Oh, Sith! It's Over!
Upon us, the end of an era is.
The end of Darth Vader pimping a "Limited Edition Lava Berry Explosion" box of Pop Tarts.
The end of commemorative Yoda Burger King glasses we used to drink the cherry Kool-Aid from once we returned home from watching "Return of the Jedi" at the theater where "Flashdance" played on the screen next door.
The end of collecting UPC codes off the boxes of Crispix to earn the free R2D2 cereal bowl in the mail.
The end of setting off the smoke bomb and waving a flashlight through it like a lightsaber, knowing that one day someone would think of a way to make a real lightsaber.
On the eve of the one-minute-after-midnight premiere of "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith," we mourn the loss of a cultural touchstone that defined the zeitgeist of a generation.
Once the music crescendoes and we see the faded-blue text read "Directed by George Lucas," it will be over. A generation's worth of faith that a new "Star Wars" experience is always just over the horizon, where the two suns of Tatooine set across the desert landscape.
Excitement intertwined with anxiety. We almost can't go.
Television series are on the way, we're told. So is a re-release of all six "Star Wars" movies in 3-D.
They won't suffice. There is an emptiness in the various novels, comics and endless internet deconstructions of the "Star Wars" mythos that offer the illusion of a new "Star Wars" experience.
But there will be none. The unexplored "Star Wars" experience is over.
Once the last print is pulled off the last theater reel, may The Force allow it to simply, bloodlessly disappear like an honorably fallen Jedi, only to be seen in idealized, all's-well-that-ends-well spirit form.
On second thought, no, don't do that. Re-release them every other summer, with one line in each movie changed or one special effect superimposed so that the freaks will find justification to dress up, camp outside the theater and make us all believe that we can be children again.
16 comments:
I'm afraid to say I'm a Star Wars geek. I'm guilty of being a consumerist monkey.
I saw all three of the original ones. I will see the latest one. I saw Episode I. I'm afraid I'll never watch Episode II.
Most adorable picture ever.
Darth has been pimpin' so much I am starting to wonder if he isn't the whore. The one of him and the Burger King scary man in a plastic head doing the staredown with heavy breathing cracked me up!!
rusty, what've you heard that's so bad about the second one?
Nothing really. I just never got the urge to see it. I wanted to see the first one because it was 'new!', and the latest one because it is "last!" So, by comparison the second one held no special place in my mind.
I might end up watching it one day simpyl because it will be the one I've never seen.
i'm a proud star wars geek. it's good to be passionate about things, regardless of what others might think.
i love my little boy latching onto something i did when i immersed myself in when i was a kid. and those lightsaber duels are quite fun, even as an adult.
episode II moved kind of slow for a lot of people, but i think it's a necessary piece of the puzzle -- and perhaps far more interesting when you see III -- to see the full descent of anakin into darth vader.
III is actually kind of disturbing in places, especially if you've bought into the prequels that you want anakin to be good.
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Aw, how cute! He tired himself out fighting with the light sabers. My kid saw the movie today, I haven't even seen it! How unfair is that?
I'm actually glad Annakin turns Darth Vader in episode 3. Its kinda nice to be rooting on the bad guy the entire time as a change of pace. It's also a good thing to do when your afraid of horror movies by cheering on the deaths because you can't be scared of something your looking forward to! I'm gonna miss the Star Wars propoganda a bit. It was fun to just see the extent that advertising goes just for 1 movie especially this is going to be last one EVER. Maybe they'll have special collectors edition Star Wars glow in the dark condoms!....at least I don't think they have those....Something else I like about the couple days before Star Wars is watching about 70 people dress up like wookies,darth,annakin ect. and camp out infront of the theater while comparing Star Wars trading cards they got in a box of cap'n crunch. I just look over and think "Hey I'm not that much of a dork after all..." But the thing I love the most is the plastic lightsaber battles! The parents give their kids a couple plastic lightsaber thinking they can't possibly hurt each other but of course they prove them wrong. Whenever my friends and I do an all out lightsaber battle at the annual lake party we're covered in bruises and in the middle of it someone decides to just use a stick instead...I know that when I'm an old man I'm just gonna whip out my old lightsaber and show them youngsters of mine what WE did for entertainment. I wonder if star wars will be renowned in the future like gone with the wind is or something...Oh and one final word, YODA KICKS ASS!
uhhh ... cindy ... he's not asleep. I SLAYED HIM!
actually, last night i promised to fight with him a little in the garage if he took his bath good. my son is very athletic, strong, tough. i find myself doing things with him as if he were an adult.
of course, there's a reason the poor kid's two front teeth are about to fall out a year before they're supposed to. i get lost in how good he is sometimes, i do things with him like he's an adult.
he got a plastic lightsaber across the temple. he cried and i said, "look, son, see that redness on my arm? that's where you accidentally hit me. it's all an accident, and it's going to be ok."
then i look ... damn, he's got a welt right across the face. oh man, did i feel like shit.
but soon he got that devilish grin back and was ready to go ... albeit with the promise that daddy won't play so rough. ;)
ericness, i think star wars will be an institution. a big reason is that george lucas is going to find a way to maintain interest, what with the tv shows and especially the rereleases of all six in 3D.
as long as he gets little butts in movie seats watching these movies, and selling stuff every time, it's a done deal.
i really liked the movie. it's just so tragic.
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is it true there were orignally 9 in the series and it was cut back to 6. what happened to the other 3 and what were they about?
I am so deceived!I tought that ``the revenge of the sith`` was just a typing error and was a movie about dog contests rivalry...
:)
you're right, mainiax. i'll tell you to the best of my knowledge.
lucas wrote all of these stories back in the early 70s. he knew the fourth one -- the original star wars in '77 -- was the best one to introduce.
when that succeeded, he did it as a trilogy. basically, it was the story of luke skywalker. when technology caught up, he did the stories he always wanted to do -- the story of anakin skywalker, which makes all six movies as a whole the story of darth vader, child to hero to villain to redeemed fallen hero.
to your question about 9 episodes, the three he hasn't done tell the story of what goes on with luke's kids and the kids han solo and leia had. he thought about doing them, but has said recently he's decided not to.
personally, i'm glad he doesn't want to. i like ALL six movies, and it think they complete the story of darth vader well.
long explanation, but i hope it suffices. i'm going to see "sith" tonight for the second time, with my wife. i'm going to write kind of a pseudo-review, if anybody is interested.
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frank, please tell me i'm deceived and you didn't just slay princess leia and cut off her beautiful pony tail. :)
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A turtle he was indeed and not a cabbage.
Revenge = r0x0r'd my s0x0rz
whoa, rusty. can you translate?
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