The Moth - The Moth Podcast: Star Wars

Episode Date: May 3, 2024

On this episode, we visit a galaxy far far away, with three stories all about the impact of Star Wars. Plus, a discussion about why Star Wars has resonated for more than 50 years.Hosts: Brandon Grant-Walker and Edgar Ruiz, Jr.Storytellers:Dame Wilburn confuses a man in a costume for the real Darth Vader.Shannan Paul’s mother teaches her that it’s alright to fall in love with science-fiction.Manuelito Wheeler translates Star Wars: A New Hope into Navajo.Podcast: 865

Welcome to the Moth Podcast. I'm Edgar Ruiz Jr., Manager of the Community Engagement Program at the Moth. And I'm Brandon Grant Walker, Director of Marketing at the Moth. And we're your hosts for this episode. As for what this episode's about, well... That's right. In honor of May the 4th, this episode is all about Star Wars, one of the most influential and resonant narratives of the past century. We're going to hear three stories, a mix of new and some favorites from our archive, that focus on that galaxy far, far away.

Brandon and I are huge Star Wars fans. It's why we're hosting this episode. But even if you don't know how to pronounce Baby Yoda's real name or who shot first, we think you'll get a lot out of these stories. They may be about Star Wars, but their appeal is intergalactic. First up is Dane Wilburn. She told this at a Dayton, Ohio main stage

where she also hosted the show. Here's Dane live at the month. where she also hosted the show. Here's Dame, live at the month. I was born in Macon, Georgia and raised in Detroit. So I have this weird combination of Southern and Midwestern. I'm Midwestern to the point that I drove here from Detroit because it seems senseless to take a plane for under a four hour drive.

They're like, we're gonna get you a plane ticket. I'm like, nah, it's under 12 hours, it's drivable. And I have a tendency also to be, which I think is Midwestern, to be very punctual. I have a tendency to show up an hour ahead of things. I get laughed at a lot. Even when I fly, I show up to the airport two hours before boarding because I'm not gonna be,

because basically what I do is get popcorn and watch other people run to their flights. Now I wanna say I get this because of living in Detroit and being Midwest and that's not true. I get it from my father. And I want to say that I get it from my father because he's punctual, but that wasn't true either.

My dad had a tendency to be late for some things, but the biggest thing he was late for was always movies. He always felt that you didn't need to see things like the previews or the opening credits. Like he figured, you know, if we get real late we'll just stay at the movie and wait till it starts over and catch the beginning again. So my mother wasn't a fan of going to the movies with him because of these issues and this brand new movie came out when I was a little kid, and my mother said,

I'm not going, because I don't want to go to the movies with you. And my dad said, well, I'll go by myself. And she said, ha ha ha, you'll take the baby with you. Because that's what wives do. You know, you're not going to go to the movies by yourself while we have children, are you insane? So, I pack off with my dad and we go see Star Wars. Now my father was late for the movie when we

left the house. So by the time we bought our tickets and he got in an argument with the fountain drink dude about how they only had new Coke and he wanted to drink original Coke which is not the fountain dudes problem but my dad didn't see it that way and then he got into a fight with a popcorn girl because they didn't have popcorn salt and some of you know what popcorn salt is and for those of you who don't I'm not getting into it it's traumatic it's triggering but um I just want to tell you we were super late so we walked into the movie where the fight scenes are already happening and I as a little kid decided that this wasn't a movie it

was a documentary I didn't really have that thing yet that told me this is real this isn't real so I figured this is real and so above our heads in the sky at this moment danger was imminent. So I come home and I try to explain to my mother because my father's not getting it, that we're in a galactic battle for good and we are fighting the number one villain of all time, Dark Vader. Now I didn't hear Darth. I couldn't and he was dark so I figured Dark Vader was what they meant. So my mother's laughing at me because I'm calling him Dark Vader and not Darth and she's going back and forth she's

like this isn't real. This is just a movie. Movies aren't real. This guy isn't real and I said okay I don't believe you. He is real and I need to defend us. So my request for my birthday was a lightsaber. And they had them everywhere because you'd see the commercial, you know, come to this toy store and get a lightsaber. Now there are those of you who think that I'm trying to get a toy. I need you to understand that in my brain, I was getting the only weapon that could protect us from evil.

