the force will be with you, always

greetings

so, here it is again. or here we are again, look you see. it's 4th May, or May Fourth as our friends in America say, so it is very much Star Wars day. at least it is on the day this is published, but probably not if you are reading it any point after that. 

many years ago i saw a documentary. it was ostensibly all to do with Star Wars, but the part what stuck with me was the scenes of some school kids, of an age range of say 9 or so to 12 or so, making films at school. based on Star Wars. for quite some time after i looked at this with envy and jealousy, for there was no such opportunity for us to do same at school in England. back then British cinema had to be all meaningful and poignant, which is to say dull and boring. no wonder our friends in America are the true world masters of cinema entertainment, they get encouraged to make things people would actually wish to see, from a very early age. 

but, as i got older, another part of it has always remained in my mind. in the documentary all of the children were asked what they loved of Star Wars, with one young girl saying that it "helped (or allowed, i forget, sorry) her to escape from reality". and there is the true, sheer, unadulterated beauty of this Star Wars thing and why it's so important to so many in so varied and different ways. ostensibly it's all a fantasy thing, a very basic and straightforward good vs evil story. but it lets you read so much into it, and imagine so very much more. 

here, on this blog, and in conversations with many over the years i have done my bit of being critical. be it in regards of some disappointments in the world of Star Wars, with Last Jedi or in particular Solo coming to mind, or the "fanboy living in Momma's basement in Wisconsin" type, who can't understand why his version of Star Wars was not made, why didn't George Lucas or Disney just call him and let him explain how to make a film (or tv series) that all would love. in some regards, or to an extent, i have not been very understanding in doing so. as far as i am concerned it is perfectly all right to be let down by some of the films, and no, some of the ramblings of "fanboys" goes too far and is quite hurtful to others, but maybe (likely) a bit of understanding is needed. 

there is no point holding on to statements such as "they are just movies". long has it been since the whole concept, or rather phenomenon, stretched out way further. it's getting close to 50 years that these films, and all that come with them, have been a rather dominant, unavoidable and inescapable presence in popular culture. being dismissive of them, and the importance they hold, is like looking at some plays by, if you will, Shakespeare, and saying "these are just plays, move on". 

what am i trying to say here? not sure, as ever. mostly that i think i understand where all the getting carried away, overheated and somewhat excessive moans some (at some points all of us) have when anything "new" comes out in the realm of Star Wars, be it a new "special edition" of one film or one of the new tv things they are doing. certainly i don't agree with several comments made, but now, i believe, i get the angle they are coming from. 

every new release of something Star Wars, then, in some way impacts or impinges on the comfort blanket it has all become for some significant number of people. the escapism provided, the brief pause from whatever's going on in reality, gets abruptly halted by a "reality" in the realm of it all. something that someone imagined is no longer so, for a new thing off of Star Wars contradicts it. indeed they could let it go, certainly they could get a sense of perspective on their reaction, but ultimately i get why they are so upset, or put out, about it. no, there's no way to fix, change or avoid that. 

i suppose it was the curious double whammy of the prequels turning up around the same time that using a thing called "the internet" took a dramatic spike north in numbers of people using. all of a sudden people who might utter some disappointment in a film could now project, or broadcast, all of their views to a (literal) global audience. for some reason people got all bothered about making sure what they had to say about something like, for instance The Phantom Menace, got heard above all other opinions, so the shouts got louder, the commentary more extreme. 

for now, then, what a time to be alive as a fan (of any level of obsession) of Star Wars. of the, let me count, five (5) films made since Disney bought it all up, at the very least 2 (two) have been met with generally pleasant comments. by that i mean Rogue One and Force Awakens, although yes, some are disappointed in each. in respect of the latter film, i am still baffled they went to all that trouble to get all of the heroes of the very first (to be released) film back together and did not give them at least one scene together. but, hey ho. 

how amazing is it that there are so many tv things off of Star Wars on the go? one of them, The Mandalorian with the magical frog thing, is pretty damned close to being the bestest, greatest thing in all of Star Wars creations in my books, although no Lando and in particular no Lobot means it doesn't quite beat Empire Strikes Back for moi. back when we were kids we kind of dreamed of some tv show of Star Wars, but all we got was the Droids cartoons and the somewhat misguided Endor films. 

not sure how much of a "celebration" this is on the day all with an interest in such have agreed to praise the things of Star Wars, but with some fortune at least one or two will "get" what my rambling words are trying to say. my life, at times, has been made considerably better by the entertainment offered by it all, the sense of daydream it tends to naturally inspire. so, nice one to all of them what have made these magnificent things. 

live long and prosper!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!