However, for me today is more than Star Wars Day, as today is my oldest child's birthday. Today they turn 14.
14 years ago around this time I was at work. My wife called me from the hospital as I was training someone to replace me while I was out on Paternity leave. At that point, my wife had been in the hospital on bedrest for 3 weeks. But, our baby was coming that day as she developed pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome.
The baby was coming 10 weeks early.
Flash forward 14 years & we have a teenager. Where does the time go?
With #MayTheFourth coming up, I'm contemplating a Star Wars rewatch. I'm curious what order you consider is the ideal order to be watching them in. #StarWars#Poll
“I put this little thing on it: ‘A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, an incredible adventure took place.’ Basically it’s a fairy tale now.”
George Lucas, December 1975
Star Wars means a lot to a lot of people. Its influence can be felt in today’s culture especially around “fandom” culture, and it is often simple fairy tale stories that can speak to so many people the way Star Wars has.
When George Lucas was writing the script for the original Star Wars in the mid-1970s, he read the book The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. This ended up being profoundly influential to Lucas’ approach to the story. The book analyzes many myths and old tales from around the world. Campbell noticed a pattern to all these stories and summarized his findings in his book.
Today, this archetypal narrative is better known as the Hero’s Journey. After reading this book Lucas realized that this is what he had been doing all along. He had been following the rules of the hero’s journey and was trying to capture that magical familiar feeling older stories provide. Once he realized this, Lucas would lean into the classic motifs.
...So what do you think? Is Star Wars very obviously a fairy tale? Or is it a fantasy story? How do YOU define these categories?
It may be #MayTheFourth but it's also a #LocalElection day in the #UK and its government's new law requiring #VoterID is straight out of the Sith play book.
We went to lunch today and the person at the counter asked me to provide my "Star Wars Name" to call out when the order is ready. I just wasn't feeling it today, a bit grumpy and finally said: "Darth Karen"
I must admit I enjoyed hearing them call out "Darth Karen, your order is up!", since this place was teeming with them.
I forgot to #MayTheFourth post the first #selfie i ever took. I'm wearing my brand new #StarWars t-shirt (that's Luke's lightsaber you see). Photo taken with a pinhole camera that came on a box of #CocoaPebbles.
This is also what my #ghost will look like when i come back to do some #haunting
Reader’s Corner: Issak (Vol. 7), The Mandalorian (Vol. 2), and SHY (Vol. 6)
May the 4th (give or take a few days) be with you! We've got the latest manga volume of The Mandalorian this week! Oh, not a Star Wars fan? How about superhero fare with the latest volume of Shy? We also have webtoons, romance, and much more this week, including a series we highly encourage you to stay away from.