And I needed it, because this was real. Now, my birthday happens to be the 1st of November, which falls directly after Halloween. So we are in Northland Mall, which is a mall just outside of Detroit in a little town called Southfield. It's one of the first malls built in the country,

by the way. We are walking down the hall and around the corner in movie quality costume, coming in at 6'4 and Approximately 230 240 pounds is some dude 100% dressed as dark Vader My mother has spent months explaining to me that this guy isn't real But there he be. Now, when you're little, all the synapses aren't firing, right? Your brain isn't

really, doesn't really know how to brain yet. So I couldn't pick up, I didn't, I didn't have Darth to begin with. I somehow couldn't pull dark at that moment. So I just screamed. The only thing I could get out was just, ah, it's Black Vader! My mother does what you did. She busts out laughing. I'm like, the fate of the world is not funny. I am a member of the

Rebel Alliance. I must protect us. So I dive into the tour store, go all the way to the back wall, grab a lightsaber. To my disappointment it turned out to be a flashlight with a plastic tube. But I figured this dude is still far down the hall. He won't know. Like Darth, I still far down the hall. He won't know. Like, Darth, I'm going to do the stance, I'm going to have the whole thing, and he's going to be 100%. He's going to be so terrified that an eight-year-old's got a lightsaber, he's just going to go away.

That's my theory. So I run out of the store with my mother is standing there, bold as brass, chatting with Black Vada. And they're yucking it up and they're having a good old time. And I'm standing in the door of the toy store with two cashiers removing my unpurchased lightsaber from my hands. And I let it go because I knew two things.

One, my mother was a member of the Empire, which quite frankly didn't shock me that much. And two, I was going to need a lot more than a flashlight with a tube on it. Thank you. That was Dame Wilburn. Dame is a storyteller, a host of Dame's Eclectic Brain podcast and various live shows, including The Moth Mainstage. She has completed four residencies for storytellers, including at Serenby in Palmetto, Georgia, and one with Air Trezon in Allment, Michigan.

Dame is also presented at the University of Iowa and UCLA. She lives in a state of possibilities and in Michigan. So Brandon, how old are you when you got into Star Wars? You know, I can't really remember. I'm pretty sure that I watched like the first set of movies somewhere in like my late teens. And honestly, like didn't really care, thought they were interesting, but like didn't really care thought they were interesting

but like didn't really think they were for me. And it probably wasn't until about like maybe eight or nine years ago when like Rogue One came out and really showed like a different side of Star Wars. You know it wasn't like Jedi forward it was really about like the everyday kind of person. And then if I like really think about it, then you have like Disney One plus coming onto the scene and like you get the back catalog of movies. But like I'd never watched Clone Wars before. So I started watching like the Clone Wars cartoons and like they do so many great

things in animation. Like the Anakin character is just like so much more developed and you get like Ahsokaca and you see all these different worlds. And honestly, then I just binged anything I could get my hands on and I went back and I watched the original trilogy and then I watched the prequel trilogy and then obviously by then the sequel trilogies were out. It really showed you this world

of so many different people working together to overcome evil and build a better world for themselves. And I just, I find it to be really, really inspiring on a lot of levels. But yeah, I was probably really young and like couldn't really grasp it, but now I'm like in it all the way. So like, what about you? When was the first time you remember seeing Star Wars? Well, the first time I watched it, I was like eight years old with my aunt and I had a sleepover,

but I just remember it being like boring and long and I'm gonna be honest with you, I loved Return of the Jedi because of the Ewoks, you know? And Joe Slukas knew what he was doing. He put those puppets in there and I was like, yeah, I had a loving relationship because I love my aunt and I love these movies. So it was kind of like a positive thing. And then it wasn't until I was like 18, 19 years old when The Phantom Menace came out that I really fell in love with Star Wars.

