COMMENTARY
KAYLEE BREWSTER
“Star Wars” is everywhere. It has permeated every aspect of society, and fans of the movie series have gone on to do bigger and brighter things in our world, but still show their love for the movies in various ways.
Here are just a few examples:
Politics — When a Star Wars aficionado posted a petition for the U.S. government to build a Death Star on the “We the People” site it soon received the necessary 25,000 signatures to generate a statement from the White House. Not surprisingly, the answer was no. But the response was cleverly titled, “This isn’t the petition response you’re looking for.” You can read the whole humorous response on the website here: petitions.whitehouse.gov/response/isnt-petition-response-youre-looking
International news — When Ukraine decided to get rid of communist propaganda, the statue of Vladimir Lenin in the city of Odessa had to go. But what to do with the statue? Turn it into a statue of the Darth Vader, of course. Not only that, but Vader’s helmet gives out free Wi-fi, which means more will be joining the dark side for free Internet.
Science — NASA scientists looking at non-planet Pluto decided to name a few of its craters rather than keep referring to them as “that one over there.” So now Pluto has craters named after Luke, Leia — and best of all, the Vader Crater. They also named them after “Star Trek,” “Doctor Who,” Stanley Kubrick and other sci-fi geniuses.
Sports — That’s right, “Star Wars” has even infiltrated the world of sports. When the students at the University of Mississippi decided to trade in their rebel mascot “Colonel Reb” for a more modern look, many fans looked to Admiral Ackbar of the Rebel Alliance. Unfortunately, the much-admired admiral was not successful in making the list of potential mascots. We know that’s just because it was a trap.
Literature — Have you ever wondered what would have happened if Shakespeare wrote “Star Wars” instead of George Lucas? Well wonder no more. You can actually read (and buy) the Bard’s tale of new hope called “William Shakespeare’s Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope.” It has all the classic lines like “In a time so long ago begins our play, In star-crossed galaxy far, far away.”
Holidays — “Star Wars” fans even have their own holiday, as May 4 marks “Star Wars Day.” The date was chosen because it’s “May the fourth,” as in “May the force be with you.” In turn, fans have also declared May 5 “Revenge of the Fifth” as a play on “Revenge of the Sith.”
