My girls have not seen any of the Star Wars films. I saw the first trilogy uncountable times growing up. We saw the first movie 5 times in the theater. I was 5. My brother was 6 1/2. These movies were a big deal in our family and remained a big deal for pretty much, ever. The stories and characters and culture around it all permeated my life and brain growing up. I don't really remember not knowing about that world.
We both went through a range of emotions and confusion when we were in our 20s and the second waves of films came out. They were both exciting and disappointing and all that.
Introducing this world to the girls, I have been stumped. We knew eventually we would show them the movies, but when and how was not something I could figure out. They have no brother that just brings this stuff into the house, like I did, and they don't naturally drift to Star Wars stuff on their own. They know about Princess Leia and are very curious about Jabba. I realized how lacking they were in their exposure when they didn't know what a Tuantuan was and how funny it is to see a pug dressed as one.
I brought all this up to my brother and here's what he e-mailed me, which kind of blew my mind:
Remember when you asked me what order the girls should watch Star Wars in? I've been thinking about that for about year now. I've come to a conclusion.
I think the girls should watch the series in what's called the Machete Order.
Machete Order is a modified version of the Ernst Rister order. It's IV, V, II, III, VI (Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith). So that's the normal first two movies, Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back. Then the second and third of the new movies, and then we wrap up with Return of the Jedi, the ewok movie.
This has a few major advantages over every other order. Here's a very long blog post that explores the Machete Order pretty deeply (there are others), but here are the highlights.
- Episode I is removed completely. No more Jar Jar, no more Qui-Gon, that movie blows and does nothing to advance the story.**
- The big Vader reveal is preserved in Empire Strikes Back.
- Episodes II and III work like a flashback right after "I am your father"
- Vader turning away from the dark side at the end seems more believable
- Luke being tempted by the dark side via the emperor has a pleasing symmetry
- Obi-Wan has a beard though the whole series
- The galaxy-wide ewok celebration makes more sense.
- And I'm thinking we go with the latest, updated, fully remastered/re-edited versions. I just watched all of them in blu-ray, in that order. It works. The early ones are not that goofy looking by modern movie standards. The two big problems with this order are:
- The whole Anikin's mom thing, when he kills the sandpeople, is a little confusing without Episode I.
- R2-D2 has jetpacks back in the past, then suddenly doesn't in the future. That's totally George's fault and is an issue whatever order you watch them in.
So I have all of those movies. We just need to figure out a way to get a projector for a week so we can watch them on your wall. You can have star wars week! I sure there are some educational themes to be tied in.
I think this is great, I had never thought seriously about switching the order when showing them to the girls the first time. It makes so much sense and seems perfect for a watching marathon!
But then that got me thinking about all kinds of issues. Having talked too much about this (never!) I think I actually might try using the Ernest Rister order: IV, V, I, II, III, and VI, which includes all the films. Or using the Machete Order my brother suggests and having them watch Episode I: The Phantom Menace as a stand alone later.
Why I resist skipping Episode I: The Phantom Menace:
**Yes, this movie is confusing/boring/not well done in many ways including racist, but to me personally, and for my girls, Natalie Portman as young Queen Amidala in that particular movie is not to be missed. Her power and story in that film, not to mention her make-up and costumes, is so strong I just can't imagine not having them see it. I think the strength of her character makes the entire series more accessible to women and cutting any of it out seems to narrow the opening girls have in relating to the series as a whole. If you skip seeing Queen Amidala in Episode I, you just see her in Episode II when it ends with her, you know, falling for the dangerous/passionate jerk and getting knocked up. You miss seeing how much there is to her character before all that. When I was little I remember getting excited every time I would see Leia on screen—just that screen time with a strong female character is important. Episode I is also the first time you see the existence of female Jedis, however brief, and growing up I was always sad in the first three films a female Jedi didn't even seem like an option.
Pete thought the same thing, as the father of 3 young girls—his first reaction to skipping this Episode I was how much they would miss seeing Queen Amidala in that movie. Also, he pointed out, it's the only time we see the Jedis in power before it all goes bad, and that's exciting. You get a sense of what they were before, it's a golden time for them, which I like. Also, I love Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) who they would never see without Episode I, and I can't let that go either.
We noticed that unlike Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, which very easily found their way very naturally into the house with 3 girls, the Star Wars series has barely been on their radar. I realize how male/little boy dominant the series is in its concept, characters, and execution. I know recent science fiction and fantasy franchises do a better job of attracting both genders and I am so happy about this. And with cross-gender appeal, these franchises make more money. It's a win-win for everyone. In my experience, Star Wars is really hard for girls to break into without a brother or enthusiastic parent bringing it in the house and really explaining it all to them. But maybe this inaccessibility isn't all about gender as much as it's also about how the series is kind of a train wreck in terms of order and plots and keeping it all straight, along with some very questionable characters. With all the brilliance the story has, it's unevenly told.
The links my brother points to are really interesting and fun for me to read. I need to dig deeper into the educational link. He was quick to point out to me that these ideas have been around for years and aren't concepts he came up with. Thanks Uncle Adam!!
