IT'S TIME TO USE THE FORCE

The older we get, the more we realize that time is a very precious commodity. When we were children I'm sure that many of us wasted quite a few hours, minutes, and seconds, staring off into space, lazing around in bed, and generally doing Jack-all for the sake of whatever. But now, now that we are older, ha, fat chance of that happening. On a daily basis most of us are bombarded with rituals that are packed to the brim with semi-productive endeavors, like work, play, and allegedly, messing about with our phones. That said, however, time can also be reinterpreted to encompass other brands of endeavors, especially where cinema is concerned.





Take the Star Wars films for instance, namely, those chosen films that deal with the legacy of the Skywalker clan. I mean, have you ever noticed how these stories play about with time? What with the way they skip a number of years in-between episodes, or how they occasionally massage the nature of time during their telling!

Case in point, during Star Wars Episode Three: Return of the Jedi, we saw Luke Skywalker training with Master Yoda for a six month period. Problem was, this was shown in a number of small segments scattered throughout the film, totaling thirty minutes or so, give or take a nerf herder. Now I can fully understand that you can't show six months in a film that's only 131 minutes long! But still, time was warped, warped to such an extent that it's elusive nature felt hollow in retrospect.

Another instance where Star Wars managed to manipulate time was when they skipped a number of years between each episode. On average ten years had passed between Episode One: The Phantom Menace, and Episode Two: Attack Of The Clones. Three more years then passed between Episode Two: Attack Of The Clones, and Episode Three: Revenge Of The Sith. A more notable nineteen year gap emerged between Episode Three: Revenge Of The Sith, and Episode Four: A New Hope. Then there was another three year gap between Episode Four: A New Hope, and Episode Five: The Empire Strikes Back. Plus between Episode Five: The Empire Strikes Back, and Episode Six: Return Of The Jedi, only one year had passed.

Now of course there is a certain logic as to why the filmmaker's have decided to do this. Firstly, certain characters may need to grow older, or younger, so that their story-arcs can progress more smoothly: As seen in the Anakin Skywalker character, primarily played by Sebastian Shaw and David Prowse, then by Jake Lloyd, and finally by Hayden Christensen. Plus in addition to this, this sort of 'time jump' has the ability to give each story a tinge of suspense, or exclusivity, thus allowing them to have a secret mythology between episodes, which I'm sure certain filmmakers can expand upon at a later date.  

Time can also be used as a measurement of speed, as it can gauge how fast a pre-specified vehicle or character is moving, such as a Mazda MX-5, a Jeep Wrangler, or more appropriately, Luke's Landspeeder. To illustrate this point, motorparks.co.uk have been good enough to provide us with the following infographic. Here, check it out...

That was a nice looking infographic, wasn't it? But do you know what's even better? No. I'm afraid that I haven't got any naked pictures of Queen Padmé Amidala. More's the pity. What's even better though would be our old friend time. Or to be more specific about it, the following amazing timepieces, sent to me by my friends from the Watchshop.com.

As you can tell from the images I've placed throughout this article, each item is of a high quality and are branded with designs straight out of Star Wars: Rogue One. My personal favorite out of the bunch would have to be the Darth Vader Mini Twin-bell Alarm Clock. Not only is it functional, compact, and able to wake me up whenever the time is right, but on top of that, it also has one of my favorite characters plastered on its face, namely, Darth Vader, who makes me want to get up even if I don't want to.

The next two item's Watchshop.com gave me were the children's Disney Rogue One Watch, which my Goddaughter just loves, what with its cleanly designed face and strap. This is then complemented by the Nixon Time Teller Leather Men's Star Wars Watch: Special Edition, which I must say, is such a classy piece I fear that the nature of time will warp every time I strap it to my wrist, Ha! Seriously though, each of these timepieces are a blast and well worth the money. Please feel free to check them out when you can, and if you do, take your time, as it's always with us -- like the very nature of the force itself.