Over the course of a single weekend – Labor Day weekend in the United States – Star Wars Twitter was set ablaze as people from all corners of the galaxy far, far away watched a new fan experiencing the Skywalker saga for the very first time. From “smaller”, independent Twitter users/accounts like this one, to the official accounts of many of those involved in making our favorite epic, we all sat on the edges of our seats as we tagged-along on the journey as Mar (@vibeswithcisco) live-Tweeted along with her first-ever viewing of Episodes I-VIII, plus Rogue One: A Star Wars Story as well as both of the trailers for Episode IX that have been released so far (at the time of writing this article, she is still planning on watching Solo: A Star Wars Story “soon”).
Having never seen any of the Star Wars films before, Mar began streaming the films on her laptop in “release order” by watching Episode IV – A New Hope, followed immediately by Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back. All along the way, she brought us with her, sharing her thoughts as she experienced the story of the epic struggle between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire. As the long weekend progressed, she continued her deep dive into the waters of the massive space opera, finishing the original trilogy before moving on to the prequel trilogy (Episodes I-III), followed by Episode VII, Rogue One, and then Episode VIII.
Mar’s personal reactions as the saga progressed quickly grabbed the attention of a host of Star Wars fans, as well as a number of Star Wars creative luminaries, including Matt Martin, Leland Chee, and Pablo Hidalgo of the Lucasfilm Story Group; Luke Skywalker actor, Mark Hamill; and even the writer and director of Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, Rian Johnson, among many others. The official Star Wars Twitter account even joined in welcoming Mar to the fandom.
As she watched the story unfold, Mar even gave some of the characters “nicknames” to both identify and describe them: Darth Vader became “Breathe Taker”; Finn, the former First Order Stormtrooper, was crowned “Lovebug”; the aged and wise Jedi Master Yoda was given the moniker “String Bean”; C-3PO’s pseudonym is “Gold Star”; Jyn Erso is now “Angel”; etc. These sobriquets have endeared themselves to the fandom and inspired some to create a sort of “visual dictionary” for those who happen to come across these threads later, such as this one from Tumblr user xvictoriadoyle.
As more and more people found these threads, many followers started impromptu “watch parties”, queuing up the movie and pressing “Play” when Mar said she was starting so that they could experience the films right alongside her. At times, though, it seemed that her Internet connection was being manipulated by the dark side as she encountered buffering at crucial points in the movies’ stories to the frustration of many. This was apparently occurring frequently enough during her viewing of The Last Jedi that Rian Johnson himself offered to send her a physical copy of the film so she could watch it without interruption.
The response to her movie marathon live-Tweet threads has been so tremendous, in fact, that Mar has started a new Twitter account (@themarwars) to handle the influx of DM’s and other requests for her to appear in podcasts and such to talk about the sensation she’s stirred up within the fandom. The powerful reaction she’s elicited from fans of the franchise is obvious from the responses to her threads:
Not to mention a wealth of new fan art that’s been created for what can only be described as a “phenomenon”:
This “Mar Wars” marathon has even spawned a call by many to the “powers that be” for Mar to receive a personal invitation to the theatrical premiere of Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (#InviteMarToTRoSPremier).
While, in general, the response to Mar sharing her personal journey through the Star Wars films has been overwhelmingly positive, there have been some individuals who have been “less-than-supportive” of the experience. Some make statements about how she “doesn’t deserve the attention” and other derogatory comments. Thankfully, Mar has remained positive and gracious through it all:
Those negative responses certainly don’t appear to have diminished Mar’s newfound love and appreciation for Star Wars Twitter and the fandom as a whole:
And, not only has Mar openly shared the joys and pains of her emotional journey through the Star Wars saga, but she has also chosen to share with us some deeply touching realities about her own personal connection to the franchise:
When all is said and done, this whole experience has been, at once, an extremely entertaining and deeply evocative journey for many long-time Star Wars fans who have been given the opportunity to see the films through a completely fresh set of eyes. If you’re wanting to share in this experience yourself, Mar has helpfully collected all of her live-Tweet threads in one place where the purity and honest openness of her own Star Wars truth is laid bare for the world to see.
(As a “warning” to those who may be offended by the use of profanity, be aware that these threads are Mar’s personal and uncensored reactions to watching the films for the first time.)
Of course, this whole discussion begs the question: Now that she’s watched (almost) all of the movies, which is Mar’s favorite Star War?
Thank you, Mar, for sharing your experience with all of us. We will be forever grateful for the eye-opening perspective you’ve shown us, and may the Force be with you, always.
As One In The Force 