A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away...

Mandalorian (2019)
Miniseries (S1-S2)

A confession is in order here. When my classmates in 1977 were ranting on and on about a new movie in town, my curiosity was aroused. What was all the fuss about, I wondered. Every free moment, during school recess and between the change of subjects, all they could talk about was 'Star Wars'. Some were even holding fat paperbacks of 'Star Wars' related books as their badge of honour like their lives depended on them. All the hubbub piqued my interest; I decided to pick a ticket at the local cinema to see what the brouhaha was all about.

I was mesmerised by make-belief vast outer space, the space ships and the various alien forms that form the storyline. And I loved the stormtrooper costume but was baffled by their bumbling incompetence and terrible soldiering skills. Unfortunately, the plot was too complicated for me to comprehend—Alderaan, Death Star, Republic, Resistance, Ewok and such were too much for me.

Over the years, the sequels start manifesting, and the initial offering become Episode 4, and there were prequels. Some even write 'Jedi' as their religion in their airline disembarkation cards! There were cartoons, and there was Star Wars merchandise which actually earned more money for George Lucas.

Now another addition to the Star Wars family is Mandalorian. It is an exciting tale that centres around a warrior-race fighter bounty hunter assigned a child, actually a 50-year Yoda-like being, who looks like an infantile Yoda, to take to a place where his powers can be harnessed. Along the way, he has to perform specific tasks to know where to place the child. The Mandalorian seems to carry a lot of secrets and is secretive about everything, including his name. He only reveals his face and name towards the end of Season 2. 

I was trying to place this story in the timeline of Star Wars. After cracking my head, I thought it must have pre-dated all the episodes put together, that the child would grow up to be Yoda, the wise one. Wrong. In the last episode, Luke Skywalker shows up in the form of a digitally modified young Mark Hamill to receive Grogu, the baby's name to train him as a Jedi. What, Luke is already a Jedi? Luke training him? My bubble burst. A quick check online revealed the real story.

These events apparently took place after Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

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0 BBY – Before the Battle of Yavin, first assault on the Death Star in 'A New Hope'.

The Mandalorian takes place in 9 ABY – nine years after 'A New Hope' and, interestingly, five years after the Emperor’s defeat in 'Return of the Jedi'. A breakdown of where The Mandalorian takes place in the Star Wars timeline. 

REF: https://draft.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/4325847849664620954/8391446437981195822#.

• Star Wars: The Phantom Menace – 32 BBY
• Star Wars: Attack of the Clones – 22 BBY
• The Clone Wars – 22 BBY-19 BBY
• Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith – 19 BBY
• Solo: A Star Wars Story – 13 BBY – 10 BBY
• Star Wars Rebels – 5 BBY – 1 BBY
• A New Hope – 0 BBY
• The Empire Strikes Back – 3 ABY
• Return of the Jedi – 4 ABY
• The Mandalorian – 9 ABY
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens – 34 ABY
• Star Wars: The Last Jedi – 34 ABY
• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – 35 ABY

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Beware of deep fake videos!

Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

Carrie Fisher, who acted as Princess Leia since the beginning of the Star Wars since 1977, died on December 27th 2016. But thanks to computer-generated imagery (CGI), she is kept alive in the movies until her character gets a decent burial. She appears in almost half of this movie due to the unused footage from Episode VII: The Force Awakens.

Imagine someone who had died two years previously still featured in a movie that demands continuity. As we see in this film also that there is a thin line between being alive and dying, especially if one is a Jedi Master. A departed soul can still perform ground shattering literally 'out-of-this-world' feats. One has to tune in to the correct frequency to receive the intended instructions on decision making. Do I sense a speck of Vedanta teaching here? 

This kind of make-believe is no longer confined to the celluloid industry and fantasy but has permeated into the mainstream. Cybertechnology has advanced so frighteningly fast that algorithms can digitally manipulate audio and visual inputs to create fake videos. These are called deep fake videos and have the potential to create disaster when conflicting information is inserted for nefarious intentions.  We have to be aware of this ability and be ready to differentiate what is real and what is not.

Now, coming to Star Wars Ep 9, it was not the fresh idea that came to change the world when the first episode (or rather Ep 4) hit the screens back in 1977. Since then, many have changed in advances in storytelling and film technology. Many copycat franchises have also emerged competing for a share in box office collection. 

It is the same good-over-evil message, but this time around, the storytellers are telling us that there is a thin line between living and dying, as mentioned earlier.

This YouTube video gives a complete rundown on the Star War saga.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

It is all in the family

Episode 7: Star Wars, The Force Awakens (2015)


Generations Y, Z and even the millennial are talking about it. There is no reason why the self-proclaimed upholder of the Jedi pioneers, the Generation X, would not want a piece of the action.

Perhaps, not to go as far as joining the frenzy of pre-booking the movie tickets way before the ticket window opened. Nevertheless, I managed to catch a glimpse of the whole show a few days after its launch in a the thinly packed cinema hall near my house.

The minute the slanted scroll of subtitles started rolling, I was magically transported to an era long ago in place no so far away when I was a 14 years old boy. This teenager was frantically trying to keep up with the reading of the script and desperately attempting to understand the head and tail of the saga. The story did not make much sense then, but he was mesmerised by the splendid display of special effects (SFX). He was spellbound when the Death Star exploded to smithereens. The sight of TIE/LN space-fighter planes with vertically placed prominent contraptions on the wings and the computer locked targeted shooters excited him. The real gist of the story escaped him till many years later.

The bubble of the nostalgia of the yesteryear burst when Hans Solo and Chewbacca appeared; maybe, not so much of the Wookie but Solo and Princess Leia (now General). Oh! How they have aged. Then it hit me, so have I.

The story, this time around, is not so much different from any other offering from Bollywood or Kollywood - a power struggle between forces where the family members are all involved; feud between family members cause disharmony in the galaxy; special powers run in family members; genetics plays important role; things you learn in childhood just come flooding in if you focus your mind on making it work.

As in all philosophical sagas, all changes start with a major jolt to the status quo. Nothing is going to last forever, but people intoxicated with power are not going to give up what they fought for lying down.