Posted on: Sunday, May 19, 2002
Original fans fueling hype for 'Star Wars'
By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
Given the staggering impact the first "Star Wars" series had on an entire generation of American movie-goers, one might argue calculation in director George Lucas' decision to wait almost a full cycle before expanding on the dynasty with "Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones."
Consider: Who better to shepherd the next billion "Star Wars" fans to the theaters than their Jedi-fixated parents?
Lucas "knew what he was doing," says Kyle Cohler, a 27-year-old University of Hawai'i student and self-proclaimed "Star Wars" lunatic. "He waited for all of his original fans to have kids before he made his move."
Cohler says he's only half kidding.
"When we were kids, 'Star Wars' was it," he says. "There was nothing else to compete (with it). Now there are, like, a hundred other things that make it look totally ordinary. The difference is going to be parents from the 'Star Wars' generation making decisions for their kids. Yoda, yes. Pokemon, no."
There is some evidence to support Cohler's idea. A quick survey of toy stores and collector shops shows that most people buying advance merchandise for the new installment are in their mid- to late 30s.
"It's definitely our generation of people who grew up in the '80s that is pushing this," said Joe Liu-Kwan, 33, an assistant manager at Gecko Books and Comics in Kaimuki. "It's people our age who are getting people to go out and see the new ('Star Wars' movies)."
Liu-Kwan remembers the frustration of being in South Korea when "The Empire Strikes Back" opened in the United States. He remembers making up for it by standing in line at 6 a.m. to get tickets for the premiere of "Return of the Jedi."
The "Star Wars" movies draw their, well, force from these types of memories, not just of the movies but of the excitement and activity that grew out of them — multiplied by the billion-plus people who came of age during the years that the original trilogy ruled theaters.
It may be that sense of collective cultural experience, internalized for two decades, that makes it so difficult for the new trilogy to measure up.
"I don't think the new ones can be as good in any way, shape or form as the first series," Liu-Kwan says. "There was no moment in ('The Phantom Menace') where you felt really awestruck. We've seen it all before."
Crystal Vergara, 35, takes a harder stance. She saw "Phantom" as nothing less than a slap in the face.
"I felt like (Lucas) kind of sold out his old fans to pander to a young audience," she says. "It wasn't heroic. It didn't inspire you. It was just there to sell toys."
Vergara said her 7-year-old son, Madrid, saw the movie on video and liked the character Jar Jar Binks. "But I didn't want him to like that stupid thing," she says. "How can you go from Chewbacca to that thing?"
If Vergara's reaction is any indication, viewers who remember the first "Star Wars" movies have an emotional investment in the ongoing series. Not only do they want to recapture the sense of wonder and excitement that the first series inspired, but also to pass on to the next generation the common bond created by the shared stories found in the films.
In Lucasfilm documents recently obtained by Newsweek, Lucas himself admitted that "Phantom" was something of a disappointment, despite the fact that it grossed more than $1 billion.
Still, the trilogy is young and a good showing by "Clones" could turn things around.
Maybe.
Garry Lum, 38, took his kids, Anson, 11, and Rachel, 8, to see "Phantom" three years ago, hoping that they would have the same experience he had watching the original "Star Wars."
"They liked it OK, but it didn't stand out to them," Lum says. "Anson played with the toys for awhile, the Darth Maul and stuff, but I don't think it was anything special. Right now, the two of them could care less. Everything is Yu-Gi-Oh or Spider-Man."
