We've waited so long
waited so long. I've got two tickets to paradise...
Maybe it's just because I've always wanted to begin a column with Eddie Money lyrics, but I'm fairly sincere when I say that as of 9:10 Saturday morning, I just may own two tickets to paradise. I, along with my agent, Master P will be rocking to Pearl Jam and The Rolling Stones on September 28 in what is, aesthetically speaking, the best baseball stadium in the country -Pittsburgh's PNC Park. I am well aware that both bands have already seen their prime, but I don't care. The thought of Mick Jagger and Eddie Vedder collaborating on a kick-ass version of Under My Thumb makes me forget about the fact that I paid $65 so my nose could bleed in the upper-deck cheap seats.
Amid all of my rock'n'roll giddiness the final Star Wars film has been released, as many of us know from the hundreds of Yodas we've seen lined up in front of the local movie theaters. I'll be blunt; I pretty much loathe anything involved with science fiction or fantasy. I can't get into novels or films that include space ships, wizards, robots or hobbits. (Hell, I thought Lord of the Rings was a Muhammad Ali biopic when I first heard the title.) So when my roommate, who is secretly a Star Wars enthusiast, told me he was going to watch the special viewing on opening night, I told him he was ridiculous. He responded by saying that if liking Star Wars makes him ridiculous, then half of the people in America are ridiculous. I thought hard about what he said, then remembered the 2004 election and replied, Yeah that seems about right.
Although I will not withdraw my comment in regards to GOP voters, I do want to make peace with the Lucas-lovers. Until now, I have never given much thought to the content of the Star Wars duo-trilogies. (Well, other than the fact that my future wife, Natalie Portman, is involved in them, as well as the iconic Billy Dee Williams.) It has always been easy for me to label Star Wars fans as geeks because I both wouldn't and couldn't understand what could possibly be cool about anything that involves those stupid brown Jedi robes. However, after analyzing the storyline, Star Wars is heavily based on a central family's struggle to fight over power, and as much as I try to deny it, those same problems exist in The Godfather films, which I love.
Now that I can relate to knowing obscure references from a series of films, I can sort of understand why people get dressed up and pretend to be R2-D2. In a way, I do the same thing when I make decisions based on what I think Vito Corleone would do. So I'm feeling the Jedi-fan vibe, and I guess you could say the same for Trekkies, Tolkien readers, the kids at lunch that played Magic the Gathering and anyone who watched the three seasons of SeaQuest DSV.
In the past I would secretly (and publicly) make fun of these enthusiasts' passion for what I saw as something that was absolutely pointless. However, I've recently experienced a moment of clarity. I now realize that my classmates who knew the names of all the characters in the galaxy far, far away are no more ridiculous than me knowing how many home runs Eric Davis hit in 1987. In addition, I now realize that the Magic players had more balls than I did because long after I regretfully quit trading baseball cards, they resiliently continued their hobby, despite having tater-tots thrown at them every day (for the record, I didn't do that).
The point is, anyone who is far too passionate about something trivial is, basically, a nerd. But most of us qualify as nerds, because most of us have hobbies (not hobbits) that are a vital part of our lives. In fact, my level of nerdiness may be far beyond that of any sci-fi fan because when the Red Sox lose, I usually pout in my room for a few hours or do something else that is completely childish. And unless there is someone out there that has a tattoo of C-3PO on their right upper-arm, then I may be the biggest tool on the Ohio University campus. But I've got concert tickets, so that compensates for all of that nonsense.
From what I've gathered, fear is what caused Luke Skywalker's fathuh to join the dark side of the force. Fear will do bizarre things I guess ... but the 2008 elections will be here before we know it, So in the meantime, rock on, live long and prosper and may the Force be with you.
-Trace Hacquard is a graduate student in the school of journalism. Send him an e-mail at lh303403@ohiou.edu.
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