May the 4th Be With You! Happy Star Wars Day!

         

May the 4th Be With You!  (May the Force Be With You!–get it??)

Do you love Star Wars?  This day is considered an unofficial holiday by Star Wars fans to celebrate Star Wars culture and remember the films.  The items shown above are just a small sampling of Star Wars related materials that the library has for you to check out to have your own out of this world celebration.  As a lifelong Star Wars fan, it is my pleasure to have the chance to share my excitement about the movies, stories, and video games with library customers. Here are a few of my favorites.  What are yours?

Favorite movie of the series:  Return of the Jedi.  Although The Empire Strikes Back is a very close second, ROTJ has it all!   The Rebel Alliance takes a last stand against the evil Imperials, led by Admiral Ackbar (It’s a Trap); Luke faces his father Darth Vader with the Emperor watching (Good, good!  Use your aggressive feelings, boy!)  ; Han gets rescued by the Princess (You have carbonation sickness) ; and who knew that the galaxy would rely on fuzzy little Ewoks to save the day (Echewawa)!

Favorite book after the films:  Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn   There is actually a 20th anniversary edition of this title coming out in June.  For me, basically Zahn’s novel represents the rebirth of Star Wars.  For awhile, after ROTJ ended, there was a dry spell with no more stories, movies, games, toys.  With Heir to the Empire, Zahn picks up where ROTJ ended, thereby creating a resurgence in stories outside of George Lucas’ vision that have now been dubbed the Expanded Universe.  Han and Leia are married and expecting twins, Luke begins to rebuild the Jedi order and a certain redhead comes into his life, and the galaxy recovers from years of Imperial suppression.  Ah, but wait!  The Imperial fleet is not done yet…

Favorite character:  R2-D2.  Yes, he’s a machine, but that droid has a soul, and notice R2 is a “he” not an “it” throughout the films.  Ewan McGregor, who portrayed Obi-Wan Kenobi in the prequel trilogy, said in an interview, “As soon as R2-D2 comes on the set, everyone goes a bit silly.” He recalled how his then four-year-old daughter announced she was in love with R2-D2, and then confessed his own affections for the droid: “…there is something about him that makes you feel great affection for him. I think it is a combination of his shape, his high-pitched voice. He’s just incredibly appealing. In fact, I believe he is George [Lucas]’s favorite actor.” Lucas confirms this in the audio commentary of the Episode III DVD. In this discussion on the audio commentary, George Lucas also notes that it is intentional that R2-D2 saves the day at least once in every film.

Favorite Starship:  Millennium Falcon  Fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy  ’nuff said.

Favorite quotes from the films:   “Laugh it up, fuzzball”  “Do or do not, there is no try”  “Aren’t you a little short for a stormtrooper”  ” There’s always a bigger fish”  “Let the wookiee win”  “Never tell me the odds”

Enjoy Star Wars Day!