Star Wars in Childhood

The creation of Star Wars may not be too far into the past but it originated before my time. The Star Wars films are something I experienced secondhand and so did everyone else in my generation. What interests me about Star Wars as an object of nostalgia is the way it continued to be the strong cultural influence in recent generations as it was in the first.

When Star Wars first came out it gave that generation something completely new and exciting. There must have been something special about seeing those films when they first came into theaters; anticipation, surprise, and wonder. It seems that could not be recreated today. Especially because Star Wars is so important to our culture, it is alluded to in every form of media (cartoons, movies, commercials and our speech). Even it you manage to live until adulthood without seeing them you know what there is to be known.

Part of what keeps Star Wars central to our lives is the attempt to hold on to this element of Star Wars’ greatness. It cannot truly be relived, but people do their best. And part of that is to instill their love and amazement into the younger generations.

Thanks to their efforts Star Wars remains something special, especially within childhood. As children the movies were new to us, and they held so much imagination within them: Wookies, Jawas, Ewoks, lightsabers, and spaceships. Our imaginations (I think especially the boys) stemmed off those ideas in our play.

I remember I always wanted one of those speeders they used in Return of the Jedi.

Just recently, they were showing a commercial where a man carved the Thanksgiving turkey with a miniature lightsaber impressing all present.

For years I associated the sounds and images of the 20th Century Fox and THX solely to Star Wars. Even today when I hear those sounds I think of Star Wars.