The stores just released merchandise for Star Wars: The Force Awakens yesterday, causing big events at places like 24-hour WalMarts, where followers of the Jedi or Imperial enemies camped out waiting for the opportunity to nab the first gewgaws of the season. I stayed home.
There was such a gap between the last movie and this new installment to come out in December, that starwars.com has forgotten I exist (as I don’t get emails from them anymore). Entirely new splinter storylines have gone on behind my back or on Cartoon Network. When I saw a droid from the new movie, which was motion activated by my presence in the Target store Thursday night, I was ashamed to admit I didn’t know its name. That’s bad decorum for a fan, especially if it was a protocol droid.
I also found out, in passing, that two co-workers know absolutely nothing about Star Wars. I was too sympathetic to ask them what planetary system they were hiding behind, as not all cultural icons are known to everybody. Back in 1977, though, this was a big one. Those of us who went to the movies likely remember that first thrill of watching an Imperial cruiser appear, bigger than life, on the movie screen to chase down Princess Leia’s comparatively tiny ship. In the span of about five minutes, we met two iconic droids, saw a blaster battle with amazingly real effects, and watched in awe of a giant figure in a black mask and breathing that could shut up a room at twenty paces (and yes, we knew right away that was the bad guy). For our generation, we got to see what our parents found enjoyable from Buck Rogers and other movie serials, thanks to the modern vision of George Lucas.
So we’re 38 years past all that, and the hype is only at “meh” level. What’s wrong with this picture? Maybe it’s because I didn’t stand or camp out in line with the other fans late Thursday to grab new merchandise. Maybe I don’t count because I didn’t earn any knowledge of this new stuff.
I looked to see if there is a “Star Wars for Dummies” book out there. No such luck. Maybe it will all fall into place by the time December comes. In the meantime I’m still enjoying the trailer with Han Solo and Chewbacca and that droid whose name I still don’t know.
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