy the DVD release.
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no subject
Date: 2004-09-21 02:11 am (UTC)The post office delivered them yesterday.
...but I wasn't in, so they took them away again. :(
And I hate Greedo shooting first.
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Date: 2004-09-21 02:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-21 02:19 am (UTC)And I remember Han Solo shooting first too.
I also remember having _all_ the Star Wars toys when I was a kid.
I practically had the complete collection of toys as 3 year old (altho it arguably was my dad's collection really) but I only wanted to play with Darth Vader :)
I remember my mother despairing slightly at the fact that I only watched sci-fi on TV and only spoke English most of the time lol
I was a strange kid :)
What is strange about that?
Date: 2004-09-21 02:20 am (UTC)funny isn't it :)
Date: 2004-09-21 02:23 am (UTC)They were in their early twenties, I was 4 *grin*
My dad was proud.
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Date: 2004-09-21 02:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-21 02:49 am (UTC)Congratulations, love.
I hope to be at theIiCC. You?
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Date: 2004-09-21 03:05 am (UTC)thankee thankee, sah.
I shall indeed be at ICC! I'll even wear bells for you.
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Date: 2004-09-21 03:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-21 03:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-21 03:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-21 03:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-21 04:08 am (UTC)Wishing you all the best!
*much supportive vibes*
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Date: 2004-09-21 02:48 am (UTC)Oh, can you email me (pielord @ gmail . com) your address/postcode for SWM?
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Date: 2004-09-21 02:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-21 02:53 am (UTC)Sigh.
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Date: 2004-09-21 02:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-21 02:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-21 04:35 am (UTC)The special edition added it the slapstick silliness of "Close the blast doors, close the blast doors" before the open the blast doors line.
-Bendu, Star Wars Archivist
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Date: 2004-09-21 03:02 am (UTC)And you should watch every thing on the extras disk if only for comments like Mark Hamil complaining that Harrison Ford had grabbed his bottom instead of his lightsaber!
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Date: 2004-09-21 03:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-21 04:43 am (UTC)My first Star Wars figure was Artoo-Detoo. During thunderstorms my brother and I would recreate the duel between Vader and Obi-Wan. I was banned at kindergarten from playing Star Wars as every day the majority of the kids there were forced to be storm-troopers as I butchered the Emperor's legions with my lightsabre. My Princess Leia got married last month.
The most fabulous thing I could think of owning was a millenium Falcon. It cost $100. That was the most money I could imagine, so every larger amount of money was measured in milenium falcons... you could buy 150 millenium falcons for that car!
I got into a fight in the school yard over whether or not the sequel would have the same theme music. I was right. I debunked theories that stormtroopers were robots with quotes from the novelisation regarding their blood and screams when shot by the alderaanian troopers.
I wore through my tape of The Empire Strikes Back twice. Our Return of the Jedi tape was slightly damaged at the point after the ewok death, where the rebels started to strike back, as we'd fast forward the video to there. I never worked out why there was that little floating blob of darkness on Palpatine's hood.
I was an obsessive Star Wars fan. I still am, I flew to New York to see The Phantom menace 2 months early.
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Date: 2004-09-21 05:08 am (UTC)I don't even remember who it was, or where the house was. I just remember his Death Star.
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Date: 2004-09-21 05:37 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2004-09-21 06:42 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2004-09-21 07:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-21 07:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-21 09:21 am (UTC)I do remember nagging my brother into taking me to see CLose Encounters though, and being completely blown away by it.
Not just Han shooting first
Date: 2004-09-21 06:45 am (UTC)Re: Not just Han shooting first
Date: 2004-09-21 06:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-21 02:43 pm (UTC)