Things Your Mother Never Told You: January 2022

Wednesday, January 26, 2022

One Step Closer...Coming For You, Luca Brasi!

Luca Brasi lunch box? No.

But we're getting closer...

My Complex Feelings Towards Boba Fett

Back around the beginning of 1999, I wrote a piece about my strong dislike of the Star Wars character, Boba Fett. I say "piece," because this wasn't a blog post. In fact it was pre: Facebook Notes, Blogger, UJournal, MySpace, and even Friendster. I also say "piece" as it is quite the piece of shit. Even now I loathe much of my writing as soon as I write it. So you can imagine my feelings for something I wrote almost 25 years ago! BUT, I do like a few of the things I mentioned in it.

The gist of the piece was that it's okay for nerds to go against "popular nerd opinions." My unpopular opinion, was that Boba Fett was a one dimensional character, a "filler character" as I originally described him, who had achieved unwarranted hero worship. I went on to say:

I don’t see why everyone goes crazy for this guy (Boba Fett). He’s a bounty hunter, but so is Luca Brasi from the Godfather. I've never seen anyone carrying a Luca Brasi lunch box in my life.

(*A quick, modern Google search, which didn't exist in the 90s, yielded zero results of "Luca Brasi lunch boxes." So if you're looking for something unique for your Etsy store...)

I also debunk the belief that Boba Fett should be credited with the capture of Han Solo.

Boba Fett does deliver Han Solo’s body, frozen in carbonite, to Jabba the Hutt. However, he didn’t actually capture him. Darth Vadar captured Solo, and if you really want to get literal Lando Calrissian actually captured his friend Han. Nice friend. Boba Fett was simply in the right place at the right time.

This remains true.

Back around 2009, when I was a co-host of the podcast "You've Got Geek on You," I even added that I will give Boba Fett due respect for standing toe to toe with Vader when he told him "He's of no use to me dead." But this diplomacy, while brave and admirable, doesn't really account for Hasbro pumping out a shit ton of action figures with his likeness. I mean, you don't have a figure of Llewellyn Thompson sitting on a shelf collecting dust, do you?

(*This Dennis Miller-esque reference also required "Googling")

I continued with this sound gem:

Valentine's Day is coming up...let's say you have your secretary call and order flowers for your wife, but you merely sign your name. Should acne-covered kids in arcades across America wear t-shirts of you?

(*Remember arcades?)

You can see why I am cherry picking and NOT posting the whole "piece," right?

The intention of my original writing still holds true, it's okay to go against the popular culture opinions of the day. Fans LOVED Boba Fett, I didn't. Not until 20 years later when another fan, named Dave Filoni, came along and gave a back story and dimension to this previously flat character in The Clone Wars cartoon. I loved the backstory and emotional motivation that was brought to the young Boba Fett. I cheered when he showed up in The Mandalorian. And now, I am enjoying the hell out of the deeper exploration of the character in "The Book of Boba Fett" series. Yet, ironically, many of those original Fett fans are starting to level their hatred towards the series, ostensibly for the same reasons I love it.

I'll keep watching. I'll keep being opinionated. And I'll keep looking for those Luca Brasi lunch boxes.