It is a period of civil wars in the galaxy. A brave alliance of underground freedom fighters has challenged the tyranny and oppression of the awesome GALACTIC EMPIRE. Striking from a fortress hidden among the billion stars of the galaxy, rebel spaceships have won their first victory in a battle with the powerful Imperial Starfleet. The EMPIRE fears that another defeat could bring a thousand more solar systems into the rebellion, and Imperial control over the galaxy would be lost forever. To crush the rebellion once and for all, the EMPIRE is constructing a sinister new battle station. Powerful enough to destroy an entire planet, its completion spells certain doom for the champions of freedom.
It was as if millions of voices gasped, then suddenly… there was a mad rush for more. I was seven years old, and twenty-two days old when Star Wars was released in theaters on the twenty-fifth of May 1977. Those years between six and ten seem to be most people’s happy place. I know they are mine. From Star Wars to the X-Men, Micronauts and video games, it was a great time to be a nerd. Would I be the same person that I am now without Star Wars? Probably not. As an older adult I am now focused on the fun that I used to have pre–Empire Strikes Back. That’s because the narrative was mine to make. Sure, there were books and comics, but I really enjoyed creating my own adventures with my figures and drawings. Star Wars was fuel to my already overly active imagination.
A long time ago, at a Drive-In that still exists today, a seven-year-old me was taken by his father to see Star Wars. Alright, it was forty-five years ago. We went to the Sacramento Six a-lot in those halcyon days, but we rarely went to a showing more than once. Star Wars was one of those films that my dad had no problem seeing over and over. I thought it was pretty OK too.
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Fantastic memories! Those of us fortunate souls who saw the original Star Wars for the first time in either a theater or at a drive-in will never forget it for as long as they live. I sure won’t.