What is it about Star Wars?
<div class="IPBDescription">That still captivates people 30 years later</div>Star Wars just turned 30 if I remember correctly. After seeing it repeatedly referenced on this forums, it made me kind of curious. What is it that captivates people so much about star wars? I mean, the movie special effects were great for the time so that really got people's attention. But why has it stood the test of time? Is it the storyline that is so amazing? It doesn't seem that much better than a lot of other movies. Or is it the huge universe lucas created, leaving open so much that people could expand on?
Tolkien created a universe in LOTR and it is hugely popular, but I still don't see the same kind of obsession with this universe as Star Wars. What do you guys think is responsible for its success? I myself am not a star wars fan. I mean, I like the movies a lot and I understand why people think its great, but I don't know any trivia or anything of that nature. Maybe some real starwars fans can help me out and tell me why it still holds their attention.
<b>NOTE:</b> I don't want to see any "star wars sucks, you nerd" posts. If you want to talk about what you DON'T like about starwars, start a thread along those lines. Otherwise this will very quickly degrade into a flame fest. If you are looking for a fight, go tap a biker on the should and ask him if he's richard simmons (ala family guy).
Tolkien created a universe in LOTR and it is hugely popular, but I still don't see the same kind of obsession with this universe as Star Wars. What do you guys think is responsible for its success? I myself am not a star wars fan. I mean, I like the movies a lot and I understand why people think its great, but I don't know any trivia or anything of that nature. Maybe some real starwars fans can help me out and tell me why it still holds their attention.
<b>NOTE:</b> I don't want to see any "star wars sucks, you nerd" posts. If you want to talk about what you DON'T like about starwars, start a thread along those lines. Otherwise this will very quickly degrade into a flame fest. If you are looking for a fight, go tap a biker on the should and ask him if he's richard simmons (ala family guy).
Comments
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Plus a lot more reasons but I'm sure I've got you started. That's enough for now.
Plus it's sort of got an 'unknown actor' feeling to it, you hadn't really seen everyone in a bunch of different movies, it makes the characters feel really unique and - in a sense - real. Harrison Ford is generally popular in other roles, but he's mostly the exception. If you go Mark Hamill or Carrie Fischer it's always, "...Starwars?" Which I think may be part of the reason for disappointment at 'Reese' and Samuel L. Jackson in the newer ones (...and Jar Jar, but he's just annoying, not famous). Natalie Portman is the new (far more appealing, far prettier, far more female) Harrison Ford <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" /> .
Or it could just be because people love incest, and except for something like <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080491/" target="_blank">Caligula</a>, Star Wars was the only movie with a modicum of it in the late '70s...
"...provocative!"
Plus almost everything Tycho said.
That's about it. They are cool. Forget all the philosophical mumbo jumbo.
Lightsaber and Jedi.
That's about it. They are cool. Forget all the philosophical mumbo jumbo.
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Even if you do forget "all the philosophical mumbo jumbo" there's still a sizeable portion of my post that goes much further than a bunch of wizards with glowsticks towards explaining why Star Wars is popular.
The darkside seems to embody the great evils of our real-world history: Betrayal, tyranny, oppression and even genocide (deathstars destroy entire planets). The jedi on the other hand represent virtue at its highest level: Loyalty, comradery, belief in a just cause and the willingness to fight for it.
It is unsuprising to me that last time i filled out a census, under religion there was Christianity, Islam, hindu, Buddhism etc. At the end of the list right before the "none" option there was, i ish you not, "knight of the Jedi order" <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/marine.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="::marine::" border="0" alt="marine.gif" /> lol. I was.. tempted, but filled in "none".
on top of this is the fact that they are simply damn good in terms of story, special effects, screenplay, musical score... list goes on. i cant see it fading from popularity anytime soon... but may i say for the record that i would be very dissappointed if someone in the future bought the rights to the series and made sequels! good movies can become tarnished by ###### sequels (just look at terminator 3!!!). Let us pray this doesnt happen to Star Wars... though some would argue that it already has (hayden Christianssen..... <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink-fix.gif" /> )
Even if you do forget "all the philosophical mumbo jumbo" there's still a sizeable portion of my post that goes much further than a bunch of wizards with glowsticks towards explaining why Star Wars is popular.
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I agree. While I haven't read much of the Expanded Universe stuff, I really hear it's quite enjoyable. Apparently, the book "Traitor" goes into the Force in-depth and talks about how no force is inherently evil, and a lot of other cool philosophical stuff.
Also, the reason why Star Wars is so popular? Mitichlorians.
yoda: "arounds the survivors a perimeter create"
jarjar: "me's a jarjar binks"
star wars gives us an impression of what the galaxy would be like if no one studied grammar, the wheel was never invented, fashion wasnt an industry, and gunpowder was never discovered. Oh yeah and fast spaceships....
actually... maybe its the wacky syntax of some of the characters:
yoda: "arounds the survivors a perimeter create"
jarjar: "me's a jarjar binks"
star wars gives us an impression of what the galaxy would be like if no one studied grammar, the wheel was never invented, fashion wasnt an industry, and gunpowder was never discovered. Oh yeah and fast spaceships....
