“No, I am your father”

I can’t remember exactly when it was that I first heard Darth Vader make that dramatic reveal. Empire Strikes Back came out when I was only three but those five words have had a huge effect on my imagination, reading habits, watching choices and probably what I write as well.

When Return of the Jedi came out, I was six and can remember exactly where I was. This might be as much due to one of my cousins traumatising me by telling me they were taking me to the slaughterhouse after the film as to my bursting with excitement to see the third instalment. Despite any criticism levelled at episode VI, it has always been my favourite of the three, that final act of redemption, the last redeeming act of a benighted soul gave a beautiful and poetic ending to the trilogy.

Of course, all of this was back in the days of good Star Wars films, before the dark times, before Disney. In the eighties, and then again at the end of the nineties, we had to wait between films. This is what made moments like “I am your father” so memorable. Because afterwards, we had to wait three excruciatingly long, excitement-building years, wondering what was going to happen next. That’s why these moments stand out in the hearts and memories of most dads (and mums) of our generation.

A pop-culture rehashing of the tale of Oedipus Star Wars may be, but the shocking paternal revelation of “I am your father” is now such a stable of our shared culture that we find it everywhere. I’ve got a cup in the kitchen with it on, someone even gave me a book called Vader and Daughter when my first child was born. This has since been taken to the charity shop; not because I didn’t like it but because I want to keep that moment a secret for my kids to enjoy. Like so many other experiences, one day, I want them to enjoy that earth-shattering twist when they discover who Darth Vader really is.

But recently I’ve been thinking, “will that day ever come?” A couple of months ago, I convinced my daughter to watch A New Hope. She’s only six, so maybe I was being a bit overeager, considering she’s really not into space and sci-fi at all. But when she got totally bored about twenty minutes in I could sort of see why. Now before you go accusing me of apostasy, hear me out. We watch a lot of Disney and Pixar films now, a lot. In fact, I’m so used to inanimate objects having personalities I sometimes try to talk to the teapot when I’m by myself in the house. So while the original trilogy might be my favourite films ever, when I watched them through the eyes of a six-year-old I couldn’t help seeing how boring they must be. The original Star Wars film comes across like some badly directly play, where utterly flat and non-endearing characters go about their mundane lives and have really boring conversations for at least the first half-hour.

As much as I tried using Jedi mind tricks to get her to like it, it just wasn’t working. I would love my kids to watch Star Wars and enjoy it as much as I do, but I’ve started to realise that maybe they never will. Just like the boring old films my dad raved about when I was a kid, the production values and pacing are just too different from what kids demand from their entertainment now. Films are all enduring because they are fun and overbearing dads trying to extol the artistic virtues of films they grew up with simply aren’t. Especially not for kids who want to experience a thrill of a good story with exciting characters they can relate to.

I hate to admit it but the new Disney Star Wars films have their place, they bring the same epic Skywalker space opera to a younger generation. They fill kids with excitement, fuel their imagination and fill them with a desire to pick up a broom handle and wave it around while making lightsabre sounds.

While I may never be able to enjoy the new Star Wars films, I have finally made my peace with them. They have their place in the galaxy and will raise a whole new generation of young Jedis hoping one day to discover the power of the force as I did.