Carrie Fisher was long done with Star Wars when I came into this world. When I was born, she’d already established Princess Leia as an icon. Still fresh enough to be relevant, but solidified as an untouchable American monolith. Princess Leia was simply a thing that had always been there.
Return of the Jedi was my first “adult” movie to memory. I had no idea what was going on, but I was in love with the spectacle and magic of it. The Ewoks were everything. I lived for the Ewoks, and I wanted nothing more than to be with Leia as they ushered her away to their tree village.
We couldn’t afford to buy movies at the time, so my parents would buy blank VHS tapes and catch movies as they aired on cable for recording. Jedi was the only Star Wars film we had for a long time, but it was my favorite thing to watch and I wore that tape out.
I worked my way backward through the trilogy. The Empire Strikes Back aired, and we recorded that. This film endeared me completely to Leia. Her frustration and short temper had me in stitches. I would rewind the tape, cackling on the floor as I watched her yell at Han over and over. I had to have more!
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