One of the main reasons I got married and decided to start having kids was so I could have my own little geek army. I was going to raise them right and teach them everything I know about everything geeky. My kids were going to be the coolest kids ever, by being the geekiest kids ever. I was going to do my younger self proud. When I was a kid, it wasn't cool to be a geek, so I felt pretty alone in my geekery. When I grew up, I promised my self that I would never be alone again. My kids would all appreciate everything I was made fun of for as a kid.
One of the big things that I swore my kids would know was Star Wars. That was such a big part of my life growing up. I think we went through a few sets of video cassettes watching those movies. I loved them. They shaped a lot about me as kid and a teen and now as an adult. I felt like this was one of the most important randoms I could share with my kids. As the prequels came out, and I enjoyed them so little, I swore that not only would my kids love Star Wars, but they would do it right, and only enjoy the originals. Oh to be young and so naive. I had my kids, and I have tried to bring them all up as little geeks. I tried extra hard to bring them up Star Wars. I even have photographic evidence:
That's Johnny, Eliza, and Jak, Halloween 2011. They are the cutest little Star Wars people I have ever seen. They were excited about these little costumes at the time, but that was really the extent of their Star Wars knowledge and love. For whatever reason, despite my best efforts, none of the kids seemed that interested in the movies. At all. It made me sad, but I never want my kids to feel like I am forcing anything on them. So, I had to find ways to secretly force Star Wars on them until they loved it. I would offer to buy them Star Wars toys, and only Star Wars toys. If they didn't want them, that was fine, but they couldn't have other toys instead. I tried to trick them into watching the Clone Wars cartoons, but each time the episodes would start, the kids left the room. Part of me started to feel like I was failing as a father. I mean a minor fail, not like Anakin choking the mother of his children and then becoming a mass murderer kind of a fail as a father.
Then last weekend happened. We had a Star Wars party at our house. We invited some friends, and a few even came. And my kids got really excited for it. They could not wait to watch Star Wars with my friends. They all tried to stay up late, but after a week that also included New Year's, it just wasn't happening. Johnny only made it through A New Hope, before falling asleep. To my surprise, and delight, he woke up the next day and wanted to start right where he had left off the night before, so I started Empire for him, and he was glued to it, and then devoured Return of the Jedi. He couldn't get enough. He loved it, and I was a proud papa.
Then return of the Jedi was over, and he wanted more. He knew the prequels existed. He knew a series doesn't start with 4. He wanted to watch 1-3. I caved, and I let him watch the movies. He wanted me to sit and watch them with him, and I caved again. I would have killed to have my dad sit down and watch Star Wars with me, so there was no way I was going to deprive my son of that moment. So I sat and watched the prequels with him. As I did, I came to some realizations.
First, I realized that my kids would never know Star Wars minus the prequels. Part of me thinks that's sad, but another part of me doesn't think it's that bad. For Johnny, the prequels are going to be a part of his growing up like the original trilogy was for me. Yes, all three movies are totally CGI and Green Screen, which to old time Star Wars fans is blasphemy, but Johnny won't feel that way. He's used to it. What movie isn't CGI or green screen now? That's how our kids will experience movies. We can like it or not, but it doesn't change the reality. Him watching those movies that were more what he is used to, helped him bridge a gap to the original trilogy and enjoy those movies more than he would have.
Second, I think I have been overly critical of some things in the prequels. I make that statement, and then I must clarify. By no means am I saying that the prequels are as good as the original trilogy, but they're not as bad as we make them out to be either. Yes, the actors who play Anakin are awful, but they are also kids. Natalie Portman doesn't give her best performance ever, but it was also her big break. Watch A New Hope again and try to tell me that Mark Hammil and Carrie Fischer gave Oscar worthy performances. They didn't. They were young too. They got better as the trilogy went on, as does Portman in the prequels. Guess what, though, your kids don't care. Kids don't sit down for a movie and say, "That actor moved me." No, they sit down and want to see action and explosions and bright colors, all of which the prequels deliver.
Third, if I were Johnny's age, I would love all the Star Wars movies too. Each and every one of them. To an 8 year old, they are all fantastic and fun movies. The important thing for me was to experience that magic with my son as he really enjoyed the whole saga for the first time. He literally just sat for 12 hours over the weekend and stared at these movies, and wanted to watch them again. No, you can pass judgement on my parenting skills and wonder how any parent could let a child sit and watch movies for 12 hours, but it was one of the proudest moments of my life. My son was a geek, and now we can talk Star Wars, and I am realizing my dream of raising my own geek army.
Now we just need to get our tent and sleeping bags ready for December 2015, so we can camp out for Force Awakens...
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