Star Wars: Angles of Enjoyment

(WARNING: THIS CONTENT CONTAINS STAR WARS. APPROACH AT YOUR OWN RISK!)

I haven’t even started this post and I’m already getting premonitions, but this is the one I wanted to write, so there’s no turning back now.

I got the Star Wars gene from my dad, who raised me up with Original Trilogy VCRs and an N64 with Rogue Squadron and Racer on it. I got to see Episodes II and III in theatres, the latter 15 days before its intended release. Ever since, my dad and I carry on the tradition of giving each other a thumbs-up as that familiar blue text appears to kick off the next adventure.

After buying the new films, Disney started releasing the new wave of films while I was in college, each just in time for the end of the semester. Getting finished with exams, packing up for Christmas break, and making a four-hour drive to arrive home just in time for my dad and I to see the latest release was always an experience to cherish.

As for video games, I could probably make an endless slew of posts about laughing my lungs out wasting infinite lives trying to complete the Rogue Squadron 3 co-op campaign with a friend, or how I stayed connected with them after moving away in high school for the now 10-year-old Star Wars: The Old Republic. Alas, there’s a lot more I’d like to write about and I don’t want to get off track.

In recent years, it feels like things have slowed down in some ways while ramping up in others. While film releases have practically slowed to a halt for now, streaming shows, books, comics, and other media have taken the wheel. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing—in fact, it’s resulted in a surge of high-quality content and some wonderful Star Wars moments, and it’s pretty clear that, at least in terms of shows like The Mandalorian and The Bad Batch, this is the direction the (vocal) fandom wants to go in. Even so… just because it’s not a bad thing doesn’t mean it’s my thing, y’know? I’ve always preferred that explosive feeling I get from seeing a Star Wars movie in theaters, and/or the immersive experience of playing the video games.

I know firsthand that how I go about enjoying Star Wars is potentially very different from how you enjoy it, and thinking about that made me realize something that, in my opinion, is something wonderful: there are just so many different ways to enjoy Star Wars and be a fan of it.

Some people like talking about the lore and mythos behind each story, making videos to revere, rebuke, and render digestible all the information about ships, battles, and the force a human being could possibly fathom. Others take a more objectively cinematic angle, admiring the architecture of the stories and sets each new piece of media provides and casting light on all of the miracle work it took to bring it together. Maybe you’ve mastered the art of having entire conversations speaking exclusively in movie quotes and reddit memes, or maybe you’re like me, and you live for watching and playing as characters living, fighting, and thriving in a galaxy of endless possibilities.

Hell, I’d dare to say that even the haters are having the times of their lives. With all the content coming out, folks are bound to not like every single one, and there can be plenty of fun to be had riffing and ranting about it while in good company—within reason, of course.

Even in your own zone of fan specialization, an equally big part of enjoying Star Wars can come down to opinion and interpretation. For example, do you see Anakin/Vader and his ultimate victory more in line with his role as the Chosen one or as the father of Luke? Do you believe in Kreia’s doctrines of independence and leaving people to fight their own battles and become stronger or die trying, or do you believe in Orgus Din’s teachings to use your power in the service of those who could never in a lifetime help themselves? Does balance in the Force mean the light and dark sides in equal measure, or does it mean the dark being kept in check by the light? Perhaps you might even see the light side itself as the Force in balance while the dark side is merely a corruption of it.

All these things make it clear: Star Wars is as diverse from a franchise and storytelling perspective as it is a fandom perspective. Even when you have clearly defined tastes and borders to what you like and dislike, you will still find ways to differentiate yourself from and debate with your fellows. Whatever you enjoy and however you enjoy it, I’ll never tell you there’s an exact right way to do it.

From our first day with something we love, we formulate our own experiences and understandings and then go from there. All of these things are prone, if not bound, to grow and change, either with the help of new perspectives or simply as we go about our own business. Either way, I’d argue that’s part of the fun.

Maybe you’ve been a Star Wars fan for as long as I have—maybe longer—or maybe you’ve never touched anything related to space wizards in your life. Regardless, I hope you’ll take my words less as a sermon on subjectivity and more just the encouragement to enjoy things in your own style, Star Wars or otherwise.