There are Star Wars fans, and then there are Star Wars fan boys. Saturday Night Live released a video last night highlighting the difference. It’s hilarious, but it also has something to say for fully grown adults who perhaps take the act of collecting Star Wars memorabilia a bit too far. Check it out below.
Beginning like any old toy commercial, the video features young kids playing with Star Wars toys in a way that would seem familiar to anyone who had a fulfilling childhood. The narrators explains that they are appropriate for ages six and up, at which point a group of significantly older Star Wars fans walk on screen. In stark contrast to the kids’ whimsical, playful nature, the old fan boys insist on keeping their Star Wars action figures safely in the package so they can retain their value. As the video goes on, the adult fan boys insist on taking the fun out of the Star Wars toys, until they are finally locked away in a glass case so the kids cannot even get their hands on them.
Despite the humor, this video actually speaks to an odd phenomenon among movie audiences. Overwhelming love for a fictional universe can be a good thing – that’s basically the reason sites like Cinema Blend even exist – but at a certain point it takes the magic out of Star Wars. The kids in the video have fun by actually engaging the toys and playing, while the fan boys revere them as objects of worship without taking any real pleasure or enjoyment out of it.
For example, it may seem humorous that a Star Wars fan would aggressively lecture a child as to the most accurate way for the Millennium Falcon to land – as Bobby Moynihan’s character in the sketch does – but a look at an online message board would show you that some people think like that. Star Wars is a universe that engages our imaginations and takes us to a world we could never possibly inhabit; there is no inherent right or wrong way to interpret and enjoy it. This rule extends beyond Star Wars to other franchises as well, such as those who took issue with the handling of Superman's lethal tendencies in Man of Steel, or the fact that Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine in the X-Men films was not the short, burly character from the comic book series.
So if you’re looking for a good chuckle, feel free to give the video above a watch. It’s humorous, but also has something to say about the state of fandom. With Star Wars: The Force Awakens only a few days away, be sure to pick up your collectible action figures now.
