So this Thirty Day Film Challenge is pretty entertaining, yeah? While I thought it was cool that larger names than I were dropping their answers and film recs, for me this was a thing I decided to use for talking about the films I love (okay, so I decided two days in…).
Day One – Star Wars: An New Hope
First step on the road to finishing all of this was talking about the first film I can remember seeing. It should come as no surprise to anyone that my first love was always Star Wars. I can’t remember anything before that, the franchise sunk into my bones. I have vague memories of cheering during the trench run scene, when Han comes back and shouts “yahoo” like some sort of camp-classic cowboy conman learning to care. There’s a therapeutic sensation in my head as you realize that Obi-Wan is still there for Luke, his memory and spirit continuing on to guide the boy. Hell, I even giggled as Leia drug everyone down to the trash compactor and landed everyone in dumpster water. More than that, though, is the cathartic sense of childlike wonder it brings back to my life after growing to a cynical, somewhat jaded adult.
When the sequel trilogy was beginning, and I was high as hell on the marketing, I popped the original film into my blu-ray player for my annual rewatch. I’d transferred to a new job, hurt my back so badly I could barely move, and was stressed after not seeing some of my friends for quite a few months. Is that all that big of a deal? No, but stress gets to you after a while when things build like that. Somewhere deep inside of us lies the desire to just unwind and be a kid again, particularly when the world seems gray and ugly (hmm, not unlike it does right now…), and we seek out the personal comforts of our diaper years. For many I know it involves video games, specific books, even television series. For me, though, it’s just about watching this goofy space Western that drew influences from samurai films to create a world that people will now fight holy wars over when discussing lore.
Go back to Star Wars. Go back to the beginning. We could all use a new hope right now, and this is the greatest we could have asked for.
WRITE DRUNK; EDIT DRUNK 