I’ve had a lifelong love affair with Star Wars, and with all the new movies and shows coming out, I’m like a kid at Christmas. (Two words: BABY. YODA.) I was two years old when Star Wars came out, so Star Wars has been around for basically my entire life.
It was only when I hit college that I realized that not every girl loved Star Wars as I did. Some of them liked it but wouldn’t admit it until I came out and admitted it, myself. Some of them had boyfriends who were totally into it but couldn’t be bothered. And some of them had not even seen it! WHAT???
I could not understand why, because Star Wars fucking ROCKS. But hey, it was the 80s, and we were young. Some of us were too busy playing Barbie and collecting rubber bracelets to notice Star Wars. Then some of us grew up and Star Wars became a thing that our geeky boyfriends loved, and perhaps girls thought it didn’t have anything to offer a female fan. If you missed out on the Star Wars hype as a kid, I’m here to tell you there is plenty of chick-flick gold in this sci-fi movie, and it’s not just for boys. Here are a few reasons why girls (or anyone, really) should love Star Wars…
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It’s a fairy tale with tons of cool literary themes.
I am a geeky former English major who, admittedly, will find literary themes in just about anything. But you can’t deny that Star Was is, at heart, a fairy tale that is chock-full of classic themes. Hero, quest, loss of innocence, love, redemption, good vs. evil. It’s all there!
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It’s hilarious.
Star Wars is an adventure story, yes, but there are so many funny things and funny moments that it’s truly a pleasure to watch. The new movies have learned the lesson of the prequels and they brought the funny. My sisters and I giggled like crazy over the cantina scene, and my kids love R2D2. In fact, when I asked my 10-year-old daughter who her favorite Star Wars character is, she didn’t say Padme Amidala or Princess Leia, as I expected (just being honest–I work at thinking outside traditional gender roles but she’s fresh off the princess phase.) It was R2D2. And why not? R2D2 is a small robot with a ‘tude and a sense of humor, and he’s always getting into trouble, which holds major appeal for the 10-year-old mind.
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It’s spiritual.
Aside from that weird foray into kooky fantasy science that occurred in Episode 1 (I’m looking at you, Qui-Gon. You can take your midi-chlorions and go right back to Coruscant) the Star Wars saga is a very spiritual tale. The foundation of Jedi beliefs have been likened to Eastern philosophy, with its emphasis on detachment and peace. Very cool stuff.
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There is a princess.
As aforementioned, Star Wars is essentially a fairy tale, complete with princess/damsel in distress. (You know we all had to have our moms do our hair in those double danish buns she had.) When you first meet Princess Leia, she is even wearing a white dress. But these are diplomatic robes, because she is not just some princess in a tower. She is political as fuck. She is a diplomat who is out in the universe on behalf of her planet getting shit done. And that is just her outward persona, because underneath, she is a motherfucking rebel. And that brings us to….
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The princess is a total badass.
The first thing my daughter said when I asked her, “Why should girls should watch Star Wars?” was this: “There’s a badass girl named Leia.” Leia’s badassery is well-known, from Star Wars, where she’s telling off Darth Vader and Moff Tarkin with that ever-so-slight British accent, to leading troops on Hoth in Empire Strikes Back, to that great moment of “I love you/I know” in Return of the Jedi when she surprise-blasts the storm troopers. (Carrie Fisher, we love and miss you daily.) All through the series, she radiates bravery and, when needed, generally haughty pissed-off GTFOMW.
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Princess Leia: “Will someone get this big walking carpet out of my way?” #StarWarsSaturdays pic.twitter.com/G3yqEYszxU
— Star Wars UK (@StarWarsUK) August 9, 2014
6. There are lots of cute things (who are, also, badass.)
Wookiees are awesome. Chewbacca is the best. And I know I’m going to catch flak for this from every Star Wars geek who reviles Jedi because of everything-that-took-place-on-Endor, but Ewoks are awesome , too. Dude, they are walking teddy bears! They are cute and cuddly fuzzy things who help defeat the Empire! If that is wrong, I don’t want to be right. And now, with “The Mandalorian,” we have a cute non-fuzzy thing: BABY YODA! The memes alone make life worth living in this insanity.
7. Two words: Han Solo.
Just as Princess Leia in the gold bikini woke our geeky brothers and friends up to the “wonders of womanhood,” Han Solo was around just when we needed him to prove that hunky, devil-may-care guys had a sensitive side, too. As girls growing up watching the Star Wars series, we started out with a schoolgirl crush on Luke because he’s all boyish and sweet. Then we hit the tween years watching Return of the Jedi and we saw that scene on the wooden Ewok bridge thingie with Leia saying “Hold me” all dramatically and holy shit, we didn’t know it could be that way! Geek girls would be replaying that scene in their minds for years to come. Go on, admit it.
The new Star Wars movies have taken girl power to a whole new level, and I love seeing little girls appreciate this space fairy tale I’ve loved all my life. So, if you’re a girl/woman who hasn’t seen Star Wars, I urge you to get on that right now. I highly recommend watching it in Machete Order if you’re a first timer. Have fun. And may the force be with you…