The force awakens, indeed.

Source: Disney’s $4 Billion Steal — 500ish Words — Medium

I’m so conflicted about the new movies. The geeky part of me wants them to be awesome. MORE STAR WARS, YAY! Broke-ass crashed Star Destroyers looking epic! Young Han being a dashing rogue! Martyred Bothans escaping with Death Star plans! Not to mention light saber lipstick! New theme lands at Disney!

But a tiny part of me resents this. It resents Star Wars suddenly belonging to everybody rather than just those of who know the odds of successfully navigating an asteroid field. (3,720 to 1, of course.) It resents Chewbacca posing for pictures with Mickey Mouse. It resents the tawdry commercialisation of it all.

Which is completely stupid. Star Wars is just as nakedly commercial as it ever was.

I think it’s just that the prequels burnt me so badly. I really, really wanted them to be good. I remember being in college, watching the video livestream of those crazy people who were waiting in line for weeks outside Mann’s Chinese Theater, and getting super excited when THEY READ MY CHAT ROOM COMMENT OUT LOUD. (We didn’t have Twitter back then. It was 1999. Hell, I’m amazed we even had streaming video.) I camped out myself in South Bend overnight during Senior Week to get tickets, playing Star Wars Trivial Pursuit with strangers and getting interviewed on the local news. And then for the premiere, my Mom even helped me make a costume…

I stand by Krisdala. That was an awesome costume.

And the movie sucked. It sucked SO BADLY. I was shattered. I want to believe, but I’m not sure I can.

Help me, J. J. Abrams. You’re my only hope.