I think we can all agree Star Wars is pretty huge… Not only is it huge, but it has a super dedicated fan base of loyal individuals – I mean I can see why it is pretty good! But it took me a long time to start watching them, I’ll admit.
I get a lot of my nerdiness from my mum – Growing up we had various Sci-fi and nerd stuff in the house. Star Trek, Dr Who, Xena: Warrior Princess, Stargate, Quantum Leap… But never really Star Wars – We saw Episode 1: The Phantom Menace in the cinema, but only because it was something that was on. My mum never got into Star Wars, possibly because of how much her brother absolutely loved it (My cousin is called Luke for this reason)… So I never really got into it at a young age. It wasn’t till I was about 20 that an ex made me sit down and watch every single one, and since then it’s been our resident writer William who’s been making sure I’m up to date.
So why did I wait so long? Well, partly because as I said, I never watched it young, but also partly because the fandom is so daunting. If someone asks you if you’ve seen Star Wars and you answer with yes, 9/10 times they expect you to have an in-depth knowledge of it, and have watched all the films multiple times, remember every moment and be able to identify where quotes come from. Well… I haven’t! I’ve only seen them once; I’ve seen all of them, yes, but only once each, spanning over a few years. I played Star Wars: Battlefront as well and enjoyed it. I don’t remember every little thing about them, only the big things – I’m the epitome of a casual Star Wars fan. The other reason is because it’s everywhere, and the fans can be incredibly passionate, which can be great, but can be off-putting for those of us that aren’t so big a fan.
Now being a casual Star Wars fan seems to get a worse reception than having not watched any of them at all – Now I’m sure not everyone thinks or reacts this way, but it’s been a fair few people now. I’m allowed to own an ewok backpack, and casually enjoy the films; ewoks are cute okay! It doesn’t make me a fake fan if I don’t know Boba Fett’s exact height!
I think this reflects a bigger problem we have in pop culture these days, as soon as something gets big, popular and fashionable, fans feel the need to prove that they’re a “real” fan by knowing the most about something. And that’s cool you do you, but let people enjoy things less intensely! That ends my little PSA on being a casual Star Wars fan – Just don’t judge, don’t demean others, and let’s all enjoy!
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