Strange Days

It has been 13 years since The Phantom Menace which means that, if their first exposure was at age 5, anyone 18 years or less is very likely to have a much skewed sense of how the Star Wars franchise is meant to be viewed.

I have firsthand knowledge of this phenomenon because my boys are 8, 9 and 12 and fans of the epic space opera. Every time they ask to start the series again they protest at beginning with episode four because “one is one” and “it makes more sense” if you watch it from “the beginning”.  These are strange days.

I try to explain to them that they are in the minority as viewers with the opportunity to view episode 1-3 prior to the original 4-6.  They are reluctant to recognize that the story of Luke Skywalker was, and is, the first story to be told and that the later prequel stories are meant to illuminate the originals.

At least we have Wikipedia at our disposal now and I expect it will be around when the youth of today are ready to face the truth about the franchise.  At that time they will likely claim that they were always 4,5,6,1,2,3 guys, and that will be fine with me.