Star Wars - In What Order?

[AndyC]

Oh, my kids are definitely going to see a variety. I can thank my own family's diverse tastes for my appreciation of movies. I grew up with a brother who loved John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, etc., A brother who loved science fiction and sophomoric comedies, a sister who watched horror movies, a mother with a soft spot for sentimenal old movies, and a father who never wanted to watch anything. I grew up watching everything. Taste in books was equally diverse.

And I hope to learn a thing or two from my kids by letting them discover their own tastes. A friend of ours has a nice ritual that we'll probably adopt. Friday is family movie night. Their son picks any movie he wants, and they watch it together, with a little discussion afterward. Sometimes it's painfully bad, and other times it turns out to be a gem they wouldn't otherwise have rented.

My wife has already made it clear that television and movies are going to be a family activity, when there is nothing more constructive to do. She doesn't want our hypothetical offspring to spend solitary hours watching crappy movies like their father. She's probably right.

Still, I'm pondering a lot of questions, such as how old they need to be before I can introduce them to, for example, Smokey and the Bandit, Alien or the works of Schwarzenegger. I estimate they'll need to be about 11 or 12 to handle a trip to B-fest.

Still, I can't quite decide on this Star Wars question. Seems you can watch it in either order and get something quite different out of it. I guess we're planning on having more than one kid. I can try it both ways.