Word Count: 1,092

The Force is Still

Strong with This One (Part II)

Let’s face it, I’m still obsessed with the stories. Way back in 1976, and the summer after I graduated from high school, this whole phenomenon of the Star Wars movie saga began with the release of the first film in the franchise. During those first two months after its release, I went way overboard and paid seven visits to the movie theatre, with two more viewings at another theatre just for good measure the following fall. Becoming enamored of the Star Wars movies is sort of like saying heroin addicts visit with their supplier on a weekly, or better yet, daily basis.

Two years ago, when the seventh movie in the franchise debuted (The Force Awakens), I paid a special visit to the theatre the night it premiered with friends (10:00 pm showing) and in typical fashion these days, got enough fodder out of the experience to write an essay I posted to my blog (12/23/15).

I guess there’s a few other folks like myself since The Force Awakens movie raked in all sorts of cash. To the tune of something like a billion dollars in just its first 12 days of release. More cash than most company CEO’s make in their entire career. Is it any wonder that so many people are, or want to be, involved in the movie industry? No, not really, and as somebody told me at my yearly taxi driving gig for the Film Festival over in Telluride, “All the back-stabbing and childish behavior that takes place out there basically makes Hollywood look like high school with lots of money.”

This year when the next installment of the movie franchise came out (The Last Jedi) I waited for almost two weeks before going to see it after the movie premiered. I caulk the waiting part up to my advancing age more than anything else. Didn’t have the time, other priorities took precedence, and for myself-going way overboard with an obsession about something only happens when you’re a teenager, or “young, dumb, & broke” as that rap song goes. Then as you get older, (and theoretically more mature?), you just don’t get stars in your eyes the way you used to when you were a youngster. The classic example is of course the majority of the comic books in my collection (since sold off). These were accumulated during my teen and early 20s years, and it’s kind of sad how you just aren’t as obsessed with certain things as you used to be an earlier time in your life.

This latest installment of the Star Wars franchise was pretty good, but oddly enough during the drive back home it had me thinking about a movie I’d watched the previous evening. “Galaxy Quest”, a film parody of science fiction television and TV movies, and the classic case-in-point of not becoming too obsessed. As is fairly self-evident to quite a few people, the Star Trek series of TV shows and movies which Galaxy Quest is a loosely based parody of, happens to be extremely fertile ground for all sorts of opportunities to create humor and satire based on the series. The Galaxy Quest’s producers being fully aware of this fact no doubt.

As it begins, the crew of this fictional TV series finds themselves attending an endless stream of Science Fiction conventions to continue to promote their show, but have grown weary of the grind. Convention attendees are so enraptured of the program, that they treat the show’s stars like they’re virtual demi-gods (sort of like the way a lot of celebrities in Hollywood are treated by their most rabid fans). Suddenly, the commander of the fictional crew has a serendipitous interaction with a race of people from another planet. These aliens watch the show faithfully, but believe it to be a documentary rather than a fictional account of events. The colonel manages to convince his crew that they need to help this race of people, and subsequently they’re transported into another dimension, and become involved in a whole series of bizarre interactions. This includes saving of the aliens, fighting off evil enemy forces, and rescue of the galaxy. Every event that takes place ties into the TV series in some bizarre way, and as the movie progresses, it becomes like a fictional series of events-but suddenly coming to life. Basically, A Fan-Boy’s Fantasy quirkily unfolding.

All sorts of opportunities to turn the movie into a totally forgetful, straight-to-video, terrible-use-of-celluloid, film which leaves you walking out of the theatre wondering why you just wasted the past two hours of your life, present themselves. Fortunately, it’s actually a pretty good film. Funny (always a strong consideration in my book), and well done for the most part. A few awkward moments here and there, but who needs to get nit-picky in this instance. Surely not me, and to borrow that famous Leslie Nielsen quote from the movie “Airplane”, “I am serious, and don’t call me Shirley.”

For me, The Last Jedi, and pretty much all the films in the Star Wars franchise have become classic examples of not letting the stars get in your eyes too much, and having it turn into an unhealthy obsession. Yes, you can really enjoy something, and even have it evolve into a mildly fanatical engrossment. My habit of loving everything related to, “The Simpsons”, wanting to faithfully watch “Jeopardy” most nights, and my little sister’s devoting an entire room of her apartment to “Wizard of Oz” paraphernalia immediately comes to mind.

Probably not a good idea to let these things become too much a part of your grownup life though. Spending large portions of every day going to the website for your obsession, and planning your entire social calendar with a strong emphasis on meeting other obsessives like yourself. Is it really necessary to have flown out to the Left Coast to attend the San Diego Comic Con every year since its inception in 1970?

Speaking of which, the “Comic Book Collecting” phase of my youth gave me what I consider the best thing a writer can ever obtain from these sorts of things. A boundless pool of creativity based largely on all those adventures I used to read and collect during my youth. I’m continually tapping into it for writing purposes. Thankfully it didn’t make me so obsessed with the phenomenon that all sorts of strange behavior carried over into adulthood. Then again, according to some people who know me, it did.