And I know that's like a sin to say to Star Wars fans. You're very brave to admit that. But yeah, it was my gateway into Star Wars. And then I so happened to have like one of these life changing summers in Puerto Rico with my dad where we reconnected. I just remember we had like a similar scene to the Return of the Jedi at the end where he says,

remove my helmet, let me see you with my own eyes. I was watching that with my girlfriend at that one point and I just started bawling. Cause I had like the similar, like a similar scene with my dad in a car in Puerto Rico where we're like crying similar, like a similar scene with my dad in a car in Puerto Rico where we're like crying and emotionally like just going at each other with like, oh, with the truth.

And he was like, he was seeing me for the first time. And when I was watching this, like I broke down and I was just like, wow, this movie is deeper than what it, you know, what it really is. And then to come find out that not a lot of people like The Return of the Jedi, but when people ask me, which one is your favorite of the OGs, I'm like, Return of the Jedi.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I mean, I think that's just what's so great about Star Wars is that on any level, you can connect with it and see parallels in your own life and I love you sharing about your dad and that moment where you were both like seeing each other so clearly for the first time. And like, that's why I love like the stories in this hour.

They are all so different, but the way that Star Wars unites people in unlocking their imagination and bringing people together and making people feel seen and heard is like something that's very, very special. Next up is Shannon Paul. Shannon told this story at the Twin Cities Story Slam

where the theme of the night was wonders. Here's Shannon live at the mall. Here's Shannon, live at the mall. Little black girls shouldn't like Star Wars. That's what I learned in the 1970s when I was growing up in Phoenix, Arizona. At least if you ask my grandma, Edna. She said I shouldn't like Star Wars, but if you asked her, I also wasn't supposed to like disco music. I wasn't supposed to read science fiction novels.

And I definitely was not supposed to wear pants, only dresses. What I was supposed to do is I was supposed to go to our Bapto-Costal church very often. That's kind of a blend of Baptist and Pentecostal. So it's all those things you've seen in the movie. So there's a lot of praying and shouting. And we went to church a lot.

We went on Wednesdays and Fridays and Sunday mornings that turned into Sundays afternoons and quite often Sunday evenings. And we had that cool pastor that shouted a lot and occasionally danced a little bit and dumped somebody in some water. That's what little black girls were supposed to do. and occasionally danced a little bit and dumped somebody in some water. That's what little black girls are supposed to do. We were also supposed to sit still as she put me on a stool next to our stove in the kitchen

as she would take a hot comb and straighten my hair and then braid it into these beautiful braids, quite often with little beads at the bottom. That's what she said little black girls are supposed to do. Now the person that disagreed with her was my mother who also happens to be black in case you were wondering. My mother who also was raising me in the 1970s along with my grandmother she had different opinions and a lot of those were very subversive for the time and she would say things like, no you're supposed to be able to have your own identity and I'm not

saying that she didn't believe that and she did think that as a young person it was my job to be able to sit there and blossom as a young person to be my own young girl. But she was also doing it to piss my grandmother off. Because she and my grandmother did not get along. I mean, it was some giant fights. And I could think of multiple occasions where I know my mother did some things just to make grandma mad.

But my mom, like I said, she was a subversive. She had a really big, dope ass afro, it was amazing. And she had all of those really cool polyester jumpsuits and they all had pant legs. And then to make it even worse in 1977 what my mom decided to do for the first movie she ever took me to she took me to see Star Wars. Episode 4, A New Hope and as a young black girl that grew up in the desert of Phoenix, Arizona, I remember sitting there in awe and going, I can relate.

