Star Wars Gamer: My Letter to the Editor 20 Years Ago...

Star Wars Gamer: My Letter to the Editor in Issue #7

Twenty years ago, we had a great magazine in the Star Wars community called 'Star Wars Gamer', which lasted for ten issues. This was back in the days of the excellent 'Hyperspace' online fan community, which also required a subscription, but which I was just as willing to pay. They're both long gone, but plenty of people remember them well. At least now, creating an online community is still possible, because here we are, and there's still Star Wars Insider, but I really miss Gamer.
I digress.
I figured today was the day I'd share with everyone my brief contribution to the SW community 'back in the day'. It all started with a focus on some villains of the force, the Anzati, in issue #1. An irate parent wrote in to the editors and was pubished in issue #5, complaining about that article and making the whole issue sound like murder porn...

To Each His Own...
My 10-year-old son really likes Star Wars. So when he wanted to purchas this magazine, I let him. Since it came in a plastic cover that did not allow us to look through the issue, we were not aware that it was full of what I consider to be grotesque and sickening material. I had my son mark all the revolting pages for you to see.
At first I was going to glue paper over the unacceptable pages so that he could keep his magazine, but there were too many. I read your editorial and cannot grasp how you can be so excited about this magazine. You are putting into the hands of young people murderous articles about 'Anzati' inserting probosci into their victims' sinus cavities to drain mucoid medium (pages 92-93) and feeding kids stories about evil, hovering, taloned creatures. And then we, as a country of free people, wonder where kids get their ideas to bomb their schools or shoot whoever they choose because they carry so much hate and anger inside of them. The venomous media they have taken inside their minds has grown out of control, causing them to thirst for blood, murder, and what they think will be sweet revenge.
Yes, I know there is a myriad of media such as games, books, cartoons, and music available to plant this kind of junk into kids' minds; now your magazine adds to it all. We don't want your magazine. We'll take the loss of $6.99 and give you our opinion, as you asked for in your editorial.
Thank you for your time.
Andrew Chapov
Gainesville, Florida

[Editors' response:] Speaking for all the parents here at Wizards of the Coast, I am glad you are taking an interest in what your son is reading. That's what it takes to make sure he grows up to be a responsible adult.
Instead of censoring the magazine and other media, use them as tools to help your son explore right and wrong. Help him view things with an open mind so that he can learn to separate fantasy from reality. With your guidance, he can learn that it's okay to read about things that are revolting and grotesque, so long as he uses what he learns to be a better person in real life.
The Star Wars saga explores the struggles of good against evil, light against darkness. It is impossible to imagine one without the other. The Star Wars galaxy includes fictional creatures and characters that represent both good and evil, from gentle Ewoks to cruel Hutts. There are heroes, and there are villains. Allowing your son to explore both good and evil in the Star Wars galaxy might help him separate good from evil in real life. In the Star Wars movies, good triumphs over evil. Heroes resist the temptation to join 'the Dark Side', and that makes them stronger.
One of the most powerful lessons that can be learned from Star Wars is that evil is more costly than it's worth. Ultimately, evil characters fall due to their own ambitions.
Every issue we publish is held to the same high ethical and moral standards as all Star Wars products. The content of each issue of Star Wars Gamer is intended to be the equivalent of a PG-rated movie.
The Star Wars Roleplaying Game is about playing heroes and defeating villains; let your son imagine what it would be like to be a brave Jedi Knight, defending the galaxy against the evil Empire. Who knows? It might inspire him to pursue great deeds in his own life.

Letters apparently flowed into the editorial office about this exchange, and mine was one of the ones published, in issue #7:

[Editors' introduction:] Andrew Chapov's letter ('To Each His Own...' in Star Wars Gamer #5) has drawn a lot of fire from our die-hard fans. I reiterate to parents: your children, your responsibility. We're not trying to deceive anyone into thinking we can baby-sit for you, though we can always strive for a Star Wars experience the whole family can enjoy.
Go easy on the teachers, though. As our next letter illustrates, they have feelings too.

Speaking with Authority
In issue #5, you have a parent shrilly complaining that your magazine contributes to the already large bandwidth of child-marketed violence and mayhem.
As you noted in your reply, it's refreshing to see a parent check out what's going into his kid's head. (In face I wish more parents would do this in regard to music - and I'm a heavy metal fan yet.) If he ever sees your reply, hopefully he'll realize he's gone a little too far to the right wing of the parenting spectrum regarding the content of your magazine.
You make the point, rightly, that without a depiction of evil there can be no effective depiction of good. Without villains, what shall a child see the hero vanquish?
The story of Martin Luther King Jr. Is not complete without the Ku Klux Klan. The story of Jesus is not complete without King Herod, the Pharisees, or Judas Iscariot. The story of William Wallace is not complete without the English. (And it's worth noting here that British actors have so wonderfully depicted Imperial villains from the beginning of the saga.)
I happen to be a middle-school English teacher in Philadelphia. I've noticed that the media has a very powerful, usually negative grip on my students' minds. However, none of my troublesome students seem to like Star Wars, and many of my good students do.
When literature, or any other medium, depicts a villain antagonist to oppose the hero protagonist, it only makes sense to depict them doing evil things. Your publication shall fall short only when it fails to depict the good guys' imperfect virtues, their internal struggles against their flaws (such as Luke's struggles against the Dark Side), and their ultimate victory over evil.
I would ask this parent to look at the myths of the past, including the very bloody Beowulf and the sundry Grecian myths, not to mention the original Grimm Brothers' fairy tales, and see that Star Wars is effectively no different and no worse as the result of our modern society's tradition of myth-making - and moral teaching.
In hopes of a more autonomous and insightful society of media, parents and children, I am...
John H. Furnish
Philadelphia, PA

[Editors' reaction:] See, even the teachers who listen to heavy metal care.
We got plenty of letters about Mr. Chapov's tirade. One reader even shared a private memory with us: "Growing up, I only had one nightmare resulting from [seeing Star Wars]: the stormtroopers-are-gonna-get-me nightmare." Powerful, powerful stuff.

While SWG is long gone, along with Wizards of the Coast's license for the SW RPG system, all ten issues of SWG can be found on the net as complete pdf's. I'm pleased that my response to a parent's less-than-measured reaction to SWG's beginning content struck a chord in some people and is still read to this day.