Joseph Caruso has been a fan of Star Wars since he was a kid. (Photo Courtesy of Joseph Caruso)
It was May 4, 2012. I was in eighth grade and had just walked into my classroom; 20 students were also there, squeezed in tight. My teacher, Matt McCall, tried to wake me and my classmates up with his loud, stern voice: “May The Fourth be with you!”
That was my first encounter with “Star Wars” and I didn’t understand it. I paid no mind to it when it was played at family parties, but for others, that iconic high-and-low orchestral opening music — combined with the bright yellow block letters and star-studded background — meant something extraordinary.
Since “Episode IV: A New Hope” was released in 1977, families have gathered together to watch “Star Wars.” And as new installments were released—from the late 90s re-releases to the 00s prequels to today’s sequels—each generation has laid claim to their own episodes, maligned or not. Now, 42 years later, the saga is (maybe) coming to an end. Families across the world are finishing the space journey together.
Joseph Caruso, a junior at Saint Peter’s University, saw “Episode III: Revenge of the Sith,” his first of the series, in 2005 when it came out. He was five years old, but he remembers the bright colors — from scenes like Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala in Naboo to jedis aggressively battling with their blue, green and red lightsabers.
Caruso’s parents are both avid fans of the films, but he credits his dad for introducing it to him.
“I really did think it was awesome,” Caruso said. “But now I think I can appreciate it more because now I can understand the symbolism and what’s really behind it besides the jedi versus the sith.”
For Caruso, it was the jedis — the good guys — and the sith — the bad guys — and their clash of good versus evil that not only represented reality, but also deepened his passion for the epic series.
“The Force Awakens” topped it all, he said. That was the film that returned to the “Star Wars formula,” pointing back at the original trilogy, reintroducing the old characters like Luke, Han Solo and Leia Skywalker and merging them with the new generation like Rey.
Caruso was brought into a whole other universe, and the combination of new and old in episode seven also helped bridge the generational gap between him and his dad, he said.
“When you think about it, every generation has grown up in ‘Star Wars,’” he said. “I don’t think Star Wars is ever going to be something that dies out.”
A father and son watching the original trilogy tapes seemed to be a tradition all its own — one that still continues today.
McCall, the teacher at St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Jersey City, was four years old when he saw Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, his first George Lucas film. He cried in the theater when Yoda died, adored the fuzzy Ewoks and notorious galaxy gangster Jabba The Hutt and rooted for farm-boy-gone-jedi Luke Skywalker the whole two hours and 16 minutes.
He convinced his dad to take him to the theater two more times to rewatch the 1983 film. “Return of the Jedi” was the start of his Jedi-associated cinephilia; he “couldn’t get over it.”
“From that point on, everything had to be ‘Star Wars,’” McCall said. “Lunch box, coloring books and collector cards.”
McCall, now a father of two, has passed down his “family movie day” to Mikey, his 10-year-old son. When Mikey was around four, he started the series the same way his dad did, with “Return of the Jedi.”
The trilogy didn’t have the same effect on Mikey — McCall said his son was more focused on “Toy Story” at the time —but eventually his son gave it another chance, and something stuck. In 2015, McCall took Mikey out of school for opening day of “Episode VII: The Force Awakens.”
The lights slowly dimmed, the big screen turned on and the 20th Century Fox picture transitioned into the sparkly green-to-yellow Lucas Film logo. The blue words “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away” appeared on the screen for a glance before going black; seconds later “STAR WARS” in its trademarked font zoomed out as the music greeted the viewers, making McCall emotional.
But being starstruck by the nine-film saga in theaters is a common reaction.
Michael Mendez, a 29-year-old fan from Jersey City, first saw “A New Hope” when he was about nine years old. He said he remembers the before-its-time special effects, glowing lightsabers, starfighter jets, the blasting sounds and sidekick droids like C3PO and R2D2.
And like Mikey and Caruso, Mendez was brought into the epic-space adventure because of his dad.
When the prequels were released in the 2000s — “The Phantom Menace,” “Attack of the Clones” and “Revenge of the Sith” — Mendez, his dad and two sisters were always there.
“He’s the first one to say yes when we ask to watch these films,” Mendez said. “He’s like, ‘Alright, when are we going?’”
Though Mendez’s favorite is “The Return of the Jedi” — the movie that changed McCall’s life — he said he likes the new trilogy because it caters to today’s audience. But the still existing go-to-a-movie-together tradition is one of the most important things, especially today, he added.
“Life comes at you so fast,” he said. “We get caught up in our day to day. Even though we’re not talking during a movie, we’re sitting together, then, when it’s over, we get to talk about and share how we feel.”
Life does come fast. When I first watched “Star Wars,” I was 18. My boyfriend sat me down and told me I wasn’t ready for a saga like this —and I wasn’t.
The storyline, characters, special effects, droids, extras and everything else made the series something I couldn’t get over for days. I regretted not looking at the T.V. during family parties when my uncle had “A New Hope” playing or when “Star Wars” returned to our lives in “The Force Awakens.”
“Revenge of the Sith” has a special kind of resonance with me because of the plot. The way Anakin’s character slowly spirals down the dark path, in hope to save Padmé from her inevitable death, is the most tragic to me. I’ve watched that movie dozens of times.
Now, that iconic high-and-low orchestral opening music, the bright yellow block letters and star-studded background, makes me choke up. That music was the beginning of the rest of my life and I’m going to make a tradition of it.
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