Four 'Star Wars' Memories That Have Helped to Define Me as a Person and a Film Fan

To me, Star Wars defines why I love movies. Firstly, of course, it's the escapism, which diving into such a vast, detailed and fascinating fictional universe offers. However, and perhaps more importantly, it's also the way it works as this mirror for real life moral struggles and emotions in general. You see, there is something special or refreshing about seeing these relatable themes and moments unfold in a setting, which is so far away from reality, and yet, they still feel real.

This combination has given me many good memories, both as a film fan and geek, but also as just, well, a human being. Here are four more important ones to me.

The Time When the Tragedy of Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker Changed My Perception Towards Good and Evil

Although the famous scene in Empire Strikes Back, where Vader delivers his iconic "I am your father" line to Luke, was also a powerful memory, perhaps even more emphatic was that moment at the end of Return of The Jedi, when he sacrifices himself to kill Sidious and save Luke.

Now, after that moment something snapped in me. I can honestly say that it was at this instance, when my 7 year old mind was opened to the relativity of good and evil or, in other words, the gray areas in life. Thing is, after seeing this monsterlike figure emerge through the smoke in A New Hope, all I could think was one word: evil. Fast forward to that scene in Return of The Jedi, and this symbol of evil had become a tragic figure, which further hit home for me, when I watched the prequels shortly afterwards.

Seeing that it's not just the good guys and bad guys, was an important life lesson for me and I certainly felt more grown up afterwards.

First Moments When I Truly Felt Connection to a Fictional Character

Before seeing Empire Strikes Back, Han Solo was just this cool space cowboy type to me. However, after that film and everything that happened in it, I found myself extremely connected towards a fictional character, which made me understand the power of movies.

Other moment similar to that is Obi-Wan's heartbreaking monologue to Anakin (dialogue, if you count "I hate you" as part of a conversation) on Mustafar in Revenge of The Sith after cutting his former padawan down. Seeing that scene unfold all these years ago, I felt the tragedy and sorrow of the situation, making it one of the first memories of a film placing me in such an emotional state.

The Moment That Connected Everything: When Ahsoka Faced Vader/Anakin in 'Rebels'

After the fight between Ahsoka and Vader in Rebels, there is a small moment when Anakin comes through for a second. Now, this might have been one of the most satisfying and sad moments, I have ever witnessed in any work of fiction.

Sad for obvious reasons of seeing these former friends in that situation. Satisfying because, it was at this moment when everything Star Wars related, I had seen before, connected to me. You see, there was Ahsoka, a brilliant character who I was introduced to in The Clone Wars. Then there was and Vader/Anakin with his mask half broken a.k.a. a side of the character, I was intrduced to in the original trilogy, and the side, which I was introduced to in the prequels.

In other words, it made me appreciate just how big this universe has become and connected all the the dots. Also, it made me all the more happier to be a Star Wars fan and look forward to the future content with even bigger anticipation.

Seein 'Attack of the Clones' And Seeing 'The Force Awakens' in Cinemas

These the two visits to cinema will always have a special place in my heart. In case of Attack of The Clones, it was simply the first Star Wars movie I saw on the big screen. I had seen the previous films on TV shortly before, and the feeling of seeing it all unfold on the silver screen, was something hard to describe and might have just marked the moment when I realized that, well, I love movies.

Seeing The Force Awakens was perhaps even stronger emotional moment. Me and my brother had avoided almost all the trailers and speculation (a real challenge in nowadays world). So, to go in not having a clue on what's about to happen, and 10 years after seeing the last film as a kid, gave me the level of excitement that once again reminded me why I love movies. Also, it really helped that the film itself was awesome. When Han said his "Chewy, we're home" line for example. Ah the emotions.

Both occasions were also memorable because I watched them with family members and it's always nice to share these cinematic pleasures. In other words, seeing the characters you care about with the people you care about.