Do you remember when you first saw those words crawling across the screen and into outer space? I was at Cinema 5 (?) in Duluth with a girlfriend. I was hooked-immediately and forever.
The library's annual Halloween Party theme this year is Star Wars. I can tell you, lots of people are really excited about this, from young children to hipsters to those of us who first lined up outside a movie theater to see Star Wars on the big screen that summer of 1977. What is it about these films that, 37 years later, adults and children alike get excited at the prospect of trick-or-treating in that galaxy far, far away?
Google cultural impact of Star Wars and you will get lots of answers. There are scores of scholarly papers on Star Wars and the heroic archetype. Some mention the general climate of the 70's, as a factor in Star Wars' success. As a country we were reeling from the effects of Watergate and the outcome of the Vietnam War. Other movies of the same time period echo that feeling. Chinatown, Serpico. The Godfather. These are gritty, tough movies. Are there heroes here? I suppose so, but they are drawn in grey. Star Wars has black and white, good and evil, and a hero all in white. Star Wars made us feel good about ourselves again. No ambiguity here.
Some compare Star Wars' themes to those in other classic stories. Star Wars and Shakespeare, with it's overtones of Hamlet. Star Wars and Casablanca, with Han Solo filling the role of Rick and Mos Eisley standing in for the city of Casablanca.
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Some mention how Star Wars changed movies in their technical aspects and pacing. Watch any of the aforementioned films, or really anything pre-Star Wars. I recently re-watched 'Rocky'. The pacing is S...L...O....W. Enter Star Wars. Lucas discovered that the human eye could take in twice as many images as was the standard for films up to that time, and you can see it in the pacing. Images fly across the screen, adding to the exhilarating experience of these films. The dialogue is fast too, almost a throwback to the 30's.
Of course, being only 13 when the movie came out, none of that really mattered to me. The images! The special effects! The story! Han Solo!
Whatever the reasons, the Star Wars movies are now a fixture of American culture, and close to many peoples hearts. I hope you all enjoy the party this Halloween. It runs from 10:00-12:00 and again 2:00-4:00 on October 31. Come as a Jedi, a Storm Trooper, or yourself. And may the Force be with you, always.
