The Star Wars Virgin

Ok, so I know I haven’t blogged in a while. Honestly, I’ve been really busy. I also haven’t had much to say. But something interesting happened today.

Earlier today a friend shared this Star Wars video with me on Facebook. It was all six Star Wars movies playing simultaneously. I thought it was kind of cool, so I reposted it. Soon afterwards I received this Facebook message from one of my closest friends. (I’ll call him “P”)

P: ooooooh. I’m sooooo renting star wars tonight.

Me: lol

P: You know I’ve never seen it.

Me: What?!? Any of them?

P: I’ve seen chunks here and there.

This really came as a surprise to hear. I remember seeing Star Wars in the theater in 1977. I loved it as soon as I heard the first downbeat of the overture. While I’m sure the sound was coming through the equivalent of an AM speaker, to me it sounded like the gates of heaven were opening.

When “Empire” came out in 1980, that led to three years worth of schoolyard speculation. There are certain things in life that can only be experienced once, and that three year cliffhanger was one of them. I’ve often wondered what it would be like to experience it again. I figured experiencing it through somebody else’s eyes would be the next best thing.

P: Here’s the question.
Should I watch them in the order they were made? Or the order of the plot?

Me: I was just wondering the same thing. I’m going to post that question on my wall for the other Star Wars nerds to comment on. Don’t worry. I won’t reveal your identity.

And so it began. I posted the question to Facebook and received some great recommendations:

Since IV and V are the only ones worth watching I’d start there.

This is tough but I am going to say plot order…. and I say this because they get better. If I were to sit down through 4 5 and 6 then get introduced to jarjar in a short period of time I might lose it.

I’d recommend 4-6 and then skipping the prequels all together. The quality of the writing takes a massive hit. The quality of everything, actually.

Then there was my personal favorite:

I think of it the same way I do the Foundation series. I think it’s important for the characters and events to grow in size and legend, so you know why leaning the history is important.

But overall, there seems to be quite a bit of support for The Machete Order. Basically, that’s IV, V, I, II, III, VI. This article explains why.

So after discussing some options with “P” he insisted I not provide any spoilers. I never realized that there might actually be spoilers to a story that’s so well known, so I asked him what he already knew.

P: Darth vader’s his dad.
Leia is somebody’s sister.
Teddy bears live in trees.
Han shot first.

Me: Do you know where “Han shot first,” came from?
(Because that’s not really a spoiler. It’s more of a culture thing.)

P: There’s a poker game or something and an alien starts a fight. Only originally he didn’t start the fight, he just pissed Han off and he shot him
I mean, I’ve see the Family Guy star wars episode and that kind of stuff.

Me: OMG. This is like one of those interviews where you ask a seven year old boy to tell you about kissing.

P: I hate you.

Me: LOLOLOLOLOL!!!!
I’m having too much fun at your expense. I’m sorry.

P: no, it’s fair. I opened myself up to it.

Yes. You did open yourself up to it, P. And now you’re the subject of a blog post (as I mentioned you would be.)
So stay tuned. I’ll be posting P’s reactions to the movies one at a time – including the order in which he chose to view them. At least he understands it’s not an easy task to become Star Wars educated.

P: one does not simply walk into … Tatuine.

Me: Tattooine.

Me: You have much to learn, my padawan. (Including the definition of “padawan.”)
Nice mashup of Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, btw.

P: I’ve never seen Lord of the Rings.

Me: Dear God. Are you living under a rock?
I’m turning you into a sci-fi/fantasy case study. There are going to be actual medical journals written about you.

P: I have a bad feeling about this.