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Just because you don't see stuff doesn't mean it isn't there. Not to mention there were pretty clear examples of wheels, gunpowder, grammar, and fashion in the movies.
Unless the Sand People use slug throwers (honestly can't remember atm).
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mkay, I can't think of Gunpowder....
Unless the Sand People use slug throwers (honestly can't remember atm).
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Yes, the sand people use rifles.
Star Wars endures for approximately a zillion reasons. There's the structure of the story, which conforms to the classical archetypes in myths set forth by Joseph Camble, there's the memorable characters due partly to their adherence to those archetypes and partly because despite what you might have heard or might think, George Lucas can write, there's the amazing special effects that grabbed everyone's imagination and in parts still hold up today, there's the breathtaking John Williams score that brought back orchestral music and leitmotifs, there's the timing of the movie's release that allowed it to hit just when Americans and the world in general needed cheering up really badly, there's the wonderful design of the universe that shifts away from the "everything in science fiction is shiny" idea to dirt, grime, and broken things, there's the appeal of lasers, lightsabers, spaceships, and aliens to 10 year old boys who go out and buy tons of merchandise and cement the movie forever in society's mind even 30 years later, there's the sheer novelty of the movies compared to just about everything that had come before, there's Leia in a slave bikini, there's the appeal of the actors (some of them) like Harrison Ford or Johnny Depp (who may not have been in Star Wars), there's the approximately one million movies, books, comics, TV shows, etc that have ripped off Star Wars and kept it in everyone's memory, and there's the fact that the movies are really awesome and everyone who isn't brain dead or physically dead or a jerk has to at least enjoy parts of some of them.
Plus a lot more reasons but I'm sure I've got you started. That's enough for now.
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WTH...
laser swords ok
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That scene, and the episode that is basically Mace beating the hell out of an entire robotic army, are just two of the things that make Star Wars: Clone Wars one of the most awesome outlets of Star Wars ever.
However, Asajj Ventress' voice sucks. That might be just because she sounds like Mandy (From "The Grim Adventures Of Billy And Mandy") trying to do a "Metal" voice, which is probably because they're voiced by the same person.
[youtube]nWr6ec2zEyE[/youtube]
Star Wars endures for approximately a zillion reasons. There's the structure of the story, which conforms to the classical archetypes in myths set forth by Joseph Camble, there's the memorable characters due partly to their adherence to those archetypes and partly because despite what you might have heard or might think, George Lucas can write, there's the amazing special effects that grabbed everyone's imagination and in parts still hold up today, there's the breathtaking John Williams score that brought back orchestral music and leitmotifs, there's the timing of the movie's release that allowed it to hit just when Americans and the world in general needed cheering up really badly, there's the wonderful design of the universe that shifts away from the "everything in science fiction is shiny" idea to dirt, grime, and broken things, there's the appeal of lasers, lightsabers, spaceships, and aliens to 10 year old boys who go out and buy tons of merchandise and cement the movie forever in society's mind even 30 years later, there's the sheer novelty of the movies compared to just about everything that had come before, there's Leia in a slave bikini, there's the appeal of the actors (some of them) like Harrison Ford or Johnny Depp (who may not have been in Star Wars), there's the approximately one million movies, books, comics, TV shows, etc that have ripped off Star Wars and kept it in everyone's memory, and there's the fact that the movies are really awesome and everyone who isn't brain dead or physically dead or a jerk has to at least enjoy parts of some of them.
Plus a lot more reasons but I'm sure I've got you started. That's enough for now.
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The resident SW sage has spoken.
bravo
I don't get why it's so popular or why some people go nuts over it but I just put it down to the age old formula: "Right Time, Right Place". Lucas just hit a good spot of luck and craft at the right time and now he gets to sit on a giant pile of money for the rest of his life :p
The first one was so awsome, I hope we eventualy see a second part.
the mention of fan made stuff made me go look up <a href="http://impstherelentless.com/tek9.asp" target="_blank">IMPS: The Relentless</a> again. Aparently there was an update in Feb saying that they are still working on chapter 2, it is just going really slow.
The first one was so awsome, I hope we eventualy see a second part.
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I really like the special effects and stuff, but I can't help but think if they chose a less ambitious project it would get done faster. I mean, there's the humor, and there's the awesome computer effects. I like them both, but if they were seperate at least we'd get more humor without having to wait for the visual effects to finish.
It's popular because it's popular. It was one of the first of it's kind, which gave it a huge foothold. If it was just created today I doubt it would be as popular. It's the fact that it's everywhere (toys, books, movies, TV shows, etc) that keeps its fanbase large. It's easy to be a fan of something that everyone has heard of.
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Hmmm I think you really hit the nail on the head there. Star Wars stays popular because other people keep expanding the universe, which keeps it popular, so others can expand and....you get the idea. Being the first AND doing a great job is enough to make anything last a good while I suppose.
Although I'm not an uber-fan of it, I'm certainly glad for it. Without Star Wars I doubt sci fi in general would have nearly as much material. Star Wars certainly didn't invent sci fi, but it brought it to the fore of pop culture.