SWC Why are we fans?

Liked Star Wars since I first came across it in the 80's (Empire was in Cinema's for 1st time).

Once the net came about I started looking online about Star Wars mainly for information on Episode 1 and TFN was one site I did get news from.

Did not realise there was a forum until 2004.

 

I wanted to write and read SW fan fiction. Discover the boards can be so much more as well!

 

When I saw Attack Of The Clones for the first time just after it came out in 2002, I was immediately hooked by the plot. I then watched the three original movies many times over, followed by The Phantom Menace and then read the novels and comic books non-stop.

It was at that point I decided to use my creativity and then put characters of my own into the galaxy far, far away and I have been working on them and their adventures since then and will continue to do so.

I really wanted to find a Star Wars forum for years, but I am glad that I finally found this board and became a member.

 

Wow, this made me look up when I registered, which was way too long ago! I started doing online Star Wars in late 96-early 97. By 98-99 TFN was THE place to go for hot news because back then you didn't have social media, mobile computing, blogs, online tools to create content instantly for anyone....

I started out on the Rebelscum.com side in 2000, then started to provide collecting news for TFN in early 2001. Over time people have moved on and I'm the only website staff left from the earlier days.

I have to admit, I never liked those earlier version of the forums (IGN days), and after moderating the Rebelscum Forums and getting phone calls at 3:00AM from some jerk wanting to know why he was banned I stepped back a bit from them all.

I like this new updated version and have been lurking more and more here lately.

I grew up a Star Wars fan, there was no defining moment when I decided to do this or that, its all just been the pursuit of Star Wars knowledge and knowing there is a community of others out there like me who like the same thing which is Star Wars!

 

I found the Technical Commentaries and it took me awhile to find out it was a part of a much larger website. I lurked for a long time and then joined up. I became one of George Lucas' millions of children in 1977.

 

I've loved just about everything Star Wars since before I can remember seeing the OT for the first time (I dot remember seeing the SEs for my first time). I lurked here for years before joining up, mostly because I grew up anticipating and loving the prequels (I started lurking around the time of TCW). It wasn't until Star Wars had died down just a little for me to finally join. My only regret joining the JCF in 2012 was not joining sooner.

 

I love romance, rebellions, historical references and of course I love Natalie Portman.

 

Because SW makes me feel good and is a far healthier/cheaper choice than Meth.

 

Star Wars resonates with me because of its incredible characters, along with the virtually flawless mythology of Luke Skywalker sticking with me in particular.

 

My whole star wars love started with an actor by the name Ewan McGregor. His play as Obi-Wan Kenobi was just so incredible that I felt head over heels in love with that character. In the beginning, all I read about was Obi, but as I set myself deeper into the character, I found out that I had know the other stuff to get the entire picture of the character. So that led to I started to read, almost, every single SW books where Obi is a main/side character, and watch, and rewatch the movies. And before I know it, I know more about Star Wars than my own freaking life.

And so the obsession starts...

Another thing which made me love star wars was because of the unity that it brought me. The family feeling that this gigantic franchise brings is just awesome, so awesome that there isn't word for it. I love this big family and am proud to say that I'm part of it.

 

What a question. Why am I a Star Wars fan? For me, Star Wars has always been there as long as I can remember. I first saw ANH in theaters when I was three years old and my parents say I was an immediate fan. From then on, it was something me and my friends loved. Star Wars was not a geeky thing in those days, it was what the cool kids liked. You weren't cool if you didn't like it. We played Rebels vs. Empire all the time. I remember getting models, toys, action figures and more for Christmas and birthdays. I remember my childhood best friend excitedly describing the Emperor in ROTJ and how cool and scary he was.

From there, it just sort of always carried on. Even during the "dark years" between like 1984 and 1993, we kept chatting about things here and there. Totally unfounded rumors about the prequels being made. I remember in Jr High school in like 1988 some kid was saying that Lucas was writing them and gonna make them, something which eventually happened but not until 1993. Once the whole Expanded Universe stuff started in the early 90s, my friends and I were all adults and we gobbled that stuff up.

I literally don't remember a time in my life when I was not a Star Wars fan. I have no idea how to articulate why I became a fan.

 

I was sort of born into it? My father is a big scifi/comic nerd and I got introduced to MANY shows/movies at a young age just due to exposure. It started with Star Trek (yes yes I know completely different) and I was obviously around the Star Wars original series but REALLY got into it when the prequels came out, as new material always draws me in and I quickly become obsessed with finding out as much as I can about its universe, characters, relationships etc. It didn't help that my parents started homeschooling me in grade 6 and as an already shy pre teen I had nothing to put my thoughts and feelings into. I remember spending HOURS in the public library reading the "Young Jedi Knights" and "Legends" series'. Alas my interest moved to other things for awhile when I hit my teens and went to highschool. But here I am with renewed interest at new material

 

Star Wars is what made me decide to pursue filmmaking and basically defined what I wanted out of my life and career, so it has been the most influential thing in my life besides my parents. Whatever I have given to Star Wars, it has given more to me for sure.

