…except not really. More accurately right now in a blog right in front of your face, geek blogger NEW AGE AMAZON finds herself faced with a seemingly insurmountable challenge. She must finally face her fellow geeks and make a confession that could lead to her untimely demise. In spite of her fear, or perhaps because of it, she bravely prepares to share her dark, unthinkable secret.
Okay, so.
I’ve never really cared for Star Wars.
I know, I KNOW, okay? That is like a cardinal sin of geekdom. It’s like a priest hitting the pulpit and saying “I don’t really know that I think Jesus is all THAT great.” It is the sort of statement that leads to people giving me this look:
Look, it’s true. I’m not into Star Wars. Never really have been. I don’t actively dislike it, in fact I’ve always wanted to be able to enjoy it more. But the fact is that no matter how many times I watch the movies or try to get into the world building or what-have-you, I just can’t. Basically, it’s not Star Wars, it’s me.
I can’t explain it, really. I wish I could point at one factor and say “that’s it! That’s why I don’t like it.” But I can’t. It’s more as if a million voices suddenly cried out “meh” and then were silenced.
The thing is, I like talking about Star Wars, or more appropriately, I generally like hearing fans talk about Star Wars. There’s a passion to fans of that series that constantly shocks me. It is the one situation where I enjoy the fandom while not actually being a fan of the work itself. I like that the movies are so often homaged/parodied, I love that a work of science fiction has become such a cornerstone of our culture.
It’s just Star Wars that leaves me cold.
Obviously, there is only one possible answer: the Force is not strong with me. And I’m okay with that. I’ll be the smuggler with the price on her head, you go save the universe with your mystical stuff and things and we’re all good.
Just remember: I shoot first.
Ashly is an IHO Geek staff blogger who will be awaiting her geek excommunication on her Twitter, @newageamazon.
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It’s one of those curious situations where I don’t think it would have been hailed as ‘brilliant’ if it weren’t for the fact that it was marketed everywhere. It has a pretty basic, predictable plot, and cliche themes.
That might actually be why it has so much appeal. It candors to the masses. It is easy to grasp and it is fun.
But, other than possibly special effects, I’m not sure how it ‘changed’ cinema aside from everyone saying it changed cinema. It didn’t breed a level of legitimacy to science fiction, books have been doing that for ages, and film had been making intelligent sci-fi since the 60’s.
So I dunno. I agree with you.
Yay! I am not alone!
Here’s a key question. How old were you when you saw it?
When I first saw it? Probably fairly young, I wanna say 8 or 10 at the most. Went back to rewatch the series when Episode 1 was coming out to give them another try.
Well, first of all, I don’t want to make this sound like you SHOULD like Star Wars – not geek has to like every geek thing. That said, I wonder if that was slightly too young? I saw the movies when I was 12 or 13 and I think it was on the cusp of being slightly boring to me. Especially the first one. (A New Hope) I think there’s a tight window where the Star Wars movies are great. Too young and the pacing is too pre-90s and it’s easy to get bored. Too old and the cliche story lines are a bit too much. I think that’s why I hated Star Wars 1-3. Although it didn’t help that young adult Anakin was acted/directed pretty crappily.
I think you’d like it more if you were wowed by the story rather than the movies themselves. That’s how it is for me, at least. I mean, I do love the movies but I think of it in terms of storytelling. Someone was creative enough to build this whole other futuristic world full of different species, planets, languages, cultures and weave an interesting tale together to include it all. That’s crazy to me. It’s hard for me to think of what to doodle next. With a movie, it’s only as good as its actors/producers/script. I LOVED HP 2: Chamber of Secrets. The BOOK. Was my favorite. I hated the movie.
You are perfectly fine. I’m more of a Trek person myself. I’ve seen the Star Wars movies dozens of times, and they’re entertaining, but they don’t light my nerdy flame.