Because I wanted to go on adventures. That's what I wanted to do. So when I first saw Luke Skywalker sitting there and he went into, and he's talking to his family, and he starts whining about how he wanting to go to Tashi Station to pick up some power converters. I said, I too want to go on that adventure. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And Princess Leia had beautiful braids and eventually wore pants. And so instead of listening to pastors talk about the end times and talk about the power of the Holy Spirit, instead I also got to listen to people talk about Jedis and using the force and talking about how you know what even if

you grew up on this desert planet you can go on adventures and you might be the one that saves this galaxy. And I remember thinking that was a really lofty goal because I was like five. I was just trying to get my mom to leave my hair alone. That's pretty much it. I just was like, okay, and no more Barbies. I want Tonka trucks. I just wanted that. But it was my first foray into going you're allowed to be different than

what they said you were supposed to do and you were allowed to do something different than what they said you should do and it was really wonderful to have my mom who was a hippie at the time that hippies were really cool and to sit there cross-legged in the corner of our living room while she sat around with her political science major friends at Arizona State University and it was just a giant haze of weed. And I would just sit there cross-legged and read Isaac Asimov and Lord of the Rings and all of these books because my mom was like it's okay for you to do what you want to do, not what you should do.

That was Shannon Paul. Miss Shannon uses her talents to care for her son and make the lives of other people better. She is a comedian, speaker, voice actor, event MC, and benefit auctioneer. She has appeared on Nick Mom's Night Out, laughs TV, and can regularly be seen bringing her wit, whimsy, and pop culture expertise to Twin Cities radio and television.

Plus, you can hear Ms. Shannon on her podcast called Be Our Geek. If you'd like to see a photo of Shannon with one of her lightsabers, we'll have that on our website. Just go to themov.org slash extras. So, you know, I have two younger nephews. We don't live in the same city, so I don't get to, like, have those moments

where I can, like, have them over and, like, watch a movie and, like, basically make them Star Wars nerds. So, like, having kids, do you force your kids to watch Star Wars? Do I force? Yes, all the time. Like, if you go on my Disney Plus account, like you go on Revenge of the Sith and it's gonna start exactly.

It's like, you try to take away from me, like immediately, like all the good parts. Like, you know, I try to get them into it. I just want them, I'm not gonna force them into it, but I think my daughter might be going down that route. Nice, nice. She's going down that geek route. Nice.

And you have this really cute picture of you and your wife and your son, right? Yes. Dressed up as like Baby Yoda before Baby Yoda was a thing. Yes. What's that about? I have honestly believed somebody from Disney saw this picture of my son and was like, no, we

didn't make this happen. This was in 2016. It was his first Halloween. And his mother and I are huge Halloween fans. Like we dress up a lot on Halloween's and there was a time where I didn't celebrate Halloween and then it was like four years I did it and then I came back and I was a Jedi for like three years straight. It was like four years I was a Jedi running around the village with an FX lightsaber that I paid like $150 for.

I haven't done cosplay yet. I wouldn't say I do cosplay. I know cosplayers. They take it serious. That's true. They take it. I made a Jedi outfit just because I was tall and I couldn't fit into the stuff they were selling on like

Amazon and stuff like that. Why do you think people have a connection to Star Wars? I think there's so much to con- it's like what's not to connect with. You know, there's a fantasy element to it which is intergalactic and gives you hope for life elsewhere and for our connection to that life elsewhere. I think there is the interpersonal aspect of it where you have people from all different areas of the galaxy coming together on a common cause, whether that causes good or evil. I think there's still interesting stories told on both sides of it. And obviously, you know, Star Wars at its core

is also a story about like family. And there's so much dimension to that in the way that they've been able to sort of look at the legacy that we leave with family, right? For me, it's like, what's not to connect with? I think anybody can find something in the Star Wars canon that they can feel that connection to. So for people who've never watched them, always like, start anywhere. in the Star Wars canon that they can feel that connection to.

So for people who've never watched them, always like start anywhere. If you like cartoons, start with Rebels. If you like live action, start with the movies. If you don't care about the Jedi, start with Andor. You know, like there's something for everyone is sort of my sort of take on it. What about you?