I've been posting here forever. My main enjoyment out of posting is typically reading what other fans have to say about the movies, not as far as quality (I really don't care about someone not liking a movie, they won't change my mind), but theories and explanations. Some people have really made great posts enlightening me about something or making me look at something in a different way and that's awesome. It's like they actually improve my appreciation of a Star Wars movie and that's pretty cool!

 

Stumbled upon Star Wars during college days in the late 90s and at the peak of The Phantom Menace mania, being the first movie to come out since Return of The Jedi in 1983... As it was also a topic of conversation at class, my curiosity was piqued and in addition to watching the movie with friends at the mall near college, I also saved up money to buy two prized model kits from the local Toys R Us - a Millennium Falcon and Death Star made by German modellers Revell (both of which were accidentally destroyed due to fall from great height, a few years later)...

Too bad the movie itself was a dud and the subsequent two were so disappointing (even if I've grown to appreciate Revenge of The Sith over the years) that it turned me off Star Wars for a while... Fast-forward to 2015's The Force Awakens (plus a visit to Legoland Malaysia and their famous Star Wars Mini Land), which reignited my love for Star Wars once more, and this has continued over three movies into 2018!

TFA also kick-started the second wave of my model collection, starting with the purchase of the Hot Wheels Millennium Falcon in November 2015 (she's the one in my avatar picture, and is my longest-existence model today) and now grown into over 30 of them... With the Falcon also ended up as the centerpiece of my entire existence on social media!

 

I first saw SW in 1977 when I was three years old. I fell asleep. But I saw it again, and apparently stayed awake that time and enjoyed it, and then was thrilled to see ESB and ROTJ during their opening weeks. Christmas back then was all about getting new SW toys, and I think that really helped make SW something bigger than just another series of movies, because it allowed my imagination to work through the toys as I created my own original stories with them (which were probably pretty awful stories, but hey, at least I was being imaginative and not just recreating the movies' scenes!)

After ROTJ, my interest died down for several years. There were no new movies, I didn't really care much about the books, and I was getting older, so my interests changed. But when rumors of Episode 1 started, I got extremely excited. I still didn't have an internet connection back then, so I remember going to a friend's house to watch the trailer when it was finally online. He had a dial-up connection, so it took forever to download it, but it was worth it.

After ROTS, my interest in SW died down again because I figured that was the end of it. Then the Disney announcement came, and I think that may be when my interest was at its peak. I guess it was partly because by then, there were so many YouTube channels, podcasts, forums, etc, meaning I could constantly get new information about these upcoming sequels and really immerse myself in the excitement of it all.

Sadly, the podcasts, YouTube channels, forums, etc are now exactly why now my interest in SW is diminishing. I'm just tired of the constant negativity surrounding it. Every time I see an article or YouTube video about SW, the comments section is filled with people acting as if Disney murdered their parents. Every message board is filled with people acting bitter about it. For a while, my entire YouTube feed flooded with videos providing in-depth analysis on how Kathleen Kennedy has destroyed SW. How is any of this enjoyable? Just this morning, I saw a simple article about Daisy Ridley changing her hair color, and sure enough, the comment section was filled with people moaning about how awful the new films are, how terrible she is, how SJWs are killing the franchise, etc, etc. Obviously not everyone has to like the films, and heck, I have some issues with them myself, but I'd really rather just not be surrounded by constant negativity, and unfortunately, it's hard to avoid that when any mention of SW comes up online. I know the same thing went on during the prequels, but I guess it didn't bother me as much then, maybe because I was younger. So while I still enjoy watching the movies, I don't really enjoy the fandom any more.

 

"It's about family and that's what's so powerful about it." - Carrie Fisher

I think that's as good of reason as any. Families, both biological and found, are key to most stories of Star Wars.

 

Introduced to SW in 2000-2001 when I was about 3 years old. My older brother had The Phantom Menace on VHS, and we would always watch it constantly. In 2002, I saw AOTC in theaters, and spent 2003-2004 watching the OT and the 2003 Clone Wars show.

I still wasn't really a fan, but it did become an interest. That all changed in November 2005 when I saw ROTS. (I regretfully missed it in theaters)That was the SW movie that truly converted me to becoming a fan of the saga and franchise.
Since then, my mom took me to see the 2008 Clone Wars movie when I was 11, and I watched TCW starting with its premier on CN up until 2012. By the time I was in high school (14-15) I gained other interests.

