Personally, let me start off with the fact that I am a huge fan and nerd for the " Star Wars" series of movies, video games, and just about anything related. In today's society, "Star Wars" is still wildly popular... the question is, why? For those who aren't aware (even though most of you probably are), the first "Star Wars" film, later named "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope", is a science fiction space opera released in 1977 and became a cultural phenomenon since it's initial release. Let's explore a little as to why it still is today. For the sake of simplicity, I'll strictly be sticking to the original trilogy films.

1: The Hero's Journey

One of the most powerful literary tropes is something known as "the hero's journey". The easiest way to describe this is that the main character receives a call to adventure, acts on it, and endures through trials and challenges before they reach a breaking point that causes a transformation of being and reaching the pinnacle of their character. The main character, Luke Skywalker, you get to see leap to the call of adventure and fight back against the evil Imperial Empire with the aid of his mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi. This is before he ultimately reaches his breaking point and transforms into a better person, a true Jedi.

2: Good versus Evil

The aforementioned evil Imperial Empire is headed by two figures known as Darth Vader and his master Emperor Palpatine. A good story usually draws on conflict, and there is absolutely no shortage of that in the movies. The goodly Rebel Alliance fights against the Imperial Empire as well as Luke against the dreaded Darth Vader, with dramatic and emotion filled combat sequences that we could all feel.

3: A vast and deep galaxy

What Star Wars was good at in general was making a very believable and unique world. Every little thing you looked at had a story to tell or had a little tidbit of information about it, even if it only had about three seconds of screen time. The universe was rich and vastly unexplored like the American wild west, which made it interesting to see something new at every turn. It engaged us all with this galaxy far, far, away.

4: The Characters

In Star Wars, there's a vast host of characters with wildly different personalities. You know you're in for a ride when even the robotic characters (droids) themselves have quite the personality for each one. It makes it very easy for someone new to the series to find a character they can relate to or connect with. This is an important part of creating any major story, and to connect us all with the films.

5: It's refreshingly light-hearted

A lot of Science Fiction films tend to be rather grim and dark. At the time, this kind of trend was commonplace. Star Wars being a little more light-hearted with it's various bits of humor and not pushing the grim bits too hard was a refreshing breath of air for the industry and the American audiences. This helped it's success immensely, and made the films much more readily available to wider audiences so it would be seen by not only adults but their kids as well.

6: Myth and Legend

One of the greatest things about the Star Wars films was the mysterious Jedi and their power to use something known as "the force". This was a mystical untapped power source wielded by the powerful warriors known as the Jedi, only in myth. As the films progressed, though, it was revealed to be real. It felt real to us, as well, as we grew up with Luke and his training to become a Jedi Master. The Force made it that much more interesting and brought appeal as it simply just was, and was a mystery to all.

7: Memorable Bad Guys

You don't just forget a figure like Darth Vader, or the iconic black and white armor of the Stormtroopers. There's something about the bad guys that makes them that much more memorable. Could it be the stomp of the Imperial March theme every time Vader is on screen, what about the silent and quiet Boba Fett in his mysterious green armor and T-shaped visor? Or the ruthless and cold Emperor Palpatine? Either way, we all remember them one way or another.

8: The Music

I'm huge on music, so it comes to no surprise I'd include this on the list. Though it is true that John Williams, the composer for all of the films is a brilliant composer. He set the mood and tone for every scene and brought us themes and musical scores that we all remember and love. A lot of the music was very memorable, enough that one who has seen the films would be able to pick up almost immediately if they heard a particular theme elsewhere and would know it stemmed from the films.

9: The Special Effects

At the time, the industry standard for special effects was absolutely broken by Star Wars, pushing Hollywood to new limits and bringing more modern films like we see today into the light. What was great was these effects made the universe that much more convincing and believable to us, transporting us all to a galaxy far, far, away. Though special effects aren't one of the more major reasons, it has certainly helped bring us to a new universe and become engaged with what was happening.

10: Lightsabers

While lightsabers are one of the absolute coolest things from the films, it's not necessarily the reason itself. It was the duels between wielders of the force and those swords of bright light. They were intense, fueled by emotions, and powerful. These duels brought and drove home the building climax to the films and had us all on the edge of our seats. To see the hero fight against his greatest challenge was what we all wanted to see, and the payoff was immense.

All in all, Star Wars is a very memorable set of films that we still all love and know today. It's not surprising that we still do, and by no means is this list confined to the only reasons we do. It's a fun-filled journey, and we were along for the ride every step of the way. Share the adventure with a friend if they haven't seen it! I'm sure they won't regret the launch into the epic space opera known to us as Star Wars.

Thanks for reading,

And may the force be with you.