I think we all like see ourselves. We're like everybody, there's different type of characters in the whole saga and everybody has a little, everybody has represented in the movies. And like, and I think that's why people are so passionate about their characters. It's such an emotional movie. I think a lot of us, you know,

it reminds us of our childhood of many of us, you know, and a lot of them, the stores is just one of those important things. Like everybody remembers where they first saw it. And I hope 100 years from now, people are watching them. Oh, I think for sure. I think they'll be watching it from a galaxy far, far away. Our final story is from Manuelito Wheeler.

Manuelito told us at a main stage in Arizona. Here's Manuelito, live at the mall. Yá'át'éé, Manuelito Wheeler y'iné'ééh, ts'it'ná'n'j'éééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééééé So I have just introduced myself in Navajo. And language equals culture. So it's the late 1990s, and my wife has gone to grad grad school and she left me with our three-year-old son at the time. And so she started school and she got an apartment in Tempe. We had a small apartment. Then I came down three, four months later. And, you know, I had a three-year-old son and I needed a job. And I'd always found myself in the museum world. So where do I go to look for work?

Right away. The Heard Museum. You may have heard of it. No pun intended. So I go apply for a curatorial-type job there and do great on my interview. Think I have it in the bag, get a call, sorry you didn't get it. It wasn't that cold but, you know, sorry you didn't get it but you know what?

The herd's expanding and they need some help in the carpenter's shop and I'm like, okay, I need a job, I'll take it. And so I go and I get interviewed by the master carpenter there and get the job. So that's where I started. And it's interesting that things that I've learned today about management, I really took a lot from that carpentry job. Measure twice, cut once. It's something that'll take you a long ways. So I was a

carpenter's assistant and then I moved up to the exhibit installer and then I moved up to the design manager there at the Heard Museum. So during my time there my wife has finished her masters and now she's on to her doctorate in English lit. And all the while, she's teaching Navajo. So she's teaching Navajo to high school students here in the Phoenix area. And we would always have this discussion of how do we make our language relevant?

How do we get these young people to connect to our language? And this is something that's very close to both of us. It's close to me because I'm not fluent in Navajo, and that's a secret shame that I carry with me. That's a secret shame that people of my generation we carry with us. And it's like, there it is, something that's part of us, and it's fading, and we're trying to figure out how to save it.

So then we talk about this idea around, we're sitting around the dinner table, and we talk about, man, it would be really cool to have our own movies in the Navajo language. And so they're like, yeah, yeah, that would be cool. So we toss some ideas around. She maybe has said, like, we should do the Steel Magnolias in Navajo. And I thought, oh, eh. But then I say, like, think about it for a while.

We should do Star Wars. Maybe you've heard of it. And the reason I thought about Star Wars and it stuck is like it's such a timeless classic. And there are themes in the movie that I've really felt connected with Navajos slash Native people. This idea that the universe is connected and if we do something that affects this side of the universe it's going to ultimately affect this side of the universe. The idea that there's good and there's bad and how we choose to use it

is up to us but it will have its consequences. So I really felt that those ideals would really stick with Navajo people, especially our traditional elders. So this is a time when the internet was brand new and there was that thing that was like AOL and you've got mail and computers were huge and you would clack away on them. And so I get on the internet, I find the script to Star Wars Episode IV for those of you that need some clarification. And it comes in the mail and I look at it and I put it on the shelf and forget about it for a few weeks. And then, you know, I find it again, I look through it and there's my wife and I tell her,

like, you think you could do these five pages and translate them in Navajo? And she's like, yeah. And I'm thinking, I'm not going to get this back until a few days or a week or so. She comes back in like about 30 minutes and it's all typed up and she hands me the papers and I'm like, whoa. That's when I had the moment, that light bulb moment of this can be done, this is real. So again, I research Lucasfilm, of course, and send emails. And this process goes on for about 10 years of going to different parts of Lucasfilm. There's the emails, there's the 800 numbers.

