The Phantom Menace at 20

Today is the 20th anniversary of the Phantom Menace debuting in theaters. I had been so excited when George Lucas announced he would be making more movies, but less excited they would be in the past. I was living in Arlington back then, or staying there temporarily. I don't know. It's a little hazy now, that part of my life, before I had a career, before another war in Iraq, before fathering my three children. I remember walking to the theater with the woman who would become my first wife and two friends who were in a band with me. I don't remember the exact theater we went to now. AMC Courthouse, perhaps? I was in the middle of leaving Arlington and the D.C. area, which didn't really seem to be my place. When the lights went down and the production title came up, 20th Century Fox fanfare, I felt complete in a way. I had waited so long to see another Star Wars, and there I was! When the Lucasfilm logo came on, and then the trademark crawl, I cried a little because I was so happy that I had made it, that I was still alive! I was so caught up in the movie, I didn't notice its flaws. And the flaws were so, so many. And now I have it on today, in the minutes before I go to see my youngest child's baseball game. I have an old VHS copy that's playing on a flat-screen television set-up in my kitchen. It doesn't need my full attention, but I'm still glad it's there, and I can see the good in this movie. There's a message throughout the entire series, I think, that helps form much of worldview. This isn't the screed in which I lay that all out there. But the main part is - see the good in things, if you can. Be wary of narratives that reduce complexity too much. Be calm through conflict. And try to remember a little of childish wonder, even if childhood itself wasn't always rosy. I conclude this missive with a link to Star Wars Minute, a podcast that has helped me enjoy this movie so much more than I did before. If only because the hosts and their guests love the idea of Star Wars even though the execution isn't always there. And that's okay. There's a lot of laughter, a lot of ribbing, and now I can't watch the Phantom Menace without laughing, in good-nature.

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