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Jeffrey Epstein, D23 Expo Spokesperson, joins us to reveal NEW exciting Star Wars and Lucasfilm-related panels and happenings at the D23 Expo. He confirms that the maker himself, George Lucas, will be in attendance, and whets our appetites for the Disney Archives Exhibit. We can’t wait!! (13:12)

Download the D23 Expo App for IOS and Android

Do you remember your first visit to a Disney Park? Re-live those memories as we talk with Georgia Davis – she visited Disneyland for her very first time on Disneyland’s 60th Anniversary. (41:57)

Stephen Howard of RoqooDepot.com reviews Star Wars Podcasts every week, so we invited him on the show as our Point 5 Past Lightspeed Super Fan! (59:16)

Also on this episode:

  • Things We Want To Share –
    • Sarah: Disneyland buys MORE land across the street. Speculation for expansion runs wild!!
    • Richard: Darth Vader bears a striking resemblance to the first-ever costumed super villain in a 1938 serial. (6:11)

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  • Skywalker Shout-outs (34:00)
  • Skywalker Of The Week (34:00)

And remember…NeverLand On Alderaan!

A PARENT’S PERSPECTIVE on Episode 85: Amy Schumer/GQ Debate

Zach Otto wrote in to give us his perspective on the topic:

Hey hey,

In episode 85, you discussed Amy Schumer’s parody, and we’re interested in getting parents’ thoughts, so here it goes.

I am a father of a 3 year old girl and 4 and 7 year old boys. Along with my lovely wife, we are major Star Wars fans. It is a constant source of conversation topics, and several times a day at least one of my kids is humming or whistling Star Wars music as their theme song of the minute. Of the actual saga, they have only watched A New Hope. This their choice. With the exception of episode 3 (PG-13), they are setting their own pace. However, they have read/watched every piece of information they can get their hands on. My daughter is completely enthralled with Rebels. My sons love Clone Wars and Rebels. We rewatch many episodes of each on a regular basis.

For me as a kid, I never thought it was odd that Leia had a ‘huttslayer'( thanks full of sith;)) outfit. It was just a part of the movie. I don’t think I ever even asked why she was wearing it.  To me it made sense that Jabba is an evil toad who objectifies people with abandon because he can. Fast forward 20 years, and to my kids.  One thing I can guarantee is that kids do NOT forget everything they see. My 7 year old, Jacen, still brings up events or things he experienced when he was 3 or so! He may not recall all of the details but he certainly remembers.

Jacen has already taken notice of Leia’s slave outfit. Several times, and in different contexts to his understanding, he has asked why she is wearing underwear, a swimming suit, a bikini, and why she has a chain on her neck.  We are teaching our children about modesty. It starts with the “shut the bathroom door” and “don’t run around the house in your underwear” and works its way up from there, based on context and age/maturity of our kids.  The hardest thing I have to explain in Star Wars is Jabba’s choice of outfits for Leia. But I do stress that it is Jabba (or his other slaves/employees) who picked her outfit, as something to objectify and make her feel less than equal to those around her. The chain signals that she is property not a person with dignity.  The answer has gotten more complex as he’s asked questions, but the content stays the same.  From “That’s what Jabba wanted her to wear, because he’s mean” to discussions on equality and oppression by any person in a powerful position,  I teach my kids that Jabba’s behavior and choices took away Leia’s ability to make her own choices, and that choice had a set of consequences to go along with it. 

One good thing about the new Legends vs Canon split is that I now have three simple categories to drop stuff into for my kids.  Legends, Canon, and Parody.  Jacen is old enough to understand that if (i hope never) he sees the GQ photos, he would understand that that is NOT Leia, nor is it the real droids.  It would definitely open up other questions, but not the validity of who that character is.  My 4 and 3 year olds may have a harder time of it, as for them the costumes still define the character portrayed. 

Again, children don’t forget. Days after a conversation, Jacen picks it up again as if we never finished. He has been thinking about his questions and my answers for days! It is important to not gloss over these topics with kids, especially small children.  They may not understand everything said, but they do remember, and they process information long after they’ve absorbed it.  The Philadelphia father in the news recently taught his daughters that if they are loud enough they can be in the news.  I can only hope that he also sat down with them and talked about the WHY he felt that action figure was such a big deal, beyond “she’s not wearing clothes.” 

By making the conversation flow in a way they can understand, we can teach children about equality, oppression, modesty if you choose, and a great number of things that are controversial and causing problems in current events. If we want those problems to be abated, we can’t put blinders on our children and expect them to be contributing members of society when they get older. We don’t have to hold their eyes open with toothpicks and force them to see what’s going on in the world, but we can be ready to have thoughtful, intelligent, age and context aware conversations with our children about topics as they naturally become aware of  them. 

If we want ideas like Racism, Sexism, and all of the other “ism’s” to be relegated to history books, then the future needs to be taught, in our homes, in such a way that those “ism’s” don’t play a role in decisions or actions.  We can implement laws all we want in our nations, states and cities, but to implement real change, the people have to change in their hearts, and teach their children those principals as well.  If we can use Star Wars to teach those principals, then it is that much better.

Sincerely,

Zach Otto

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