The snowy winged gulls of Alderaan bring springtime to Aldera for a pleasant stroll amongst the grand archways of the planet’s royal heart. I followed their flight path to land in the spired shadows of the Mountain Palace, the peaks above in their glistening thaw crowning it in […]
There’s no two ways about it – toy collectors enjoy a precarious relationship with the environment. What amounts to little more than hunks of coloured plastic widens one’s carbon footprint exponentially. It’s something I’ve been grappling with these last few years, as my own collection of Star Wars […]
The relationship between Obi-Wan and Anakin has always been caustic. The former was thrust into the role of master from a deathbed promise made to his own. With it came a sense of duty and purpose, tying together forever the fate of teacher and student. Despite Obi-Wan’s clear […]
Holding hands carries with it a significance in storytelling and real life. Science shows that joining hands can synchronise breathing and heartrate while, in fiction, an outstretched hand is an offer, a plea or invitation. The last few months brought hand holding and gestures to the forefront of […]
Re-watching The Clone Wars as a father has provided new context for character relationships and the omnipresent threat to the galactic status quo. As well as presenting the infamous Clone Wars on screen, the animated series also served as prelude to Anakin’s fall to the dark side. […]
Star Wars is often thought of as the story of fathers and their sons. Despite the addition of the sequel trilogy and its complicated relationship between Han Solo and his troubled son Ben, the saga weaves the tragedy of Darth Vader, a tale told in two parts. First […]
After purchasing two weather-beaten droids to automate his family’s moisture farm, Owen Lars tasks his nephew Luke with cleaning them. After learning that C-3PO and R2-D2 fought in the rebellion, an excited Luke begs the protocol droid for more details. Alas, Threepio comes up blank. “I’m not much […]
Since I’ve been through the doubt and fear, the thrill and the hope of pregnancy for myself, Padmé’s tears and unfulfilled promises to Anakin in Revenge of the Sith have taken on something more of a potency. What I believed to be a ridiculous vow that she would […]
“Our meeting was not a coincidence; nothing happens by accident,” says Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn to the slave child whom he has just freed. His actions, he later explains, are guided through the Force, an enigmatic energy that flows through and guides all living things. The boy, we […]
On my first watch through of A New Hope at 22 (shameful, I know) I felt something was missing from my response to Princess Leia. Witty, daring, someone who stood her ground even opposite Peter Cushing as the slimy overlord who’d soon vaporise her home world – I […]
