reminiscing...
Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2016 9:55 pm
As a child of the 70s and 80s, I'm sitting here thinking of all the people who shaped my childhood that have died this year. There have been some very big names this year.
David Bowie was the one I thought would stand out for me. Not for his music catalog, but because Labyrinth is one of my all-time favorite movies, and Jareth was so... wonderful yet bad. I was that girl with the imagination, who saw the fantastical in the everyday, and memorized the movie after watching it so many times. A large piece of my childhood seemed to be gone with his passing.
And then I checked Instagram this morning during a break at work....
Now, I admit to loving Aurora as 'my' Disney princess when I was young, but Leia... she was the princess I wanted to be. The one who kicked ass, stood up for herself, and told the boys what to do and how to fight their war. Vader couldn't break her. She was a sassypants to Grand Moff Tarkin. Made it painfully clear that she thought Han was a half-witted scruffy-looking nerf herder, and called Chewie a walking carpet. Full of fire, yet she could be the elegant princess as well. She led the rebels, not from behind the scenes, but out where the action was. In the thick of things. A role model that didn't need more than to be who she was to make a difference. She was hope, for all those she led, those who looked to be free from tyranny, those who aspired to live to their true potential.
And no one ever made a big deal about the gender thing that I recall. Having a strong female character was just part of the franchise. Not something to make a big deal about, like they seem to nowadays. They were relate-able characters, even though they lived far, far away. It didn't take much imagination to see myself in her shoes. Or my cousin as Han or Luke. Today's world seems overly obsessed with appearances, equal rights, bending over backwards so as not to offend anyone, but she was who she was and never apologized for it. Even when her brother felt he couldn't go on, she moved forward. Saved the day. Because she was strong, inside.
My dad took me to see so many scifi movies in the theater, but the Star Wars ones will always stand out. We had the soundtrack record for the first one, and played it over and over again. My cousin Eddie collected the figures, fighters, structures... if they made it he got it somehow. We played for hours and hours. So many memories tied up with that franchise. My family is still completely Star Wars mad, and I'm even infecting my hubby and his family a bit.
And Carrie herself... she had so many personal issues, but like Leia she managed to persevere, rise up out of the ashes, and continue on. I have great respect for her and what she accomplished in her time with us. And now I mourn the largest loss of my childhood. My princess and the actress who portrayed her.
David Bowie was the one I thought would stand out for me. Not for his music catalog, but because Labyrinth is one of my all-time favorite movies, and Jareth was so... wonderful yet bad. I was that girl with the imagination, who saw the fantastical in the everyday, and memorized the movie after watching it so many times. A large piece of my childhood seemed to be gone with his passing.
And then I checked Instagram this morning during a break at work....
Now, I admit to loving Aurora as 'my' Disney princess when I was young, but Leia... she was the princess I wanted to be. The one who kicked ass, stood up for herself, and told the boys what to do and how to fight their war. Vader couldn't break her. She was a sassypants to Grand Moff Tarkin. Made it painfully clear that she thought Han was a half-witted scruffy-looking nerf herder, and called Chewie a walking carpet. Full of fire, yet she could be the elegant princess as well. She led the rebels, not from behind the scenes, but out where the action was. In the thick of things. A role model that didn't need more than to be who she was to make a difference. She was hope, for all those she led, those who looked to be free from tyranny, those who aspired to live to their true potential.
And no one ever made a big deal about the gender thing that I recall. Having a strong female character was just part of the franchise. Not something to make a big deal about, like they seem to nowadays. They were relate-able characters, even though they lived far, far away. It didn't take much imagination to see myself in her shoes. Or my cousin as Han or Luke. Today's world seems overly obsessed with appearances, equal rights, bending over backwards so as not to offend anyone, but she was who she was and never apologized for it. Even when her brother felt he couldn't go on, she moved forward. Saved the day. Because she was strong, inside.
My dad took me to see so many scifi movies in the theater, but the Star Wars ones will always stand out. We had the soundtrack record for the first one, and played it over and over again. My cousin Eddie collected the figures, fighters, structures... if they made it he got it somehow. We played for hours and hours. So many memories tied up with that franchise. My family is still completely Star Wars mad, and I'm even infecting my hubby and his family a bit.
And Carrie herself... she had so many personal issues, but like Leia she managed to persevere, rise up out of the ashes, and continue on. I have great respect for her and what she accomplished in her time with us. And now I mourn the largest loss of my childhood. My princess and the actress who portrayed her.