But in late 2014, when I turned 17, I developed a reinterest, which continued to grow in 2015. Plus, with the TFA coming out, I decided to join right when a new era was beginning.

 

Really?? I thought Disney SW was hyped A LOT more and got LOT less hate than the PT. I lived through all those phases. I became a fan in 1978 when I was 12, watching ANH of course. Yes, I'm THAT old. My interest decreased a lot after the mid 80s, when ROTJ never managed to live up to the previous 2 movies, and no sequel was in sight. I admit I wasn't much impressed by the special editions of the 1990s, even less by TPM. To be frank, my interest in SW was mainly revived by AOTC, and of course ROTS. Those were the real SW highlights in my adult life. I gained a new appreciation even for TPM after the prequel saga was complete. Never cared for TCW or the ST though. With TFA my interest in SW reached an all-time low, however making me appreciate the PT and OT even more. Haven't seen TLJ, have seen R1 once, but have to say it didn't impress me enough to get back into the saga like in the old days. My absolute "fan" times were around 1978 to 1984, then again 2002 till 2006, after that nothing much that came out really interested me that much.

 

My love for star wars started when I play KOTOR.. then I followed the films from there, the prequels I saw in the cinema and from there I've been seeing anything star wars from more films to animated series...

Clone Wars Animation was where I really started to study lore and follow characters, for example my favorite being Ahsoka Tano and Delta Squad from the Clone Army.

I joined the forums because I've not been able to speak to many other fans besides my group of friends who some follow star wars... this place feels like home.

 

I joined this forum, because I wanted to talk STAR WARS, which I don't usually get to do. Now, why I love STAR WARS, that's more difficult to answer. I guess it's really just because it's great entertainment. And it's very charming, as well. I know that sounds corny, but there it is. It's nice to see a big budget movie showing people doing extraordinary things, having loads of fun and being cool without them being complete a**holes that you don't want to care about. Anakin and Han and Rey ... they're just words on a page. That's all they ever were. But I feel like I know them and when I put on a SW movie, it's because I want to be in that "world." I want to hang out in this world, with these people. That escapism is priceless, because not many franchise movies have a way of doing that.

 

Something awoke in me. I foresaw the arrival of the porg edition quote game thread and thought I'd bide my time.

 

I'm a Star Wars fan because it literally became my life... I first watched the fifth film in 1993, when I was six years old. Quite by chance I was flipping channels and stumbled just at the moment where Vader and Luke was on Bespin - that moment on my avatar. I saw Lord Vader and... I started my undying love to this creation... I mean Star Wars... Heh, and Lord Vader too. Don't even know how to describe it specifically, but these characters... they became like family. The whole story, the heroes and the villains, all the galaxy - I feel it all as my house, as my family. Yes, as a family I will never find myself in...

Star Wars became my first window to another world... the world, which is mine... What's that? Escapism? Yes, I lived in fantasies about GFFA probably more than real life, which failed, to put it mildly. Darth Vader replaced my father figure, later becoming an attractive male character for me. Luke Skywalker became an example of heroism, love and patience, the ability to forgive... I love everyone there for something.

A beautiful world where you can escape from the hardships of life. The Original Trilogy - the best to this day! I also love the prequels, for me they are very colorful and charming, and I also like the whole cast. And the sequels... no-no-no, I'm not even going to say anything. Star Wars is forever. I'm sure, in my old age... well, if I live to retire, heh... through the Force I'd say to saga "I love you" and it responds me "I know."

For the first time on the forums I learned in 2000 when we purchased a computer and I went online. The first site I visited was StarWars.com, then the first forum and so on... It was only in January of this year that I had the courage to register for this forum. This is my first forum where I communicate in English. Very nice place with charming users.

 

well I joined in summer 2014 because in January 2014 I got The Flu and pneumonia really bad and like our favorite princess Carrie Fisher I am bipolar and take Lithium. Because I got dehydrated I got Lithium poisoning and almost needed Kidney Dialysis and spent 5 days in a hospital hooked up to IV's and oxygen. Long story short I made a miraculous recovery If I missed going to the hospital by just one day I might have died. So by June I was all better and I always thought about joining, was a lurker on here since the 90's so I figured if I ever got sick again and died I might never get a chance to join and I didn't want to ever regret that so I joined! This was my first message board now I am a member of several!

As for my fandom I was born in 1981 but although I new of the films in the 80's and played with the toys and watched them on VHS and HBO at my Grandmas I didn't fully find star wars till the early 90's when I would ride my bike to the video store with my moms video store card and rent all kinds of movies including Indiana Jones movies Horror movies and of course star wars movies! its when I became a film buff!