On May the 4th, Let’s Remember Why Fans of All Factions Love Star Wars

It is a weird time to be a Star Wars fan.

There certainly is unprecedented momentum, what with the success of The Force Awakens, the promise of standalone films like Rogue One, Rebels providing excellent storytelling and connective tissue for the whole saga, and volumes of other material being released.

However, the seedy underbelly of fandom is loud and varied. Dare to venture forth into comments and message boards, and you’ll find a splintering of fan factions ready to rip on anything. There’s no universal agreement into where this Sith lightning is being fired, just that it’s being used.

The funny thing is that as fans, part of our job is to debate and bicker. There’s a certain joy in that, but fandom turns toxic when that debate goes defensive, angry, and aggressive. On the literary side, the de-canonization of the old Expanded Universe has led to such online vitriol that Aftermath author Chuck Wendig decided to pen an open letter to that fan faction. For something as celebrated and beloved as Star Wars—I mean, sweet Jebus, it’s Star Wars—nothing in geekdom seems to be as divisive or vitriolic. Factions upon factions endlessly argue about what they consider the merits of this or that in an endless circle of toxic geek bravado.

But why? We all LOVE Star Wars, so how can something that produces such joy and devotion generate so much bile? It’s a question worth reflecting on because that negativity can often cause us to forget what Star Wars means to us.

So, let’s focus on a different question: what is your Star Wars journey? Because we all have one.

For me, I often say Star Wars is in my blood.

A long time ago (1978) in a galaxy far, far away (the San Francisco Bay Area), I was born. It didn’t take long for me to become a Star Wars fan.

When I was three, I got a Hoth playset for Christmas. Growing up, my favorite toy was my X-Wing fighter. I still vividly remember my mom agreeing to buy the Han Solo blaster for me at K-Mart. I remember going to the bookstore right after seeing Return of the Jedi in theaters and being grossed out by the still image of de-helmeted Anakin Skywalker in the storybook on display.

During the wilderness years, I devoured what extended media I could get my hands on, from horrible video games (Rebel Assault) to exquisite ones (X-Wing, Dark Forces) to the Timothy Zahn trilogy of books. The Special Edition releases were a celebration, and we watched the grainy QuickTime video of the trailer repeatedly on my college roommate’s computer, so much so that the two sorority girls next door made snarky comments to us about it.

Then the prequels hit, first with unabashed enthusiasm, then tentative acceptance. Despite their inconsistent quality (which I defend to this day, warts and all), I was fascinated by the world of that era and dove head-first into Expanded Universe material along with the epic Knights of the Old Republic. I may have even developed a small crush on conflicted Jedi Bastila Shan. During that time, I also married a fellow geek, and we incorporated many nerdy elements into our vows, including saying a very important “I know” after each “I love you.”

Like many fans, I was both excited and fearful with Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm. They certainly got off on the wrong foot by canceling my beloved The Clone Wars, a move somewhat rectified with the same team working on Rebels while allowing unused material to surface in other media. I was certainly skeptical of Episode 7, at least until that first trailer hit. Now, while I feel that The Force Awakens is a pretty good film with some flaws, I’m content with where the ship is sailing—erm, lightspeed jumping.

My daughter was also born in 2014, and raising her to be a little geek has also opened feelings about Star Wars, along with an epiphany of sorts. I think about all the elements of it that I want to introduce to her, and it hit me: There’s so much to take in, from films to TV to books to gaming to toys, that what she ultimately feels is going to be different from me. She may never fantasize about flying an X-Wing down the Death Star trench, but maybe she’ll dream about being a swashbuckling Jedi during the Clone Wars or fixing ships like Rey. Or maybe she’ll glom onto a totally different element, something that’s not even on my radar.

And that’s OK, because Star Wars is big enough for that, which is a lesson all fans should consider.

As Star Wars fans, we all have a deeply personal connection with this immense universe. The very thing that divides us into fan factions is the one thing that unites us all. Like the Force itself, Star Wars is bigger than all of us, and as geeks, it surrounds us and binds us.

That doesn’t mean you have to like all of it.

I remember when the prequels came out, one common gripe was that it didn’t feel like Star Wars—it was too polished, too melodramatic, but there’s a generation of fans who find the Original Trilogy slow-paced and hokey. There are fans who prefer their adventures in 22-minute animated format and others who prefer exploring the Old Republic online. For many people, their version of Star Wars will run at JJ Abrams’ frenetic action-packed pace, and others enjoy the now-Legends canon, something that exists now as essentially a parallel timeline but still filled with hundreds of books and comics.

There’s no right or wrong. In the end, they’re all just stories to be enjoyed. Original or Prequel, Clone Wars or Rebels, canon or Legends, Star Wars is all of that; it is so expansive and so detailed that there are encyclopedia entries on minutiae like the fact that Captain Phasma’s armor is made from Naboo chrome, and it’s only growing. Fandom factions can get so divisive that it’s hard to remember that we’re all here because of a space opera George Lucas dreamed up.

The Galaxy Far, Far Away is simply big enough for all of the stories we love.

Thus, on May the 4th, some 29 years after the original Star Wars exploded into the public consciousness, I say this to you, fellow geek: Be you of Jedi or Sith, Prequel or Original, PC X-Wing or PS4 Battlefront, First Order or Resistance, Legends EU or New Canon EU, put down your lightsabers and bowcasters and try to remember why this is so beloved by you. Because whatever aspect of Star Wars you love, there’s room for you. Or as Han Solo might say:

And may the Force be with you. Always.

Mike Chen is a freelance writer who used to cover the NHL for Fox Sports and SB Nation but now writes about geek parenting and video games. He also builds WordPress websites and writes novels that walk the line between mainstream and science fiction (repped by Eric Smith of PS Literary Agency). Follow him on Twitter.

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