It's Friday and it's May the 4th! I have loved Star Wars ever since I first watched Episode IV as a kid. As a dedication to Star Wars Day, today's Fandom Friday is on four big reasons I've loved Star Wars for most of my life, and in the spirit of the unofficial 'holiday' I'll keep it short and sweet:
Princess Leia
The earliest heroines I watched on the screen were princesses who didn't do much and got rescued. In other words, they weren't really heroines, they were damsels in distress. When I first saw Leia in action, it was a very powerful moment for me as a shy and quiet little girl. She showed me that it was okay for girls to be strong and speak up for themselves, and speak up against others if needed. Leia was brave and was not a bystander to her own rescue like so many other princesses I was used to seeing on screen. Not only that, but the fact that she was actively involved in the politics of her galaxy and stood up in the face of injustice make her even more outstanding. She is a great feminist role model. Throughout the Star Wars stories, there have been other powerful heroines, but Leia has always been the most inspirational to me.
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Among the things I learned from the original trilogy when I was a child was how you have to believe in yourself. Luke was just a kid from a small town when he was called to action. The deaths of his aunt and uncle propelled him to act, but he always had the desire to do more. He persisted when the odds were against him. Of course, we see the same story with Rey, a nobody from a nowhere town who didn't know she could access any sort of power but believed in herself when the time came.
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The second most important lesson I learned from Star Wars is the power of friendship and trusting those close to you. How much trust the heroes have in their friends is directly related to their own survival. Many times when they are each in a jam, their friends come to the rescue, whether it was Luke and Han retrieving Leia, Leia retrieving Luke, or Leia and Luke retrieving Han from danger. Star Wars teaches us that our best friends will have our back no matter what kind of a jam we are in.
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Star Wars has represented community and acceptance to many people from the beginning. People gather together to celebrate their passion for the fandom, even years ago when this was something used to mock others. Star Wars fans have not always been completely accepted in the larger community, and like every fandom, there is in-group conflict and criticisms, but as a whole, people within the community itself can recognize the essentials of what brings so many people of so many different backgrounds and demographics together.
That's it for that, I hope you all enjoy your day and may the Force be with you!♥
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| gif from giphy.com |
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Happy belated May the Fourth Be With You! Love these reasons and lessons you learned from Star Wars. Princess Leia is such a huge inspiration, and Rey is amazingingly following in her footsteps too.
ReplyDeleteLovely post!
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