Ishi Tib
New Recruit
...................WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU?
Star Wars has gotten into the hearts and minds of millions and millions of people like no other adventure of our time. The saga reveals to us as a story full of power and myth, rebirth and redemption and the triumph of good over evil.
Values that had seemed lost to our society were brought back to fulfill our souls and gave us new faith. The positive influence of Star Wars in our lives opened our hearts to a world of mystery and has offered guidance to our own hero's journey.
Throughout history, we as humans have told each other tales and stories sharing our experiences of the world. We have explored ways to deal with life's problems and adventures and we have done our best to outstretch the deepest meanings that underline our daily lives.
Star Wars was, is and will be forever remembered as an inspiring story guiding, teaching and uniting generations to the Light Side of the Force, always making good conquer over evil.
We are not alone, we shall be with all the world!...
With this said.... What does it mean to you?
Have you ever stopped to think actually what it means to you to be collecting Star Wars memorabilia?
What really makes you want every figure from this incredible adventure in a galaxy far, far away?
What feeling do you get from collecting this line of toys?
Every person is a different world, everyone has its own motivations, therefore every one of us has a different story to tell about it. Here is mine....
Born in a communist country, Cuba, whereas a child only to mention the title "Star Wars" or "Guerra de las Galaxias" was considered by the regime "an infiltration of the capitalist Yankees up north," I lived until the age of 12 in such place not being able to see, wear nor have anything related to Star Wars.
The year was 1977 and news on the radio only talked about the film by calling it a "capitalist flick corrupting the minds of millions of young people." Star wars "A new Hope" was never publicly shown and of course no merchandise relating to it was ever available. Only those being part of the government got to watch the film in private, analyzing what they called "its corruptive and mind destructive capabilities"
In letters I received from my cousins living in U. S, they described this great movie that had just come out and which they had gone to see. My reading of their passionate writing in those letters about Star Wars gave me the chance to view things from a different angle.
I felt at that point there was something really amazingly exciting being hidden behind the crap the regime was trying to feed our young minds with. Those letters my cousins sent, helped me throw away the darkness of the government's lies and uncover and discover the "Light side of the Force" the real truth. It was then I knew I HAD TO SEE THAT FILM!
Once I was able to leave the communist island behind, 23 years ago, the first thing I wanted to do once I had arrived to this great country was to get in touch with anything related to "A New Hope"
Plans were being announced about the next year's release of the second Star Wars installment, "The Empire Strikes Back" but it was "A New Hope" I had dreamed of seeing first...
My dream came true when two years after its premiere, the same year of my arrival to this land, the local small neighborhood movie theater announced shows for "A New Hope" for the entire week!
I was completely blown away from beginning to end when I first saw it. " ... I'm one with the force," I thought. Needless to say I went to that movie theater for the remaining of that week, watching the movie everyday.
In the film I was able to compare the similarities of the Empire and the, nowadays, 43 year old dictatorship taken over my place of birth.
I was 12 years old then and my parents started buying me Star Wars toys. I was able to finally own and wear a Darth Vader shirt with the Star Wars logo on it. I was able to freely speak about my newly discovered passion, my favorite film, without taking the risk of being accused of being a "capitalist corrupter" by the government, one thing for sure I would had been called at my native land. Do I need to mention how proud I felt to be a part of America?
As I grew up, my Vader shirt was replaced by a more up to the times Van Halen shirt and my collecting sort of drifted away for a while but by love for the movies that once made me feel the joy of being a free man never did.
I got back into collecting in 1995 when I saw the new line of Star Wars figures in the market. I couldn't help myself but to start to buy every single figure I saw, spending on my first shopping spree over $200.00
Collecting Star Wars means a second chance for me to have what I wasn't allowed to have as a child by an evil regime. It is also a symbolic landmark separating two very different cultures and the changes and experiences they both have brought into my life.
When I find myself running down the isles like a 10 year old in a 36 year old body, looking for the latest figures, I get to live and enjoy "A new happy childhood" and my own inner feeling of freedom al last! as well as sharing with the rest of many great fellow Americans a passion that unifies and allows to share one common love for the greatest films ever made.
What does it mean to you? . . . .
