Star Wars Week: The Last Danish Jedi

The date May 25, 1977 is immortalized forever as the birthday of the most popular movie ever made: Star Wars. Can you think of any other movie whose release date is so well known?

And on that day, I was there.

A mere 5 years old, my parents and I went to a drive-in theater to see a double-feature. The first movie was some old movie called The Day the Earth Stood Still (the 1951 version, obviously). The 2nd feature changed my life entirely. It was Star Wars.

And while my mom fell asleep during the movie, I was completely enthralled by what I saw. Sure, at 5 years old I was convinced that the lightsabers were called “life savers“, that the TIE Fighters were “Time Fighters” and that the Stormtroopers and Darth Vader were robots… but nonetheless I was transported to another galaxy far, far away. And I don’t really think I’ve ever been back since then.

In the 30+ years I’ve been a fan, I’ve been lucky enough to be involved in the official merchandise aspect, having worked on the original West End Games Star Wars Roleplaying Game, and from a fan aspect have had my (former and rather enormous) collection of action figures featured in print and television. Currently, I’m writing an upcoming novel (but more on that later). I’ve always felt that being an actual contributor to the fandom was far more important than buying my way into it. And while the grand old days of the original WEG is over, and my toy collection was auctioned off years ago – the experiences that I have had contributing made it all the more worth while.

Of course, being a Star Wars fan puts me into a group of people who can’t really agree on more than being Star Wars fans. There’s a lot of arguments out there, and like any one else I have my own opinions on them:

Star Wars vs Star Trek

Star Trek media has been chugging along with half-assed attempts at entertainment for the better part of 11 years now (since the end of DS9). Even the great 2009 J. J. Abrams movie couldn’t really redeem the terrible comics, novels, and television shows that have made Trek a mockery.

And is a safe, sterile, Utopian future really that exciting? Gimme Sith every time.

Unlike Star Trek, Star Wars will never die. It’s as simple as that.

Leave George alone

There seems to be two camps out there: Those that deride everything George Lucas does, claiming that he “raped their childhoods” with Greedo shooting first and Jar Jar Binks. Then there are those that think he should be “forgiven” for the same. Both should be publicly executed.

George Lucas – besides being the mastermind behind American Graffiti and THX 1138, brought us Indiana Jones, gave Steven Spielberg the chance to be Steven Spielberg, and established Industrial Light & Magic and LucasArts – which changed not only the movie industry but the game industry, as well.

It is a simple, inarguable fact that the Star Wars movies were made for all ages – but particularly kids. Those that decry the Special Editions or the Prequels have done nothing more than either jumped on board the bandwagon of hate – or worse – forgotten what it was like to be a kid. And in the cases of the latter, I feel really sorry for them all.

The question of canon

Somehow this subject is a hotspot that really doesn’t need to be. There are sadly a lot of people out there who have seen all 6 Star Wars films, but have never played a Star Wars game, watched a Star Wars television program, or read a Star Wars publication. According to them, anything outside of the films (which we know as the Expanded Universe (EU)) doesn’t “count as canon” and thereby rudely dismiss them. And in my opinion, they are cheating themselves out of a more than worthy experience.

In 2000, Lucas Licensing created a continuity-tracking database referred to as the Holocron continuity database. The Holocron follows the canon policy that has been in effect for years, but the capabilities of database software allow for each element of a story, rather than the stories themselves, to be classified on their own merits.

The Holocron’s database includes an area for a single-letter (G, T, C, S or N) representing the level of canonicity of that element; these letters have since informally been applied to the levels of canon themselves: G-canon, T-canon, C-canon, S-canon and N-canon.

G, T, C and S together form the overall Star Wars continuity. Each ascending level typically overrides the lower ones; for example, Boba Fett’s back story was radically altered with the release of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, forcing the retcon of older source material to fall in line with the new G-canon back story. However, this is not always absolute, and the resolution of all contradictions are handled on a case-by-case basis.

So what does all of this mean?

• G-canon is George Lucas Canon; the six Episodes and anything directly provided to Lucas Licensing by Lucas (including unpublished production notes from him or his production department that are never seen by the public). Elements originating with Lucas in the movie novelizations, reference books, and other sources are also G-canon, though anything created by the authors of those sources is C-canon. When the matter of changes between movie versions arises, the most recently released editions are deemed superior to older ones, as they correct mistakes, improve consistency between the two trilogies, and express Lucas’s current vision of the Star Wars universe most closely. The deleted scenes included on the DVDs are also considered G-canon (when they’re not in conflict with the movie).
• T-canon, or Television Canon, refers to the canon level comprising the feature film Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the two television shows Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the Star Wars live-action TV series. It was devised recently in order to define a status above the C-Level canon.
• C-canon is Continuity Canon, consisting of all recent works (and many older works) released under the name of Star Wars: books, comics, games, cartoons, non-theatrical films, and more. Games are a special case, as generally only the stories are C-canon, while things like stats and gameplay may not be; they also offer non-canonical options to the player, such as choosing female gender for a canonically male character. C-canon elements have been known to appear in the movies, thus making them G-canon; examples include the name “Coruscant,” swoop bikes, Quinlan Vos, Aayla Secura, YT-2400 freighters and Action VI transports.
• S-canon is Secondary Canon; the materials are available to be used or ignored as needed by current authors. This includes mostly older works, such as much of the Marvel Star Wars comics, that predate a consistent effort to maintain continuity; it also contains certain elements of a few otherwise N-canon stories, and other things that “may not fit just right.” Many formerly S-canon elements have been elevated to C-canon through their inclusion in more recent works by continuity-minded authors, while many other older works (such as The Han Solo Adventures) were accounted for in continuity from the start despite their age, and thus were always C-canon.
• N-canon is Non-Canon. What-if stories (such as stories published under the Infinities label) and anything else directly and irreconcilably contradicted by higher canon ends up here. N is the only level that is not considered canon by Lucasfilm. Information cut from canon, deleted scenes, or from canceled Star Wars works falls into this category as well, unless another canonical work references it and it is declared canon.

Individual movies come and go, as do TV shows, video games, books. They all contribute to the lore of Star Wars, but in the end it is one saga and that saga is called Star Wars. And if you’re not into the whole thing at least in some part, I do question your overall sincerity as a Star Wars fan.

Oota goota, Solo?

Like the title of this post implies, I often question if I am the last Danish Jedi. There have been various attempts at solidifying a fanbase here in Denmark, which have all failed in one way or another. There was a fan club, which ended up collapsing without delivering on the money they took in as membership fees. There have been get-togethers (not quite conventions, per say) that have either had the most obscure guests (“that guy who played that alien in that one scene”) or were little more than flea markets for overpriced toys.

This has more to do with the Danish mindset than it does with casting blame on any one individual. No matter how far our society advances, there is always the shadow of  The Jante Law lurking around the corner. Deep down, a lot of people are entirely too self-conscious and are hesitant to admit that they are a “Star Wars Nørd“, so the overall fan culture suffers.

For the few Danish Star Wars fans that do exist, it is sadly necessary to travel beyond the borders of our own country to interact with our counterparts.

Fortunately, the popularity of Star Wars has found a “new birth” among the children here – and it is my sincere hope that will continue to grow. On the playgrounds – the kids reenact their favorite scenes from The Clone Wars, play with their action figures, and wear their Star Wars T-Shirts. It is a great sign how much The Saga has carried itself for over 30 years without missing a beat.

As for me, I could no more stop being a Star Wars fan than I could stop breathing. The two go hand-in-hand.

May the Force be with you. Always.