emmagrant01 | ROTS, at long last

I have tickets to see Revenge of the Sith tomorrow afternoon at 4:40!!! OMG -- this is finally it!

It's fun to watch all the posts on LJ from folks who've seen it or are about to see it. I'm jealous, but I just couldn't manage to get tickets for a midnight show. I just got off the phone with

jedirita, who'll be seeing it tonight with her sisters. I hope y'all have an AMAZING time!!!

I posted what follows on a discussion list earlier today, in response to a post by

jedirita. Just thought I'd put it here too, in case anyone else is interested.

Am I sad that Star Wars is almost over?

I have to make the obligatory statement here about how important Star Wars has been in my life. It's one of the first movies I remember seeing, and it consumed much of my childhood and adolescence. While other girls' Barbie dolls were going shopping, mine were sporting Princess Leia buns and wielding "blasters" against bad guys. My friends and I pretended our bikes were X-wing fighters as we rode them around the neighborhood. I was the only girl in my elementary school with a respectable collection of Star Wars action figures.

Star Wars is responsible for my interest in fan fiction. Off and on during my whole life, I've written Star Wars fan fiction. For example, my very first piece of fanfic was a little Luke/Leia story. I didn't know they were twins at the time, of course...

So here it is, at last -- the final film! But rather than being on the verge of feeling traumatized about this, I have been feeling oddly ambivalent about the release of ROTS since Celebration III. I'm very excited to see it, but I'm not dreading The End of the saga like I thought I would. Something I finally realised at Celebration is that what I really love is my own little slashy version of the Star Wars universe. The movie will be fantastic, I'm sure, and I can't wait to see it.

But it won't be the end of Star Wars -- not for me. As

jedirita has said, it's more of a beginning, really. George is now finished telling his story, which frees all of us to tell our own. I, for one, am excited to see the fan fiction this film will inspire, and the idea that it might open our slash community to even more pairings is fantastic! Think of the potential for angst!!! Oh, I can't wait!

Before I discovered fan fiction, such things as this (the ending of such a beloved series or saga) would have crushed me emotionally. (I still haven't read Jean Auel's last book, because I'm terrified she won't publish the next one for another ten years. ) But now I feel connected with other fans in a way I haven't been before. I'm so excited to have people to share this with! It makes me happy in ways I can't describe to all those "get-a-life" folks. They just don't know what they're missing!

I think the release of the final Harry Potter book will be similar, and that fandom will be having these same conversations. And I'll be able to sit back and smile and say, "Oh, trust me -- it only gets better from here!"

Enjoy the moment, everyone!