Star Wars and me (part I

I was born in 1977 in Mauritius.  It was the year Star Wars first came on the screens. Yes, I was also born a long time ago, and some would argue, in a galaxy,  far, far away.  As one does when one reaches forty years of age, I have paused and reflected upon my so-called achievements. Amongst many things, I’ve been thinking about my late dad and his love of cinema, and how we used to watch war movies together. Then recently, I watched the Star Wars prequel trilogy with my boys and it sparked a number of thoughts, that I will use in my attempt to methodically bore you hereafter…

The first thing to note, is that I was old enough to be aware of Star Wars only when the Return of the Jedi came out, when I was seven. I begged and pleaded to see it but somehow, my pleas fell onto deaf ears. I remember getting a Darth Vader mask and having terrible nightmares, because I would be scared of it, especially in the dark. I wasn’t part of the first generation of viewers who saw it all on the screen and did everything old school. Over the years, I got familiar with Star Wars because it was broadcast as a televisual treat, on special occasions – it’s possible that we even saw one of the movies on a VHS tape. To be totally honest I wouldn’t say, I was too impressed then, I thought I was an interesting story but no more.

In 1999, the prequel trilogy was launched, and guess what, I didn’t go to see it. I was studying at University then, so perhaps I was strapped for cash and had to make an existential choice like buying food or watching the movie. I did however see the Attack of the clones (Angriff der Klonekriegger, in German, with subtitles)  and later the revenge of the Sith, in  Birmingham (not as challenging). Looking back, I thought that the prequels were slightly disappointing and that Star wars franchise on the whole was probably overrated.

Then I became a dad, and at the same time Lego launched its Star Wars range and the Clone Wars comics hit the screens.  The one thing that struck me initially was that the new generation viewed Anakin Skywalker as the hero. Not only in his good incarnation but also as Darth, my old night time fright. My boys simply didn’t know who Luke was. They were obsessed with storm troopers, ATAT’s and imperial cruisers!

I started watching the Clone Wars series and saw much that I liked. Anakin for instance, seemed to have more substance that in the trilogy. Also, the plot lines were more  sound and gave a more detailed insight on the Star Wars Universe. In the last decade, or so, TV has been the prime medium used by directors to immerse viewers in a universe, think of Madmen, Game of thrones, the Wire and so on and so forth.. It’s probably what’s happened. The thing about cinema is that it gives you a condensed view of a story, it has to pack a punch but with relatively little resources. I never used to focus on the small characters of Star Wars such  as Jabba,  because their sole purpose use to add value to  the heroes, that is Luke, Leia and Han. In bridging the gap between the two trilogies, the authors have created something which is a bit more Tolkienesque (if I  can mention this name without incurring the wrath of Tolkien fans).

So when we recently watched the prequel trilogy with my sons, I was much more informed. I probably watched them on their own merit, stripped of the expectations of someone who had been waiting for it.  I saw three films that certainly had all the elements of Star Wars movies: long expositions and boring moments followed by  mind numbing action verging on epileptic speed. Perhaps, I was myself surprised that Jar Jar Binks wasn’t too annoying, he was merely filling in for R2 and C3PO but had the drawback of being a CGI character.

The whole experience of watching star wars all over again felt a little bit like seeing a Shakespeare play without having read the play beforehand. The first time was like a going in blind without knowing the plot and the characters. The second time, I knew what to expect: General Grievous and the Federation of Trade Viceroy were more like old acquaintances whose role in the great story was clear!