Star Wars: A New Hope is more than a blockbuster. The film quickly became a culture phenomenon and continues to astound men and women around the world with its undying legacy. Within a society that moves so quickly and hesitates so little to lose interest in the latest fad, a movie series capable of entertaining individuals across generations is particularly impressive. Upon delving further into the reasons why that may potentially be, a few things become increasingly evident:
From a historical standpoint, Star Wars has been interwoven through world history in the oddest of ways. In the early 80’s, when the second film was released, the US and Soviet Union were in the midst of a Cold War. Comparisons have been drawn between fictional characters and real political leaders, but perhaps the most blatant comparison was made by Reagan himself when he referred to the Soviet Union as an evil empire, similarly to the way that the phrasing “evil Galactic empire” is utilized throughout each of the films.
George Lucas was also a pioneer in the realm of CGI and the use of robotics. Though both had been used to some extent before, a storyline that was set entirely in outer space and demanded high technological content as well as the promise of moments sure to wow the audience. The result? Intergalactic space battles that are impressive some 30 years later, robots such as R2D2 that can still be found in toy form of the nightstand of children world, and an innumerable number of memorable moments for generations to come. It does not come as a surprise that George Lucas made billions of dollars following the original prequel series.
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Beyond simply pioneering within the realm of CGI and robotics, a lasting affect was had by Star Wars: A New Hope on how stories are told, blockbusters are marketed, and sci-fi is received. The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, and ET were all successful sci-fi blockbuster films released during the years following A New Hope.
BY continuously alternating between time periods, the Star Wars prequel, sequel and original trilogy keeps viewers entirely on their toes. George Lucas makes the conscious decision to stray from traditional storytelling and instead surprise his audiences with continuous plot twists, or simply just plot elaborations. Stories we thought we knew, and knew well, are revealed to be entirely different from our expectations and provide another compelling layer to the overall story.
In 1989, the Library of Congress decided to include A New Hope in the US National Film Registry. Only a few years ago, the second film was also added to this registry. The two works display enough culture or aesthetic significance to be preserved and their legacy speaks for itself in that decision alone. Within pop culture Star Wars also remains relevant, as it has been called upon to inspire other films such as Spaceballs, a Star Was parody, or brief skits within shows such as Family Guy and Robot Chicken. In terms of historical significance, there is no one box that the Star Wars franchise correctly fits in; we see a little bit of the force in everything we do.
Hello, What I like from your blog is the passion behind it. I feel as if someone is reading this to me and they really care about what their talking about, and that’s not easy to do over text. I also like how you tie it in with issues that were going on in that current time. This connects to my post because of the layout, I feel as if we both format our blogs very similar. One thing I learned was how the release years related to current issues and political figures can almost be matched to the actors. One thing I will take away from this post is trying to connect my films to what’s going on in society.
Hi Aisha,
Star Wars, as a commercial whole, is an entity that will not soon be forgotten by this generation or the next. The decisions behind marketing, cinematography, casting and directing were all ever-so-carefully hand picked by relevant production team members to cultivate what we now know as an entertainment goliath. I really appreciate the various contexts you give the reader to make their own conclusions of the film from. Within my own essays from this point forward I hope to find resources from the Library of Congress as you have, because the presence of such an impressive academic force only escalates both the quality of your paper and the validity of your argument.
Hello Aisha,
Being a Star Wars fan myself, I can say that I have fallen victim t the lasting effects of the blockbuster sci-fi that only continues throughout each generation. Having younger siblings that have not even reached the age of ten, they are in awe by the massive intergalactic fights, the larger than life effects, and of course the lightsabers. Although it is no wonder that Star Wars has continued to gain in their success, even if it was not developed by George Lucas himself. Every so often when I visit home I will see my little brother watching spin off cartoons or possibly even the new films themselves. I loved that you included how what seemed to be a messed up timeline, is what really kept viewers constantly on their toes as to what was going to happen next. I also did not know that many the ideals Brough up in the films were also used in political issues in a way to describe certain events or individuals.
Hello Aisha,
I really liked how in your article you pointed out the similarities between what was going on in this false reality compared to what was going on socially. Darth Vader has been compared to Hitler and his soldiers have the same name has his the Storm-troopers. It’s amazing to see how George Lucas was able to kind of hid his political awareness in an obscure sci-fi film. I watched a documentary recently about Spielberg and it discussed his relationship with a group of directors, including Lucas, and most of them were convinced that Star Wars was going to flop because it was hard to follow. Low and behold it’s now the highest grossing movie franchises.
@Katherine — You’re right on-point.
The business is unpredictable. It’s almost like every movie is a gamble–and most producers and filmmakers try to reduce risk.
And then you said the magic word “franchise”–which was not something you found in movies before the STAR WARS. Sequels, sometimes. But franchises, no.
Hello Aisha,
I enjoyed reading your post and how you describe the importance of George Lucas and his ideas with CGI and use of Robots. That is what I feel really made this an everlasting classic and started a Star wars mania that still lasts till this day and will hopefully never disappear. I would compare Luke Skywalker to Michael Corleone even though they are vastly different in different senses. When I write my next post I will need to see any historical relevance behind it like you did in your post. You showed how it impacted the film world in ways that a star wars fan like myself did not know.