Star Wars spoke to young people’s hopes, dreams and aspirations in a changing world while creating a new cinematic landscape. It is the movie that ushered in a new age and changed filmmaking, cinema and storytelling forever.
In May 1977, a cinema event unlike anything before was about to take place: the premiere of Star Wars. The cultural impact of Star Wars is undisputed, from its transformative influence on science fiction and adventure to its revolutionary visual and sound effects. Star Wars leapt from the screen into the hearts, minds, and imaginations of a whole generation, including me, enthralling, captivating, and embedding itself in our world.
Star Wars would explore age-old themes of friendship, family, and good versus evil, drawing on Greek and Japanese mythology while paying homage to the works of Tolkien, Asimov, and Herbert. It would build on Stanley Kubrick’s visionary special effects in 2001: A Space Odyssey while celebrating the energetic space operas of the 1950s and 1960s. And it would reflect the 70s social revolution already underway.
Star Wars offered a new hope for change and equality as a youthful, diverse rebellion took on an ageing, stale, and corrupt empire. Here, our orphaned hero, Luke Skywalker, would be joined by the wise grandfatherly figure of Ben Kenobi, the strong, resilient and politically astute Leia and the brave but conflicted Han Solo in building a rebellion of faith, belief and conviction – one that would destroy a weapon of mass destruction, The Death Star, through perseverance, endurance and loss.
This was a younger generation dismantling the advancement of hate, brutality, destruction and war. Star Wars spoke to young people’s hopes, dreams and aspirations in a changing world while creating a new cinematic landscape. It is the movie that ushered in a new age and changed filmmaking, cinema and storytelling forever.
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