Issue 10, October
Bree
I got in big trouble in 7th grade, so I had to go to my brother and sister's babysitter’s house with them over the summer, and they are big fans of Star Wars (the whole family). I saw a magazine that had Hayden Christensen and I thought he was so cute, and they told me that he was in Episode III. I really wanted to see it and they told me that I had to see all the movies to understand Episode III. And I watched all of them but III and I loved them. So that’s my story of how I came to like Star Wars!
Issue 8, August
Stephen
I discovered Star Wars about seven years ago. My father got me a Star Wars action figure from the first episode (TPM) and from there I fell in love with it. About a year after that, he got me my first toy lightsaber and I would pretend that I was Master Windu slashing through droids and using my Force powers to help destroy the Sith. Four years later and I got my first Star Wars FX Lightsaber and from there my friends and I started to write a book on what we thought would have happened after the Rebellion.
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Christopher
I discovered the Star Wars saga in 1997, when the Special Edition of the movies was released in theaters. I had seen one or two of them before, but couldn't really remember much or understand it, being much younger. I didn't go see them at that time, but my mom borrowed them from a friend, and before I knew it, I'd watched each one six times. I knew I was in love. And even more thrilling was knowing that they were making Episodes I-III, which for me have been very satisfying. I think of Anakin's story as being sort of like a mirror of Luke's story. Just one side of it is dark, the other light. The good vs. evil theme deeply appealed to me and I could identify with both characters' challenges and temptations in my own personal experiences. I watch many other movies, but I always watch the Star Wars saga at least once a month (it being 12 hours long in total, that's a lot, you know). I sort of think of the characters as being part of my family, in a way. As Anakin once said, "I love it." It'll always be a part of my life.
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Gary
I came into the Star Wars fold rather late, 1979 to be exact. I had heard about this movie and my friends, who knew I was interested in space travel and the like, urged me to see this film. I was a bit of a prude at age nine and I was actually a bit scared to ask my parents to take me to see a PG-rated movie (horrors!). Finally in 1979 my mother caught me looking at the action figures in a local department store and said "You want to see that movie don't you?" Sheepishly, I admitted that I did. She bought me the R2-D2 and C-3PO figures, and that night we went to see Star Wars, which amazingly was still playing at one of our local theaters. I've never been the same since! I love all six films (yes even the prequels), collect action figures, have all the books and comics, and I am even writing a Star Wars story that I hope to submit to a fan fiction site.
Issue 7, July
Larissa
I remember watching the movies as a child. But I really became a fan through the EU Novels. I was failing English and my mother forced me to start reading books instead of comics. I found most of the books in the library boring, so she said I should read some of my brother's Star Wars books. I read the Zahn trilogy and was hooked but I didn't see the movies again until the SE came out. I saw them at the theatre and got the videos for Christmas. When I heard about the Prequel trilogy I was really excited -- I even nagged my
mother into buying a Vanity Fair magazine because it had an article about the new movie. I ripped out the bit about The Phantom Menace and threw the rest away. On first viewing, I had a lukewarm reaction The Phantom Menace, but I've found that it grows on you, and every time I watch it I like it a bit more. I loved Attack of the Clones; it is still my favourite. For a few years after I strayed from Star Wars -- I even gave away my large collection of books, duh! But Revenge of the Sith has brought me back and made me just as obsessed now as I ever was before.
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Trent
I didn't care much about Star Wars until I saw The Phantom Menace on opening day when I was a high school senior. I was blown away by the mythology of the storyline and the sheer scope and spectacle packed in each frame. It's not a common starting point for most fans, but that's where it all happened for me.
Issue 6, June
Jango4
I used to see Star Wars on television all the time. I couldn’t tell the difference between any of the three movies for quite a while, but I always knew that I liked them. The thing that really drew me in was the action sequences -- I was impressed with the chase scenes, the lightsaber fights, and the space battles. I would watch them with my family, especially my Dad and my sisters. My Dad was a long-time fanatic for Star Wars, and his kids ended up following suit. I did not become a fanatic until later, with the Special Editions and Prequel Trilogy, but it was still always fun catching the classic trilogy when it came on.
