48: Kathleen's Star Wars Saga
The reflective depths of "Andor", why we shouldn't aim for "greatness", and an early Scrooge present.
Kathleen Norris on “Star Wars”
My history with “Star Wars” goes all the way back to the beginning, in 1977, when I saw the first film in a theater. It was then considered a sleeper, a surprise hit that no one saw coming. That it came with a cartoon opener, common in my childhood in the 1950’s but dropped not long after, should have clued me in that I was in for a unique experience. That cartoon, a sick but funny “Bambi Meets Godzilla” left no room for 1950’s nostalgia but was a perfect fit for the more paranoid 1970’s. The film itself was also an inventive mix of retro and contemporary elements.
My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, which was then called simply “Star Wars.” A subtitle, “Episode IV: A New Hope” was added later. Reveling in the corny plot lines and intentionally hokey dialogue meant to evoke the cheesy sci-fi serials of the past we were glad to suspend our disbelief and enjoy a planet with two stars at sunset, amusing but useful talking droids, and a “Force” that allowed people to manipulate both objects and other people. A long-time bartender, my husband responded to the scene of the dive where a variety of odd-looking alien criminals and smugglers plied their trade by whispering, “I’ve worked in places like this.” “So has my dad,” I replied, figuring that as a musician he’d approve of the way that the band kept playing no matter what manner of violence erupted around them.
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