By Mitchell Clarke
There is no bigger day on the Star Wars calendar than May 4.
It’s the day where all mega fans unite and celebrate all things Skywalker and R2-D2, so for Berwick super fan Erin Bradshaw, she wasn’t going to miss out on celebrating the event in style.
“I’ve been a big fan since I was a kid,” she recalled.
“My dad had the old VHS tapes of the first three Star Wars movies and so, obviously when the prequels came out, he’d take my brother and me to the movies to see it.
“It was quite a good, wholesome memory.”
The Monash University research assistant told the Gazette that everyone can take something from the franchise’s message, even if they’re not really a fan of the series.
“The attraction to it is that it’s a universal story and even if you don’t like Star Wars, you can still appreciate the struggle between good vs evil,” she said.
“It’s a universal concept that everyone can get behind.”
The special day, a play on words of the hugely popular catchphrase ‘May the Force be with you’, is a chance for the franchise’s loyal fan base to reminisce on their favourite memories.
“The day takes me back to when I was kid watching the movies, you always feel that excitement and nostalgia,” she said.
“I just love the Sci-Fi element of the whole thing and of course I really loved the character of Princess Leia.
“She was pretty cool … It was good to grow up and have a strong female character who knew what she was doing.”
Thankfully the Covid-19 pandemic didn’t hamper this year’s celebrations.
Social media continues to prove the perfect avenue for Ms Bradshaw to connect with fellow Skywalker super fans.
“It’s a great time to get in touch with other Star Wars fans across the internet world,” she said.
“There are a heap of social media sites but Twitter and Reddit seem to be the main ones … Twitter has the hashtag and Reddit has groups dedicated to memes. I’m definitely enjoying all that content.
“You have this one celebration across many time zones and different countries where you can get together and celebrate the series and it’s just a really great few hours.
“And because of the time zones, you’ve technically got a good 48 hours to celebrate everything Star Wars,” she laughed.
