Star Wars Identities
Have you ever taken a magazine “personality” quiz that promises to tell you which, oh, I don’t know, Sex and the City character, Beatle, maniacal despot or zodiac sign you really are? Admit it, a lot of us on long flights or jury duty have succumbed to answering one page quizzes to determine our secret inner spirit animal. However, if we are at all savvy, we know deep inside the quiz has little merit and instead was written by a 24 year old intern who was more focused on hitting a deadline and still making happy hour.
But if you want character-related introspection from a team that so understands its audience they almost qualify as social scientists, take a walk through Star Wars Identities, now drawing big crowds at London’s O2.
Star Wars Identities will allow you to rediscover your favorite Star Wars characters, of course, but learn about the science of identity in a new way. Alongside interactive scientific content around genetics, neuropsychology and psychology, the exhibition follows the personal stories and paths of Luke and Anakin Skywalker to give visitors a better understanding of who these characters (should we say people?) are. Visitors will follow their own journey and leave the exhibition with their own personalised, unique Star Wars character.
Fans, superfans, lovers of film, lovers of not real “girls” they met in internet forums, and the generally curious have been experiencing Star Wars Identities throughout the world, and now it is the chance of those in London as the multimedia show takes residence at the O2 through September, 2017. More information can be found at starwarsidentities.com
I know Star Wars, I get “identity”, so…
The title is intriguing, but… what is the exhibit, exactly?
Imagine a getting access to the warehouses that might, that must, exist at LucasFilm, but with a pointed invitation for you to dive deeper. You will see hundreds of props, costumes and models from the Lucasfilm stash, and for some that would be enough. See the detailed scorch marks on Boba Fett’s armour, measure up to Darth Vader’s robes and not think, oh, it’s like Tom Cruise, he looks so much taller on film. Maybe imagine yourself as a metal-clad slave girl and wonder about chafing issues. (Poor Carrie.)
Check out the amazingly detailed sketches that take you from original concepts to fully realized character ideas, and marvel at how intricate the actual shooting models were – tiny spaceships that when blown up to full massive screen size looked real, functional and awe inspiring as you sat in that cinema as a kid.
But let’s get back into your head for a moment. You already know you’re a Charlotte, a Paul, a Castro and such a total Libra, but who would you be if you were tapped to join, nay, lead the Resistance?
As you progress through this exhibit, you are asked questions that are pertinent to the world of Star Wars and a bit about yourself, and you have to make decisions. These get logged as you go, while you travel through the fascinating exhibit with your audio guide automatically kicking in as you near yet another squeal-worthy bit of memorabilia and film history. If you haven’t seen the older films in a while, it is a delight akin to a trip to your parent’s attic to relive the memories brought on by the sights of the props and costumes and set design pieces, and superfan or not, one can’t help but marvel at the multilayered world that was created way back when Industrial Light & Magic was an vague idea Lucas was boring his dates with in the early 70s. And when you’re done, you have your own Star Wars Identity.
This is a don’t miss, and as it is on for the next 10 months, so you have no excuse to dive into this wonderful world, and maybe find yourself.
Star Wars Identities opens at The O2 from 18 November. Buy tickets at www.theo2.co.uk/starwars
More PCB: the history of the filming: Elstree 1976
A former ABC National, Dallas and Atlanta radio personality, Martina O'Boyle is now making movies and covering culture in London, Dublin, and as far in Europe as the cheapie flights will take her, for Pop Culture Beast.