A Star Wars Christmas, again
Post Yuletide Greetings or if you are reading this months after it was posted- Hi.
So this year Star Wars made a major move into Christmastide vernacular- or to put it another way there was a whole lot more Merry Star Wars Christmasy stuff going on.
Big movie releases at Christmas and merch centered around kids can do that. The Star Wars space opera permeates the US culture and you do not need me to tell you that. I can count on a single hand the people who have not seen any Star Wars movie.
So this year Star Wars made a major move into Christmastide vernacular- or to put it another way there was a whole lot more Merry Star Wars Christmasy stuff going on.
Big movie releases at Christmas and merch centered around kids can do that. The Star Wars space opera permeates the US culture and you do not need me to tell you that. I can count on a single hand the people who have not seen any Star Wars movie.
Star Wars and Christmas- sort of an odd couple. Both have big story lines that combine family, friendship and redemption. Star Wars has lasers and light sabers but Christmas has an actual star.
Star Wars did get a late jump on Christmas merchandising from the start. Although the movie arrived in theaters in May of 1977 a campy 98 minute Christmas special landed on the small screen in November the following year. It is filled with 1970s variety show cliches with a few Star Wars related stories mixed in.
By all accounts Lucas was not pleased with this iteration of the Star Wars universe but it did start cementing Star Wars into Christmas. Just not like Charlie Brown or Ruldolph and Frosty. It was not the content of the special instead it was the underlying premise- sell more of those toys. In those ensuing years between the Christmas Special and Jedi- kids' wish lists exploded with every conceivable kind of Star Wars toy. I think I got action figures every year and then that big Darth Vader head to store them inside. My list was ignored. Everything else was used. Sadly most items are lost and long gone including a nearly complete droid factory.
One of my friends usually got the whole caboodle- Tie-Fighters, Han Solo pistol, Millennium Falcon, AT-AT, Snow Speeders, Ewok Village, Hoth Playset, a Rancor, TanTans. He had a lot. Maybe too much. His parents probably helped fund the prequels with their purchases.
A new item to add to your Stars Wars holiday decor collection. Might get stolen or shot at if left outside. Nice scarf.
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But back to our post-holiday antics. What if another Star Wars special was made? Well, look no further. The folks at Funny or Die have brewed up something akin to a parody of the original Christmas special. At less that 15 minutes, it won't let you down.
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