Star Wars in Childhood-Revised

A revision of an earlier post.
The enjoyment and appreciation of the Star Wars films has continued strong from one generation to the next to today 30 years later when each new generation has its own unique yet similar appreciation of the movies. There are mainly two groups who have loved Star Wars those who were around at their creation and those who have always had Star Wars, since childhood.
I am in the second group and experienced secondhand with everyone else in my generation. We experienced Star Wars in childhood and it gave us something special. For children who play, imagine and pretend Star Wars provided exciting and endless possibilities. 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 play. I always wanted one of those speeders they used in Return of the Jedi.
I also think it served as a good bridge moving from cartoons to movies. They are pure fantasy and imagination like the cartoons children love but they appeared so real. (I think this is why so many value the originals with the puppets and costumes over the new trilogy filled with CGI.) Parents who love Star Wars seem to get a real kick out of sharing it with their children while there are at a young age.
I am often surprised when I meet people who have not seen or dislike Star Wars. (Most whom I have encountered who do not like it have not seen it.) I am beginning to believe that if you wait until adulthood to see the movies you are truly missing out.
Check out this video of a three-year-old who has seen A New Hope just once.

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.