The Truth of Star Wars Mania

The Star Wars bandwagon is rolling through town and we are on it. No shame, no apologies. Every man, woman and child. The ultimate apex of cross generational zeitgeist cool-aid. I'm not just drinking it, I'm taking a bath in it. Heck, I filled my hot tub with it and all I know are stewing in it while we drink it. Drunk and Soaking in Star Wars.

We all know the Force Awakens is completely overblown; over-hyped and over-sold. And yet, I've practically browned-out after each new trailer. At Disneyland this last week, I swear 1/3 of all t-shirts were Star Wars related, many of them quite clever. But why are we so geeked-out for something that can't possibly deliver? I have a couple of theories:

• People love a come-back story
• Lightsabers are awesome no matter the design
• Being on the bandwagon gives a sense of community and belonging
• Subconscious desperate need to escape the drudgery of life through sci-fi fantasy

But here is the real reason:

• Redemption

George Lucas has opined the six canonical films are "Anakin's" story. A gifted young man who became corrupted and then ruined everything. It took a brutal force lightning torture session of his son to wake him up and sacrifice himself to save his son, his soul and the galaxy.

     Luke: I'll not leave you here I've got to save you!

     Anakin: You already have Luke. You were right. You were right about me.    

Oscar Wilde would be so pleased to see "Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life."

You could say a $4 Billion dollar sale is nothing compared to being fried by lighting and then blown up. But whatever. I'll take it. I can now forgive George and move on; appreciating all the good he did, buy tons of merchandise and go to Star Wars themed lands at Disney. Even if the Force Awakens sucks, it can't be worse than the prequels and George has redeemed himself. Let's celebrate with the original ROTJ Ewok celebration song and buy some swag!