Star Warriors – Star Wars Fan Name!
Jondee here on Yavin IV,
Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope came out on May 25, 1977 and in all of the time of Star Wars fandom there is one thing missing – a name. The strength of Star Wars fandom was felt with the shutting down of theater websites when tickets for Force Awakens went on sale and Celebration in Anaheim brought in 150,000 people, Force Friday brought in $1 billion for retailers. A community of Star Wars fans exists, but not any particular unity of that community through a fan name. There has been an official Star Wars Fan Club, documentaries on Star Wars fans, podcasts and websites devoted to it, but still no name. Of course, we know about Trekkies (yes, changed to Trekker, but that name takes away some of the fun of the original term) which gives identity and a commonality to Star Trek fans. A documentary was released in 2001 entitled Starwoids from director Dennis Przywara covering Star Wars fans. This awkward term for Star Wars fans seemed to be forcibly applied since there was no voting, no acknowledgement, or even acceptance of the term. Starwoids sounds like something you need an ointment to rub on. It’s presence on Facebook has 4 likes which indicates its rejection by Star Wars fans.
So this leaves the problem of a Star Wars fan name. A few considerations must be made for a fan name; 1) it must clearly indicate it’s subject, 2) it must encompass all of its fans, 3) it must be fun. One is the problem of Starwoids is that it is not a clear term. Two is the problem for fans who favor Millennium Falcons, Jedis, or Sith because there are fan groups like the 501st, Mandalorian Mercs, or Rebel Legion that don’t fit into those names, plus again they don’t closely identify with the Star Wars name. I’ve also heard that the term, “Fanboys” is used, but that does not identify the subject (it’s a generic term), forces familiarity with the 2009 film, and excludes fan girls. The proposal is to adopt the Star Wars fan name from a term that has already been used on trading cards, Marvel comic books, and other material. The third series of Star Wars cards with yellow borders, had a card numbered 178, entitled, “The Star Warriors.” This term was applied to all of the heroes in the Star Wars film. It also appeared in issue #19 (1979) of the Marvel comic book, which had the caption, “The Star Warriors Face – The Ultimate Gamble!” Issue #35 (1980) had the caption, “Darth Vader plays a game of death against the Star Warriors!” One of the Star Wars games published by West End Games in 1987 was entitled Star Warriors, designed by Peter Corless and Doug Kaufman. “Star Warriors” was the title of the documentary of the 501st Legion and was included in the 2011 Star Wars: The Complete Saga Blu-rays. So there is precedent for the term, “Star Warriors.”
The term easily identifies the subject of the fan’s interest, applies to all fans of Star Wars, and is fun. This term was sent in a message to the official Star Wars Fan Club during the time of the prequels with no response. The Star Warriors – A Star Wars Fan Name site on Facebook was created to generate support for the name. There are other Star Warriors sites since it’s posting, one was for fans in the military, but the goal is to get agreement on the term, “Star Warriors” for Star Wars fans. This may be through forums, social media, the Star Wars Insider, and other sources. I published a letter in Star Wars Insider #58 in the C-3PO Communication Station under “What’s in a (Fan) Name?” The response from the editor was that it was “very interesting”, but added, “What do other readers think?” A change, a true community will happen, when the fans get behind it. We can watch Star Wars: Rebels every week on Disney XD. Season of the Force opened at Disneyland and will open at Hollywood Studios in January. We are on the Journey to Force Awakens with books, comic books, and games like Star Wars: Uprising and Battlefront. Then, will come December 18th and Star Warriors will all be at the theaters to watch Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens.
