There's a Wookie, someone named Yoda, and a Princess involved?

 

Much like Klosterman with Harry Potter, for the longest time Star Wars was information that I did not know. I know, preposterous. It's safe to say that the Star Wars franchise has been embedded in pop culture since it's coming out. 

You can find references to Star Wars in countless tv series and movies. There's always gotta be that one "nerdy" character that knows everything about Star Wars. There's that Halloween episode where someone has to dress up as Princess Leia, Chewbacca, a Jedi or even a stormtrooper. It's hard to not know Star Wars knowledge, even though you don't know Star Wars. I could tell you just about every character name in Star Wars AND know how they looked like from it being in pop culture alone.

It was strange being in college and meeting new people and the amount that asked me about Star Wars. And every time I said, "No, I haven't seen the movies," it was Earth shattering news. Finally, a friend sat me down and showed me every movie in the order they came out. And there I was at 19 yrs old, watching Star Wars for the first time. 

And don't get me wrong, I loved the movies and was happy to see them, but I already knew so much before watching them that it wasn't fun or exciting. 

In the case of me watching Star Wars for the first time, pop culture let me down. I couldn't enjoy the twists and turns of the franchise and wondered if it was my fault for not watching them at a young age.

But how do you get to watch them so young?

The famous "I am your father" scene was more shocking to me in Toy Story than the actual franchise, because I saw Toy Story as a child. My family didn't try to expand my movie knowledge, because they were worried about our financial problems and focused on making sure I didn't forget my Mexican heritage in American society. I probably know more classic Mexican tv shows and movies than I do American ones.

So how does pop culture play with minorities in this country? Am I the only one that feels like I missed out on certain trends or references growing up, because my family didn't want me too Americanized?