Adventures in Raising the Next Generation of Original Star Wars Fans — Page 12

This thread strikes at the heart of why I, and many others want to rewrite the prequels. They have created a paradox wherein no method of watching them yields acceptable results. The OT takes a somewhat mature mind to fully appreciate, this much is generally agreed upon. Thus, watching the prequels at all during early childhood (clearly the target demographic) redefines the OT before it can be appreciated. However, the prequels are almost impossible to appreciate outside of childhood, except through nostalgia.

A catch 22, to be sure.

As for if I would let my kids watch the prequels, I wouldn't recommend them, nor would I ban them. It's just a few movies, after all. I will keep dreaming of a world where a rewritten Episode 1, 2, and 3 may be a better introduction to Star Wars than even the originals, and who knows, it may become a reality some day.

I'm fine with my kids making their own choices what they watch (as long as it's age appropriate) and don't burden them with my prejudices - it only ends up biting you on the bum in later life anyway.

Padawan Menace is great fun and really, really funny.  My son became sensitive over the films for a while and asked for his Darth Vader poster to be taken down and returned the Star Wars DVDs that he inherited from me when I got the Blu-rays.  For films that are aimed at a younger age group, there's an awful lot of darkness there, too - but then, we read children Hansel And Gretel and expect them to have a good night's sleep - and Anakin's journey is hardly a barrel of laughs (at least my age group got a happy ending with the Star Wars films we grew up with).

Anyway, a big deal wasn't made of him not wanting to watch Star Wars anymore and, consequently, he's back into it again.

Lol.....and I just thought it was a flashlight. o_O

I saw the OT at age 5 (original cuts), then Phantom Menace when I was 9. 

When I was 11 I rediscovered the genius of the OT in a more mature way (specifically ESB which I was completely floored by in terms of how good it was-my brother always wanted to watch ROTJ growing up so I hardly remembered ESB). 

Then I saw Ep. 2 in 2002 and Ep. 3 in 2005. 

I think it is good to show the prequels to kids, but they need a period of time (for me 4 years was enough) where it's just the OT and they can get that universe/framework firmly established. 

Because to this day, I enjoy watching Phantom Menace and AOTC.  Phantom Menace because it seemed so sweet and innocent and there is such nostalgia remembering all the toys and seeing the Darth Maul saber battle in the theater. AOTC because of nostalgia again, but also because I was 12 and I thought Natalie Portman looked a LOT better in that one than she did in Ep. 1. 

But by the time Ep. 3 rolled around I was 15 so I don't have any childhood nostalgia attached to it- I see more flaws than anything. 

So I think if your kids are to love the entire Star Wars saga they should be introduced to the original version OT as early as possible, then show them the prequels at age 9 or 10.  When they grow up they will remember the prequels for nostalgic reasons, but they will almost certainly rediscover the greatness of the OT as well.

I also think the original Star Wars Trilogy instilled such a strong sense of these concepts for kids: 

-Good and evil

-Evil being easier but not more powerful.

-Temptation (the emperor is basically the devil)

-Forgiveness (I've got to save you!  says Luke)

-Redemption ("You already have, Luke...You were right....you were right about me."  Darth Vader so evil, but still was able to be saved by Luke's love)

This is the soul represented in Star Wars and the reason why that trilogy is so strongly a part of us....it takes the good/evil concept and puts it in such a striking way that is so easily understood. 

It is also why I think Gen-X and the first part of Gen Y (me) are generally more warmhearted than the Boomers and their children :)  ;)

^^ This is also a great reason why contrary to critical opinion, ROTJ is just as genius as the other 2 Star Wars because it brings all of these themes full circle in such a powerful ending in the throne room.

SilverWook said:

...But there's just no saving Mr. Potatohead pod racer guy. ;)

actually, I just realized: Quadinaros looks like that guy from that "Supermen Lovers" video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h61QG4s0I3U

Well, let's hope that the next Star Wars films aren't just that!

All good points, though. I've not burdened my son with any prejudices about the films (basically because I don't have any) but I certainly made sure he was aware of them because I firmly believe that the Star Wars saga belongs to that tradition of good stories well told (plus, he's too young for Lord of The Rings!) and there are lessons to be learned from the story.

And yes, I am a Brit :) and my son is seven years old.

Last year for Christmas I gave my then 2.5 year old (now 3.5 year old) an AT-AT.  Note the clever wrapping job above.  (Don't note the poor focus of the photo).  Since then, he's lovingly referred to it as his 'robot puppy' and he plays with it on a fairly regular basis.  It was the one toy he took with him to our Thanksgiving party.

This weekend we watched Ady's ESB Theatrical Reconstruction (which was awesome!) and I was really excited about him seeing his robot puppy larger than life on the big screen.  When they finally appeared, the other kids got really excited for him and started yelling.  At first he was silent as he watched it in awe... then he jumped up and down and cheered for the robot puppies...  and then the rebels brought down the first one.

He burst into tears.

He was quite upset.  A lot of things can make a 3.5 year old upset, so at first I wasn't sure what had him twisted up.  But through the sobs, he told us that he didn't like them hurting the robot puppies and it made him sad.  My oldest tried to explain to him that the robot puppies were the bad guys... but that didn't help. 

Not one bit.

It was kind of awesome.

Kids are funny.

Good job raising the next generation of Imperial loyalists!

khaosxrevolution said:

Wouldn't you rather have them watch something like the Phantom Menace instead of a cheap Disney movie?

No--a thousand times no!  There's some great Disney films out there--even some mildly sci-fi ones with explosions and adventures, if that's their taste.  IMO Phantom Menace doesn't measure up by any standard to something like Lilo & Stitch, or even its cheap direct-to-video antecedents.  Cheap Disney shlock all the way here.

Given the choice between two movies, I'd always show my kid a better movie over a worse movie.  So they may very well see TPM some day, but only when the only other choice is ROTS.

Time to break out The Ridiculous Menace, i'm guessing?