This is part of a series called 24 Days of Thankfulness. These posts are in RANDOM order, NOT priority order. Each is something I am thankful for leading up to Thanksgiving.
DAY #6: George Lucas
Now, before I explain why I am thankful for George Lucas, I need to make a few disclaimers. First of all, I really truly am not a Star Wars nerd. Honestly! Getting on National CBS News dressed as a Jedi does not make one a nerd! Having a Star Wars Museum in your basement does not make one either, nor does going to a Star Wars Convention (complete with an 8 page online photo gallery). Dressing up with friends, altering pictures to make my bother and I fighting with lightning or having a massive Lego Star Destroyer doesn’t make you one either. This is perfectly normal adult behavior. Everyone enjoys Christian songs converted to Star Wars songs and envys churches that preach sermon series based on Star Wars, don’t they? Even though I’ve been known to do Star Wars themed birthday parties for friends’ kids, post Star Wars parody songs and even debated the moral capabilities of clones and questioned the wisdom of Yoda I insist I am a well balanced adult with only a passing interest in Star Wars. While I admit I have waited in line for midnight openings at Toys R Us for new Star Wars toys (where there was only one woman, and one child, the rest grown men), and have taught on reconcilation by having the Skywalker family reunite on a talk show, there are much more anti-social behaviors possible that are far worse than blogging about Star Wars cereal (twice) or Pop-Tarts, candy and toys.
And having a son named Luke doesn’t count, he is adopted and came with that name – even though I have been known to dress him up as Luke Skywalker for Halloween.
All of this is irrelevant to why I am thankful to George Lucas.
OK, perhaps it isn’t. The point is simply this. Due to the massive creativity of George Lucas, he brought a lot of fun and entertainment and joy into my life. And I’m simply thankful for it. Ironically, a lot of Star Wars fan are critical of George Lucas, and frankly, they are ingrates. Without him, they’d have nothing to be complaining about! And ought to shut up go play with their toys. (Humph!)
I even got to kinda sorta even meet George Lucas in person while at that Star Wars Convention on my sabbatical in 2004, which you can read about. We got lucky, because I was NOT going to camp out all night to meet anyone, even someone I admire as much as George, we just walked in the next morning, and ended up getting front row seats. How cool is that!?!
Star Wars (A New Hope) was the very first movie I ever saw when I was seven years old. I’ll never forget sitting there as that Imperial Star Destroyer seemed to fly directly over my head and I thought it would never end! It was massive and overpowering and I was immediately in love with the entire galaxy – I was hooked for life!
People younger than me are critical of the later films, and while I can see those faults, they don’t get it – they are too objective and detached – for to them, they are just movies, as they never fell in love as a young child. When you are in love, you just enjoy, and “love is blind,” so while true fans may cringe at Jar Jar and wince at younger Anakin’s acting, we are still glad just to be back in that galaxy far far away, and just thank George for taking us back, even if he did lose a little of his magic touch over the years. It’s OK, we do know it’s just a movie, but we enjoy them. Just sit back, and like a kid again, who has no “inner critic” you just eat popcorn, sip soda, and disappear into the film. That is how movies were meant to be enjoyed. Adults have forgotten how to watch movies. Everyone is a critic today and have lost the joy of enjoying movies. Let the directors direct, the critics critic, and the audience watch and chill while the story unfolds… for during those two hours, reality is on hold, and the movie is reality! That is how it is supposed to be.
Thanks, George, for creating that Galaxy far far away!
