The Toastmaster of the Day serves as master of ceremonies, introducing the speakers and evaluators and keeping things moving along. They also create a theme for the meeting as well as a Word of the Day related to the theme. Whenever this word is heard, attendees indicate having heard it by knocking on the table; it encourages people to work a specific word when they are speaking, and also makes a good exercise in active listening.
This week, our TOTD chose Star Wars as the theme, and "hope" as the WOTD, which I thought was pretty clever of them. At the beginning of the meeting,she explained how the very first Star Wars movie from 1977 is now known as "Episode IV: A New Hope." This turned out to be a good thing, as two or three people of the dozen or so in attendance had never seen it!
The theme also provides an opportunity for the TOTD to ask anyone expected to speak a related question so they have something interesting to say during their introduction. After all, two of the more common intro elements, where do you work and what do you do don't cover very much ground in a corporate club like ours. This week's intro question was, "which Star Wars character do you feel you are most like?"
Now, my relationship with Star Wars has been both complicated and tumultuous since seeing it at age 10. My love of adventure and sci-fi movies and my appreciation for movie-making in general, as well as my interest in religion, weaponry and feudal Japan can all be traced back to seeing Episode IV at a young age. But then the prequels came and kicked my taste for all things Star Wars right out of my mouth, so I didn't bother watching any of the adjacent animated series or anything. After a long period of laying fallow then, the most recent trilogy came out, and I became optimistic again. I really enjoyed the first film (though it was derivative), appreciated the bold moves made by the second, and then watched the studio undo all that change as well as the well-deserved happy ending to the original trilogy by bringing back the original villain along with a nonsensical plot and by-the-numbers emotional closure for the new characters.
But then people I know and respect starting speaking in glowing terms of new series The Mandalorian on Disney+. And I read that showrunner Jon Favreau is actively trying to homage one of my favourite Japanese comics, Lone Wolf and Cub (holy crap, how have I never blogged about that before? [adds to list]). So now my overall sense of "meh" is once again in danger of being overwhelmed by exciting tales set in this mad universe George Lucas created (but is no longer directly involved with).
So, yeah, like I said: complicated.
And despite the fandom that encompasses a good part of my life, I never thought of myself in terms of what character I might be like. And yet, who hasn't wished for the cocky swagger of Han Solo, the assured serenity of Ben Kenobi, the feisty imperiousness of Princess Leia? As an exploration of myth and of Joseph Campbell's hero's journey, we really do look to see ourselves reflected in these archetypal characters.
Except I never had.
I gave it a lot of thought (honestly, far more than it needed, being for a brief introduction) but was pretty happy with what I provided in response:
I really wish I saw more of Ben Kenobi in myself, but if I am being honest, I am probably most like Yoda. People sometimes find it difficult to understand what I'm saying, and I exist in a weird sort of space between ancient wisdom and comic relief.
Most of the group keeps their mics muted during our meeting, but I still heard some chuckles and saw some nodding of heads in agreement from those who know me (and had their cameras on.
When I told Fenya about it yesterday in the car, she hooted with laughter and said, "oh my gosh, it's so true!"
At least there is a chance she is acknowledging some wisdom in there, I suppose.
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