And I'm not a pest, I'm not emailing Lucasfilm every day or anything like that. It's just like a'm not a pest. I'm not emailing Lucasfilm every day or anything like that. It's just like a couple times a year. So you know that that goes on and then the position opens up at the Navajo Nation Museum to be the director. I apply. I get it. We move our family back to where back to our beloved rez. And then the idea resurges again. And I'm like, I'm gonna try this other door, send the email off again, just thinking, it'll never get answered. And one day, you know, the email pops up and it's from Michael from Lucasfilm. And he popped his just emails us, we got your message,

and this is something that we're interested in, can we schedule a meeting? And I'm like, oh my gosh. I'm in my, I sit back in my chair in my office, and I'm like, whoa. And then of course I call my wife first, I'm like, guess who I got an email from? It's like, Lucasfilm, they're on, they wanna do this.

The stipulation though was that we would have to fund the production, the Navajo Nation would have to fund this production. So, you know, I gather myself, I go up to my boss, go up to his office, and he's a cool guy, I've always gotten along with him, and I tell him, hey, this idea about Lucasfilm and they want, they're interested in putting Star Wars in the Navajo language and it's gonna be great and it's gonna be the best thing that ever happened to the Navajo Nation. And you know, he's sitting there and you know, he's just kind of nodding his head and you

know, he's like, that's nice Manny, you know. And it was there, I just felt this sinking feeling like, like he doesn't get it. He doesn't see the vision that I have and So he's like well, you know put a budget together and we'll see if we can you know Find some money for you to do this and of course, you know There are much bigger problems on the Navajo Nation people actually live without running water and electricity there So that my project was gonna have to take a backseat for a while. But I'm not discouraged. I go to various Navajo Nation programs and I'm like, great project.

No, sorry. Great project. We should do this. No, sorry. Great project. Let's do this. No, sorry. And so, you know, this is over, I would say,

six to eight months. And at that time, it's something that you feel like you have lightning in a bottle, but nobody wants to buy it. And then finally, I come across another person that I know. And he oversees the fairs for the Navajo Nation. And he's like, you know, I'm trying to look for something that's entertaining, something that would bring a lot of people together. Next time, I'm trying to look for something that's entertaining, something

that would bring a lot of people together. Next time I'll suggest the moth. But so it's like, I'm going to, you know, I need something that's going to bring a lot of people together. And I'm like, I've got a project for you. And I explained my idea about putting Star Wars, dubbing it Navajo into over a Star Wars movie and he's like yeah that sounds pretty good like let's do it and I'm like oh I'm like trying to be cool on the inside of oh okay so around this time when he said

yes I would say would be around February maybe even March and And he said, I need something for the 4th of July fair. And I'm like, oh, okay, yeah, I can do it. And so after he agrees, I rush over to my team and my team was very small, you know, it was a team of about 10 people. And I'm like, okay, we gotta do this and we gotta make this happen. And so everybody gets on board.

We had to put together a press release and we send to make this happen. And so everybody gets on board. We had to put together a press release and we send it to Lucasfilm for their approval. They approve it and then it goes out to the internet. And so you know we're doing our stuff getting ready and then it takes off like wildfire. My phone starts ringing every day, you know, at least every hour maybe, and it's the BBC, it's NPR, it's CNN, like all of these different major media outlets, they want to talk to me about how this project's getting done, why it's getting done, and I couldn't believe it, and I'm like, oh, and then I get a call from my friend who lives in Los Angeles, and he's like, Matty, this story Navajo Star Wars

is trending at number seven on Yahoo. And I'm like, oh, cool. What does that mean? And so he's like, well, let me put it this way. The Olympics are trending at number eight. And I'm like, whoa. So that's when it hit me. And we started to get rolling.

