A sweet video showing a Luke Skywalker cosplayer communicating with a Star Wars fan through American Sign Language (ASL) has gone viral.
In a post on Reddit’s “Star Wars” forum yesterday under the handle u/imflukeskywalker, cosplayer Fluke Skywalker wrote, “If you can learn some basic ASL, you can really brighten someone’s day, especially a great Star Wars fan.”
The post quickly racked up over 92,000 upvotes and over 1,000 comments from Reddit users who said they were touched by the interaction, while others said they would be interested in learning ASL.
skywalker said news week that the now-viral interaction took place at the Dayton Off-Road Expo in Ohio. The self-styled “cosplay volunteer for charity” attended the event with two other cosplayers, Tim O’Sullivan and Jon Hammer, who were dressed as C-3PO and Boba Fett, respectively, to raise funds for Blue Skies for the Good Guys Foundation. Gals Warrior.
During the event, the cosplayers spoke with Star Wars fans and posed for photos, and Skywalker had the opportunity to meet 29-year-old Robert. Star Wars fan from Xenia, Ohio.
“Hello! My name is LUKE. What is your name?” Skywalker asked Robert, who responded by signing his name.
The two exchanged pleasantries and then posed for a photo, after which Skywalker signed, “Thank you. You are a Jedi. May the force be with you!”
Robert nods and waves goodbye, but before he can leave, Skywalker asks Robert for a hug.
“Can I have a hug, please?” Skywalker asked. Robert nods, “yes,” and the video ends with the two sharing a hug.
In response to Redditor u/Alastor3, who asked Skywalker “why” he decided to learn ASL, Skywalker said, “I learned sign language because I was embarrassed that I couldn’t communicate with Star Wars fans who are hard of hearing and speak ASL. They are just as important to me as they are to everyone else, so I wanted to make an effort to learn at least a few basic words.”
Skywalker said more news week that he took the time to learn basic ASL during COVID and that Robert was the first Star Wars fan who has signed since he learned the language. Although he “got it wrong” a couple of times during the interaction, he said Robert still got it.
“I think he appreciated someone speaking his language,” Skywalker said.
Previously, the United Nations Organization (UN) stated that there are more than 70 million deaf people worldwide, who collectively use more than 300 different sign languages. Additionally, there are approximately one million people who use ASL as their primary source of communication, news week informed.
According to Start ASL, American Sign Language is the third most widely used language in the US; however, it is not English.
“It’s a distinct language with its own syntax and grammar and has been developed over hundreds of years by deaf people as a means of communication,” Start ASL explained.
“It is also as capable as English or any other language of communicating abstract or complex ideas,” the organization continued.
As stated above, the Skywalker video was a huge success and inspired others to seek to learn ASL.
“My God this really got to me,” wrote u/omaca. “I want to learn now.”
“Ok. Does anyone have good ASL classes to post?” asked u/PushKatel.
Update 02/03/2022, 1:10 pm EST: This article has been updated to include comments from Fluke Skywalker.
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