star wars Archives - Therapeutic Code

Everyone complains about getting older. I don’t think that it’s getting older that sucks, but that it’s feeling older that sucks.

Monday was my 30th birthday. For years I have been dreading this day. I started getting anxious around when I hit 25, because I was no longer in that 18-24 age bracket, but was now in the 25-33 one.

Every birthday has been another reminder that I was that much closer to 30. My best friend is 5 years younger than me, and loves to tease me. So her telling me how old I am at every opportunity has not helped the situation. The anxiety just grew and grew.

(Image via Candorville)

On top of that, every year I get anxious about what plans to make for my birthday. Do I just hang at home with the roommate? Do I go out to dinner with family? Do I have a party? Every year I seem to make the wrong decision and I regret the choice I made (at least partly) the next day.

So this year, the anxiety was starting to get overwhelming. 30 is a big day to plan. I just didn’t want a lame 30th birthday. Good thing the problem was taken off my hands. My sneaky fiance planned a surprise party with all of my family and friends. The kicker: it was a Star Wars themed party.

They played the imperial march when I walked in. There were red and black and green and black streamers everywhere, Star Wars banners, Star Wars plates, Darth Vader napkins, food named after Star Wars characters, Star Wars cookies to decorate, a Star Wars themed drink list and a Darth Maul cake to top it all off.

I loved every minute of it. My family and friends played Star Wars themed party games with me. One where we each had a character’s name on our backs and had to ask yes or no questions to figure out who we were. We also played pin the lightsaber on Darth Vader. My fiance even taught me some lightsaber sparring techniques.

It was like being a kid again, which is part of what made it so great. The party was planned to be just like the parties I used to have when I was younger. Themed parties with my family and friends, games, cake, presents and fun. Throw in a little alcohol and it becomes an adult party!

My anxieties about getting older lessened and I was able to relax and enjoy myself. 30 was starting to seem more like just another year. A year that I could manage.

I guess my point is that Star Wars (or anything else for that matter) isn’t just for kids. Kids play sports, read books, play games, watch cartoons, eat junk food, and talk to their friends to relax. So do adults. Coping skills are coping skills. Growing up and taking on more responsibility doesn’t mean we have to give up the things we love.

As long as things are done in moderation, our hobbies and interests are healthy.

My family and friends all chipped in to buy me the Millennium Falcon LEGO set that I’ve been asking for for years. It’s just about the only thing I wanted for my birthday, and it’s freakin’ awesome. I spent the last day of my 20’s building half of it (it has 2 giant instruction manuals and 1325 pieces) and watching the original Star Wars trilogy with my fiance.

I also spent the first day of my 30’s working, studying, going to class, and feeling sick from overeating. The symbolism is not lost on me.

But I will always remember how my loved ones embraced me and my passions in order to help me relax and feel young.

(It’s a good thing they did, too…because if my birthday had sucked I just would have force choked them all.)

Before writing this post, my fiance and I got into a debate about why I like Star Wars so much. I said “I just like Star Wars”. She said there was more to it, something deeper, and she’s probably right.

Star Wars is all about transition and change. Luke loses his Aunt and Uncle and goes on an adventure where he finds out so much more about who he is, where he came from, and who he wants to be. There just happens to be robots and lasers and crazy religions that give people superpowers.

When I look at the times I spent watching the movies over and over again, they were all during times of change. Middle school, starting college, and after I finished my undergrad.

Maybe there’s something about Star Wars that helps people cope, other than it just making them feel young. Maybe it’s the story behind the awesome effects and science fiction.

Or maybe its just that it’s Star Wars.

(Image via io9)

What all-ages geek love has helped you cope and live a healthy life?

Ok, so we all know the Star Wars prequels sucked. Now that we have that out of the way, we can move on to something…new.

Disney announced that in addition to the new trilogy starting with Episode VII in 2015, there will be a new Star Wars film every year until…whenever.

There was word of that a while back. The word on the street now is that these new films will be origin stories for popular characters. Rumors are that they could possibly be about Yoda when he was younger, Boba Fett’s fall into the seedy underworld of bounty hunting, or Han Solo’s back story.

(Image via Nerd Repository)

With the prospect of having a seemingly infinite number of Star Wars films, many fans seems split over the idea.

There are some who love the concept of having new Star Wars content coming at them at a consistent rate and will gobble it up lovingly. Others….not so much.

When I read the different fan reactions to the origin stories idea, it reminded me of something my Grief and Loss professor said to me. She said that no two people grieve in the same way, that the process is different for every person, and that everyone’s way of grieving is valid.

With that being said, everyone’s form of Star Wars fandom (and grieving over what has become of the franchise) is valid.

The fans (like myself) who feel that there were at least some redeeming qualities in the prequels are justified in thinking so. Darth Maul is my favorite character, and I found watching Anakin’s descent to the dark side in Episode III exciting.

The fans who hate everything about the prequels and only admit to the original trilogy’s existence are also justified. They may feel hurt that what they accepted as true has been distorted. Anger is a natural part of grieving a loss.

There are also those who want to give Disney a chance to do something new with the series (and praise that George Lucas will keep his hands off of these new movies). From the announcements made by Disney, it looks like Episode VII will have some promise.

(Image via Tech Fleece)

With regard to the new origin stories, some feel as though the market is over-saturated and that it feels like a dead horse is being beaten into the ground. Others feel as though this is a chance to introduce new material to a younger generation and bring them into the Star Wars universe. Some like the idea of new stand alone movies, but would prefer new characters to be explored (it isn’t like there is a shortage of things in the universe that haven’t been explored). In a way, all them are right.

My personal opinion is that I would love to see some back story on some of the characters. I love getting to know more about characters in anything I watch or read. In particular I enjoy trying to understand why they act and think the way they do (no wonder I went into psychology…). I’m excited to see what Disney will do with the franchise. Lucas already screwed things up, so they can’t do too much worse, right? I’m also excited about having good, relevant, new movies to show to my children (since Disney will still be pumping them out by the time I have kids, apparently).

That’s just my opinion, which will be different from yours. Both of our opinions will be different from the next person’s, and so on.

Regardless of whether you feel like the only way to be a Star Wars fan is to shun everything other than Episodes IV-VI, or if you want to soak up anything and everything Lucas or Disney throws at you, you are a Star Wars fan. Star Wars doesn’t just belong to me, or you. It doesn’t belong to one person. It belongs to all of us.

Our fandom is our own. We are free to grieve the loss of what we held sacred, or celebrate the release of new content. Or any combination that can be found in between. Any and all of these reactions are healthy (as long as we don’t become belligerent with each other).

So what I said about us all knowing the prequels sucked was a lie.

I’m still saying that they could have been a heck of a lot better with a little more Darth Maul, and a lot less Jar Jar Binks.

(Image via Dune Sea Times)

Where do you stand? How do you grieve?

How to Pass the Jedi Trials (or Successfully Turn 30)

IT’S A TRAP! Star Wars and the Grieving Process