If you're a fan of something then sometimes all you want is to talk about that thing you love with other people who are fans of the same thing. And while social media can be kind of a mess a lot of the time, it is good at connecting people with like interests together. Whether you like to discuss Harry Potter or theme parks or classic movies, or Star Wars. And it turns out that even multimillionaires and billionaires sometimes just want to geek out on Twitter about Star Wars, as Elon Musk and Disney Executive Chairman Bob Iger recently did.
It started with Elon Musk posting a meme. This particular one joked about the humanity of the Stormtrooper. They're usually seen in the movies as faceless drones who are only really there to get killed, but the meme saw them as real people with their own families, which might make you feel bad the next time you see one get cut in half by a lightsaber. Even Bob Iger thought it was funny.
That would have been cute, and also bizarre, enough on its own, to see Bob Iger responding to Elon Musk about a Star Wars meme, but that wasn't the end of it. Musk showed that he isn't just a fan of Star Wars memes, but of the new content as well. He told Bob Iger he's been watching The Bad Batch on Disney+ and is looking forward to seeing more.
While this whole thing honestly feels a bit corny, that's sort of the charm of it all. So often we see the worst sides of social media and so it's enjoyable to, every once in a while, see something that's just...nice. Whatever you may think of Elon Musk or Bob Iger, in this moment they're just a couple of guys having fun with Star Wars. They could be any two people on social media They're not, of course, Elon Musk is a billionaire with nearly 60 million followers, and Bob Iger isn't far behind, but that's not important here.
If you're also a fan of The Bad Batch or Star Wars in general then you've probably had similar conversations on social media, maybe with people you knew, maybe with people you've never met in person. It is nice to see that anybody can have that sort of reaction to something like Star Wars. Millions of people have become fans in the 40 years the franchise has existed. The people who are making Star Wars movies and TV today both in front of and behind the camera, are the people who grew up with it, who maybe went into their profession because of it.
So often social media ends up being the place where lines are drawn, but sometimes it can used for good. I suppose that's what understanding the difference between the dark side and light is all about.