The people from Burbank, they came out. They basically gave us a template and gave us a tutorial on how to get things rolling. So we auditioned for Star Wars in two days. And we had over 400 people come over those two days auditioning to be a part of this. And then we go and the translator started, and we had five translators in a room and they translated the whole script in 36 hours. And then we go into production

and it was just one massive, amazing blur. But let me put it this way, we started on April 12th and we premiered the movie on July 3rd. So we did everything in that short amount of time, which even by Hollywood standards is an amazing thing. And one of the things I'm most proud of is it was mostly done by Navajo people. We really got together and made this happen. So here we are. We are... Here we are. We're premiering it and guess what? A rodeo arena. Classic Navajo style. And it wasn't just a rodeo arena, a rodeo had actually happened less than an hour prior to us doing this premiere. So imagine if you will and here

comes a giant semi driving into the rodeo arena and my people they had built a movie screen on the side of the semi truck, and it pulls into the middle of the rodeo arena. And people, the stands are filled. There are thousands of people, over 2,000 people were there. And they're all waiting for this movie to start. The cast and crew is there.

People from Burbank are there. People from Hollywood are there. Everybody is excited to see this. And my wife, she's sitting right next to me. And then the lights go down. People applaud, cheer, kind of. And then it happens. Those light blue, that light blue font,

a long time ago in a galaxy far far away it appears on the screen but it's in Navajo and then the crowd goes wild they cheer and then the big Star Wars logo blasts on screen and the Star Wars pop so the crowd goes wild again and it's like it's almost like a frenzy. And here comes the crawl, the crawls in Navajo. And my wife and I are sitting there. And I squeeze her hand and we're just sitting there. And she's crying.

Tears are coming down her eyes. But I'm not crying. Maybe I was crying. It was a rodeo arena. It's dusty and dust getting in my eyes. So then the crawl starts and then here comes the big Imperial cruiser descending upon Princess Leia's ship and it goes C3PO. C3PO utters the first words, and C3PO is in Navajo, and the crowd goes wild again. And then here comes Darth Vader, and he lifts up the rebel, and he's like, where is the princess? Where are the plans? And it's in Darth Vader's voice in Navajo, and the crowd is going crazy.

And I'm there sitting there squeezing my wife's hand and I'm thinking of our grandmothers that have gone on to the next world. I'm thinking of our grandfathers that have gone on to the next world. Our uncles that have gone on to the next world. Our aunts that have gone on to the next world. That I wish they were here to see this. This is our culture.

It's living on. This is our culture. And now there was a new hope. That was Manuelito Wheeler. Born and raised in the Navajo Nation, Manuelito is currently working with his wife, Jennifer Jackson Wheeler, as consultants for various networks and studios, helping them incorporate native languages into their content. Their company, Black Bead Productions, specializes in dubbing, translations, and cultural protocol involved in film production and post-production. And here's a clip of Star Wars, A New Hope, translated into Navajo.

This is the scene where Obi-Wan and Luke see Princess Leia's hologram for the first time. And that's it for this episode. From all of us here at the MoF, may the Force be with you. This is the way. This is the way. Edgar Ruiz Jr. is the manager of the Community Engagement Program and a StorySlim host at the Moth. He is a comedian and storyteller who has been featured in the Moth's latest book, A Point of Beauty, true stories about holding on and letting go. If you're interested in reading more about his Star Wars origin story, you can visit

edgarruizjr.com. Brandon Grant Walker has always loved telling a good story, and that passion informs his work as director of marketing for the Moth. Brandon is a die-hard Marvel fan, a tequila connoisseur, and proud uncle. As a Florida native, he gravitates towards the the sun and beach but he has an equal love for his adopted home of New York City. The food, the culture, the skyline, and the people. The rest of the Moth's leadership team includes

Sarah Haberman, Jennifer Hickson, Meg Bowles, Kate Tellers, Marina Clujay, Suzanne Rust, Brandon Grant Walker, Leigh Angeli, and Aldi Casa. The Moth would like to thank its supporters and listeners. Stories like these are made possible by community giving. If you're not already a member, please consider becoming one or making a one-time donation today at themoth.org. All Moth stories are true, as remembered by the storytellers. For more about our podcast,

information on pitching your own story, and everything else, go to our website, themoth.org. in your own story and everything else, go to our website, themoth.org. The Moth Podcast is presented by PRX, the public radio exchange, helping make public radio more public at PRX.org.