Opinion: Star Wars: The Fountain of Youth

By: David Gremillion

There are certain things that age well. I’ve never seen someone pass up Johnny Walker Blue for a one year old scotch. Only Steve Martin in “The Jerk” would demand to drink “fresh wine” that came out this year. Eighteen year old LeBron James never won a title. Have you seen Cindy Crawford lately?

However, Star Wars does not fall into that category.

One of the MANY complaints that the fanboys (and fangirls) have spewed across the Internet is that “Star Wars Rebels” is this show seems too “kid friendly”. But is that the real issue or is selfishness getting in the way? Think about it for a moment. Heaven forbid a cartoon show being shown on the Disney network featuring a couple of teenagers appeal to kids.

However, Star Wars doesn’t age. At all. Ever. Only the fanbase gets perpetually older, and sadly, more jaded as the March of Time continues. 

Prequel Trilogy fans are now firmly entrenched in their 20s. They’ve grown out of Jar-Jar Binks and into Machete, Inglorious Basterds, and The Dark Knight. They’re done with “poodoo” jokes and are ready to embrace something edgy. They were teased with the “1313” game and the “Star Wars Underworld” live action series that promised a grittier side of their beloved saga.

So now that Rebels APPEARS to be geared toward a younger crowd, Star Wars fans in general have forgotten one of the classic rules of Star Wars.

We’re all kids at heart.

Star Wars is our escape back to the 1970s, the 80s, 90s, or (sigh) the 2000s where a simple cardboard tube transformed us into Luke or Anakin. It doesn’t grow with us; we revert back to a time when we played with toys instead of collecting them. Sure, we get the occasional dark moment, but Star Wars recaptures our youth again and again.

And that is the very essence of Star Wars itself. We’re meant to be kids again, zipping through space, swinging a saber, saving the day just in the nick of time. I have no doubt that the “hardcore” fanbase will get to see the darker side of Star Wars, eventually.

In the meantime, why can’t we just enjoy a series that does what Star Wars does best? Let the Rebels series take us back to when we were kids and enjoy it for what it will be. Who knows? You might even be surprised. After all, this show is being influenced by a guy who made Gargoyles. Remember that show? The one where genocide was committed in the pilot?

We’ve grown up, which is all well and good. The key, however, is to remember that the point of Star Wars isn’t to grow up with you. It is to remind you of our younger selves. It is to give us a place to go back to, to hit us with nostalgia and remember what it was like to actually enjoy something without questioning every tiny detail.

Star Wars is for the kid that still lives in all of us. 


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