I remember the first Star Wars movie I saw at the theater. It was Return of the Jedi. I was eight. Does that date me? I had previously seen the original Star Wars and Empire Strikes back. My brother, three years younger, had too. So when I do the math, he probably began the Star Wars trilogy around the age of five. Hmmmmmm.....
I hadn't given it much thought until a few nights ago when my neighbor's kid, also five, came out with a giant light saber--complete with noise and lights. Next thing I know all the kids are running around playing Star Wars and assigning roles. Anna declares herself Darth Vader and stands with her best mean face and hands on hips. The boys argue over who's going to be Luke Skywalker. And soon, they're all running around making up a Star Wars world of good vs. evil.
Where do they get this? My kids wouldn't know Star Wars if they saw it. I don't think they've even seen a picture from it. But even I remember as a kid, being fascinated by it all and begging to be Princess Leia. What is it about Star Wars that fascinates us all? Why are even young kids drawn to this?
Then I started thinking when would I actually let my kids see this? The older ones are pretty basic. But there are still topics in there I'm not ready to address. Five seems so young, but when I think about Alex...I know he'd love it. Beyond the messages in the movie, Star Wars opens up a whole new grown-up science fiction world to him. Am I ready to leave behind Dora, Thomas and Backyardigans? I've only just gotten use to Spiderman. I think I want to wait a little longer and let Star Wars be something in his imagination. Maybe next year.
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I think kids enjoy the accoutrements even if they've never seen the shows. My oldest loved the Power Rangers for months and still has never seen it.
All three of our kids (I think) have seen the first two (new) Star Wars and love them. Although that was my husband's call. I might have made a different decision.
Max will be 6 this summer and I am just now considering letting him see the first Star Wars. There are other shows though I know people let their young children watch that I know we are not ready for. Pirates of the Carribean for example.
Return of the Jedi was on Spike last night and my husband begged me to watch it with him. At some point during the movie, I made the mistake of asking him if he had any of the action figures when he was growing up and from there on out, I had to hear him tell me about it every time one of the action figures or playsets he had came on to the screen. Plus those that his friends had. Fascinating to know that he was capable of trapping his guys just like the Ewoks did with the tree/net playset, but I have to admit it was kinda cute to see him re-live the memories.
As a side note, we spent the weekend at the beach with friends whose 4 year old has the most realistic Darth Vader costume I've ever seen, which he lives in, despite never having seen the movie. Another friend in his early 30's treated himself to a grown-up, realistic light saber for his costume this past Halloween. Guess the obsession spans all ages.
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