Ishi Tib
Star Wars has gotten into the hearts and minds of millions and millions of people like no other adventure of our time. The saga reveals to us as a story full of power and myth, rebirth and redemption and the triumph of good over evil.
Values that had seemed lost to our society were brought back to fulfill our souls and gave us new faith. The positive influence of Star Wars in our lives opened our hearts to a world of mystery and has offered guidance to our own hero's journey.
Throughout history, we as humans have told each other tales and stories sharing our experiences of the world. We have explored ways to deal with life's problems and adventures and we have done our best to outstretch the deepest meanings that underline our daily lives.
Star Wars was, is and will be forever remembered as an inspiring story guiding, teaching and uniting generations to the Light Side of the Force, always making good conquer over evil.
We are not alone, we shall be with all the world!...
With this said.... What does it mean to you?
Have you ever stopped to think actually what it means to you to be collecting Star Wars memorabilia?
What really makes you want every figure from this incredible adventure in a galaxy far, far away?
What feeling do you get from collecting this line of toys?
Every person is a different world, everyone has its own motivations, therefore every one of us has a different story to tell about it. Here is mine....
Born in a communist country, Cuba, whereas a child only to mention the title "Star Wars" or "Guerra de las Galaxias" was considered by the regime "an infiltration of the capitalist Yankees up north," I lived until the age of 12 in such place not being able to see, wear nor have anything related to Star Wars.
The year was 1977 and news on the radio only talked about the film by calling it a "capitalist flick corrupting the minds of millions of young people." Star wars "A new Hope" was never publicly shown and of course no merchandise relating to it was ever available. Only those being part of the government got to watch the film in private, analyzing what they called "its corruptive and mind destructive capabilities"
In letters I received from my cousins living in U. S, they described this great movie that had just come out and which they had gone to see. My reading of their passionate writing in those letters about Star Wars gave me the chance to view things from a different angle.
I felt at that point there was something really amazingly exciting being hidden behind the crap the regime was trying to feed our young minds with. Those letters my cousins sent, helped me throw away the darkness of the government's lies and uncover and discover the "Light side of the Force" the real truth. It was then I knew I HAD TO SEE THAT FILM!
Once I was able to leave the communist island behind, 23 years ago, the first thing I wanted to do once I had arrived to this great country was to get in touch with anything related to "A New Hope"
Plans were being announced about the next year's release of the second Star Wars installment, "The Empire Strikes Back" but it was "A New Hope" I had dreamed of seeing first...
My dream came true when two years after its premiere, the same year of my arrival to this land, the local small neighborhood movie theater announced shows for "A New Hope" for the entire week!
I was completely blown away from beginning to end when I first saw it. " ... I'm one with the force," I thought. Needless to say I went to that movie theater for the remaining of that week, watching the movie everyday.
In the film I was able to compare the similarities of the Empire and the, nowadays, 43 year old dictatorship taken over my place of birth.
I was 12 years old then and my parents started buying me Star Wars toys. I was able to finally own and wear a Darth Vader shirt with the Star Wars logo on it. I was able to freely speak about my newly discovered passion, my favorite film, without taking the risk of being accused of being a "capitalist corrupter" by the government, one thing for sure I would had been called at my native land. Do I need to mention how proud I felt to be a part of America?
As I grew up, my Vader shirt was replaced by a more up to the times Van Halen shirt and my collecting sort of drifted away for a while but by love for the movies that once made me feel the joy of being a free man never did.
I got back into collecting in 1995 when I saw the new line of Star Wars figures in the market. I couldn't help myself but to start to buy every single figure I saw, spending on my first shopping spree over $200.00
Collecting Star Wars means a second chance for me to have what I wasn't allowed to have as a child by an evil regime. It is also a symbolic landmark separating two very different cultures and the changes and experiences they both have brought into my life.
When I find myself running down the isles like a 10 year old in a 36 year old body, looking for the latest figures, I get to live and enjoy "A new happy childhood" and my own inner feeling of freedom al last! as well as sharing with the rest of many great fellow Americans a passion that unifies and allows to share one common love for the greatest films ever made.
What does it mean to you? . . . .
Ishi Tib