A Visual Representation Of Star Wars Fan Enthusiasm Over The Years
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Over the years, being a Star Wars fan has been a bumpy ride. For those of us who have never lived in a world without Lucas’ epic space opera, or who barely have memories of a pre-force existence, it has been more of an emotional roller coaster. For every thrilling high, there has been a dismal, sickening low. As excited as most of us are about the impending seventh, eights, and ninth episodes, at this stage of the game, we’re approaching them with a cautious, guarded optimism at best.
This fun new infographic from Dorkly takes all of the highs and lows from the past thirty-plus years, and displays them all in a visual form. It is hilarious, and just so happens to be pretty on the nose.
During the early years fans were riding high. A New Hope was worldview-changing, and the excitement of witnessing the birth of a brand new franchise was palpable. Even the missteps were relatively minor, and there was Empire, which makes up for just about anything else.
The decade of the 80s was something of a holding pattern. Return of the Jedi was strong, not Empire strong, and feelings vary depending on your Ewok stance. But again, overall this was the golden age to be a Star Wars fan. There were toys, trading cards, specials, good parodies, lots of stuff to cling to.
Then George Lucas got bored and started tinkering. That’s never a good sign. Really, you’re going to have Greedo shooting first now? So you’re going to indelibly change the nature of Han Solo, one of your leads, one of the most iconic characters in modern movie history? Yeah, fuck you, too, George Lucas.
And then there was the delirious excitement generated by the announcements of the prequels, followed by the crushing disillusionment caused by actually watching The Phantom Menace, where we sank into a deep, dark depression…
…a depression that Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith did nothing to alleviate, and excessive, unnecessary parodies only aggravated.
Which brings us to today. As much as we want new Star Wars movies (good Star Wars movies), we’ve all been hurt too many times to truly open up and accept the gift that Disney and friends wants to give us. We’ve tempered our enthusiasm to protect ourselves from fresh wounds.
