First Click: Fan desperately seeks Star Wars ignorance
November 13th, 2015
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There’s a new Star Wars teaser out today. Did you see it? I didn’t and I won’t.
I’m sure it’s terrific with a rousing soundtrack and just enough imagery to stoke nostalgia and hint at the new plot. But I already want to see Star Wars — I’ve been hooked since the first teaser debuted last year. Seeing the rectangular antenna on the Millennium Falcon (replacing the round dish that Lando knocked off in Jedi) was enough to know that J.J. Abrams would faithfully extend the Star Wars story that I loved as a kid.
Trailers peck away at the cinematic experience like Prozac, clipping the peak frequencies of emotion until all that’s left is a flat line. So I try to remain as ignorant as possible, limiting what I know about a film to just the handful of details contained in the poster art. Sure, I let review scores guide me, but anything more is a spoiler. I let down my guard with Mad Max and still regret watching the trailer — seeing the weapons, cars, and characters gave away far too much of a film that relied heavily on visuals.
I hope to correct this with The Force Awakens and maximize the impact of seeing Han’s old face or Leia’s greying side-buns once I’m strapped into an IMAX chair. Unfortunately, the details have been nearly impossible to avoid. The marketing blitz is strong with this one, intensified by a fan base that dissects and proselytizes every nuance with the zeal of an Obama birther. But hopefully I can hold out — December 18th is almost here.
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