We’re a little over a month away from the release of the long-awaited "Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens," and the hype around this movie cannot really be put into words. I don’t think I’ve been so excited for a movie since I was 10 years old!
I wasn’t planning on writing about "Star Wars" until the end of November, but since the media has finally begun the real promotion and marketing for the new film, I couldn’t help but share my excitement.
It wasn’t until college that I realized there were people in the world who weren’t "Star Wars" fans, and I was honestly shocked. I wasn’t shocked because I couldn’t geek out with certain people about "Star Wars," I was shocked that people don’t realize the importance it has in cinematic and pop culture history. So I’ve come up with three reasons why everyone should be a "Star Wars" fan.
One, "Star Wars" was the beginning of a revival in the film industry. In the 1970s, the film industry was all about dark and serious “verismo” films. Realism and the underdog antiheroes were the pull. When you look at the first half of the decade, films like "The Godfather," "Patton," "Chinatown," "Taxi Driver," "A Clockwork Orange," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest," and "Jaws" were dominating the cinemas around the world. Even Disney was putting out films like "The Aristocats," "Robin Hood," and "The Rescuers."
Now don’t get me wrong, I love all of those movies, but "Star Wars" came at the perfect time. It was the first of its kind. It was fun, it was relatable, it was exciting, new, classic, and a little weird, but everyone loved it! The movie came out in 1977, stayed in theaters for almost a year, and was re-released in 1978, 1979, 1981, and 1982.
It was selected to become part of the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, and was the only film from the decade to be chosen. It became the highest grossing film of all time and is considered one of the most important films in the history of motion pictures.
So it’s kind of a big deal.
Two, it influenced the film industry in ways you could never imagine. George Lucas had so much trouble working with the film studios on the first film that he decided to fund the second and third on his own. This opened up so many doors for independent filmmakers in the future. (Keep in mind that independent films have a huge presence in the industry today.)
It’s a little bit sad that so many elements of the films have become clichés, but I know I would give my left arm to create so many clichés and household phrases. “Use the Force, Luke,” “I am your father,” Chewie growls, R2D2 bleeps, explosions! Every action and adventure movie has taken something from "Star Wars."
George Lucas’ Visual Effects company ILM was birthed out of "Star Wars" and has worked on the world’s largest action movies. "E.T.," "Back to the Future," "Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Die Hard," "Terminator," "Schindler’s List," "Forrest Gump," "Mission: Impossible," "Jurassic Park," "Titanic," "Harry Potter," "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Iron Man," "Avatar," "The Avengers," and about 100 other top grossing blockbuster films as well as lower budget dramas have used ILM’s services.
So, it’s a really, really big deal.
Three, it’s just plain fun! There’s no way to explain the feeling of sitting down and enjoying a "Star Wars" film in your living room with family, or with friends, or on the big screen. There’s a joy and excitement and magic that the movies bring that not many other films have. That’s why they’ve lasted for so long, and why they’ll continue to capture the hearts of young and old for generations to come.
So if you haven't seen "Star Wars," do it! If you haven’t seen them in a while, watch them again! And go see "The Force Awakens" when it comes out on Dec. 18.
