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Star Wars, explained by someone who (gulp) has never seen it

Some of her answers are simply fantastic: Jar Jar Binks is on the dark side helping Darth Vader kill people.

Headshot of Patrick Holland
Headshot of Patrick Holland
Patrick Holland Managing Editor
As Managing Editor, I lead CNET's mobile team, covering news and reviews on smartphones, wireless carriers, AI, wearables and more. I oversee the team's product testing and translate our findings into accessible recommendations. With nearly a decade of experience at CNET, I've covered Apple and the iPhone, Google and the Pixel, Samsung and the Galaxy, Motorola and the Razr, iOS vs. Android and much more. I'm passionate about storytelling (hey, former theater director and playwright here).
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  • Patrick's play The Cowboy is included in the Best American Short Plays 2011-12 anthology. He co-wrote and starred in the short film Baden Krunk that won the Best Wisconsin Short Film award at the Milwaukee Short Film Festival.
Patrick Holland
2 min read
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Star Wars came out in 1977. CNET's former editorial intern Perla Shaheen was born over two decades later. To this day she's never seen any of the films.

Twentieth Century Fox

Star Wars is omnipresent in our pop culture. For better or worse, your relationship to the movies defines you.

There are fans who love it and own all the Blu-rays and toys. There are those who hate it and think it's overrated.

And then there are the people out there who've never seen a single Star Wars film.

CNET's former editorial intern Perla Shaheen falls into the last category. She has more or less avoided Star Wars her whole life, but still knows quite a bit about the films and the fandom around them.

"I'll tell you my dirty little secret -- I have never seen Star Wars," she confided to several of us in the newsroom. "I was born about 20 years after the first Star Wars film came out."

This immediately raised the question: How much does someone who's never seen Star Wars actually know?

A lot, it turns out.

Watch this: Star Wars told by a CNET intern who's never seen it

Perla was kind enough to let us quiz her Star Wars knowledge, which resulted in both amazingly accurate answers on things like Darth Vader and horribly hilarious responses about Han Solo and Jar Jar Binks.

"That big hairy creature? I don't know his name," says Perla. "The short, wrinkly green guy with enormous ears? I thought he was in Lord of the Rings."

We should note, CNET isn't the first to have someone who has never seen Star Wars explain it. Nor will we be the last.

23 years: That's how long it took a CNET news editor to finally see Star Wars

Lightsaber academy: A martial artist trains at with the Jedi

Star Wars' first fan: He was the first person ever to see Star Wars and he made a film about it

Star Wars in photos: 40 years of the Force

See all photos