Issue 5, May
Leigh Silver
My name is Leigh Silver and I am a member of Generation X; I was born at the very end of 1977. Because of the toys, video releases, and other merchandising, I fell in love with Star Wars as I grew up. As a kid, I used to love the fact that my initials are the same as a certain Tatooine boy that we all know, thanks to my being named after my great paternal grandmother. I saw the movies out of order on video as I was growing up -- in fact, I didn’t get to watch The Empire Strikes Back until I was around 14-years-old even though I had already watched Episodes 4 and 6, and that created quite a shock when I saw Luke and Leia kissing! Now, as an adult, I still love Star Wars, and appreciate it as much as I did when I was a kid.
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Matril
I was born a year after The Empire Strikes Back came to theaters, and I cannot remember a time when I wasn't aware of Star Wars in one form or another. From the toy commercials on television to my Return of the Jedi storybooks, I was given ample chance to become acquainted with a Galaxy Far, Far Away. And I have always loved it. But my true obsession began some years later when my siblings and I spent a handful of snow days watching the three episodes of the original trilogy over and over until we had them thoroughly memorized. My sisters and brother largely recovered from the craze; I never did. I was delighted when the Special Editions gave me the chance to watch the movies on the big screen, and even more delighted to realize that the re-release was a presage of honest-to-goodness NEW Star Wars movies. For me, the prequels were a thrilling way to deepen the story of the Skywalkers and their great role in the fate of the galaxy, and they are now as much a part of the saga in my mind as the original films. Upon the release of Episode III, I had the enjoyable experience of bringing my own children to the theater, where my son, born a year after Attack of the Clones' release, ran up and down the aisles with his lightsaber. It's great to pass on the legacy.
Issue 4, April
Steve Richards
How I came into contact with Star Wars -- I was nine-years-old when my dad took me to see the original (THE original) 1977 film. I remember leaving the cinema and saying to him that it was the best film I had ever seen (I think the only other films I had seen at the cinema up to then were Dumbo and Escape from Witch Mountain). So in 1977 my life changed forever...the start of a (too large) collection of memorabillia, attempts to make my own animated version of The Empire Strikes Back and hours upon hours of watching those first three films...My God, now that was a long time ago in a life far, far away!
Issue 2, February
Emily
Star Wars forms one of my earliest childhood memories. It was the summer of 1980, and my Dad took my sister and me to see Empire Strikes Back. The first time I ever laid eyes on the Dude in Black, he terrified me--even more when he lowered Han Solo into the carbon chamber. I can still hear the gasp of the audience when Vader said to Luke, "No...I am your father." People stared at each other in disbelief. Even my dad, worldy and sophisticated, went "Wow. Jeez!"
I was on pins and needles till Return of the Jedi. At nine, I sniffled at the end of Jedi and wondered if that was all of Star Wars. I was pleased in the late 1990s when the Flanneled One stated that he was making the PT.
When I saw Phantom Menace I was hugely disappointed. The same went for Clones. All action and no story -- or so I thought. Then I began rereading the Greek and Roman myths that I had loved in my childhood, and rented the prequel movies again. Surprise! I began to see how George Lucas was reworking the old myths into something new. I also read Joseph Campbell's works and eagerly awaited Sith.
Sith did not disappoint. So satisfying and wonderful to see all six movies come together, to form a cohesive whole. Joseph Campbell would be so proud of George!
I cannot wait to introduce my children to Star Wars and the lessons contained therein.
Issue 1, January
JediSherra
In 1977 I was a single mom. After becoming seriously disillusioned with the films in theaters at that time I’d just about lost hope that my daughter would ever enjoy the kind of Saturdays at the matinee I took for granted growing up. Then I saw a news report on TV that celebrated the new movie, Star Wars, as a return to family films. I was skeptical, but I took my six year old daughter to see it anyway. We were not disappointed!
C3PO was so funny! I remember my daughter and I laughing at the banter between him and R2D2. I thought Han Solo was just about the most handsome rogue I’d ever seen and Princess Leia had exactly the kind of spirit I wanted for myself. Mostly, though, I remember the scene where Luke stares across the desert at the two setting suns. It was a scene that spoke much to me about the promise of the future -- and at that point in my life I definitely needed more hope.
I loved Star Wars after that, both for the movie it was and for the symbol of renewal that it became for me. Though she wasn’t as much a fan as I, my daughter and I went to see each new movie together. In fact, that Saturday in 1977 began a tradition for us. We still make a point of taking the time to go see new movies together even though she is now grown and married, with kids of her own.
