Cinematic Universes come and go, but when it comes to relevance, not a lot of them can withstand the force of time. Star Wars, on the other hand, stands strong in cinematic history even after almost four decades while other franchises like Star Trek, even following similar concepts are now lost in time. So, even after a long 47 years, what makes Star Wars, taking place in a galaxy far, far away, relevant even today? Let’s find out!
The Central Metaphor of Star Wars
Star Wars was never just an epic galactic war or intense action sequences but more about the characters and the moral message hidden behind the whole appeal of the franchise. The entirety of Star Wars functions on the basic idea of Hope, even the name of the first Star Wars movie was A New Hope. The Jedi are the symbol of Hope that might get lost for some time but cannot be permanently extinguished.
Throughout Star Wars we have seen the Jedi being overpowered, especially after the Clone Wars but they always come back as strong as ever to free the galaxy of the Empire’s tyranny. The Jedi have always reinforced that hope might step out of our sight but is never gone in a true sense in our hearts and minds.
Star Wars also shows us that no matter how powerful evil grows, good will eventually stand victorious. Comparing the brute power of The Jedi and The Empire, the latter has the numbers, the muscle, and the tech but people in the galaxy live without fear as long as the Jedi are around simply because they know, that maybe not anytime soon, but the Jedi will stand victorious in the end.
Not only this, but Star Wars also operates on several other metaphors like carrying out one’s duty no matter what just like the Mandalorians, or the teaching to always do the right thing by Clones like Rex, Gregor, and Kix, who refused to fall in line with other clones and disobeyed order 66. If I start stating all of such references this piece would become endless.
The Compelling Story and Its Pace
The biggest aspect of Star Wars was the overall story-building of this franchise. Star Wars, from the very first movie, was made to create an entire universe around it to be not just a story but an epic. However, there is a drawback to it. If today someone wants to watch a series like The Bad Batch, they won’t be able to enjoy the show in its full essence because of their unfamiliarity with the Star Wars movies.
This story has been going on for generations without losing its grip on the grand plot of Star Wars which indeed is pretty admirable. In the history of cinema, I have never seen better attention to detail and tapping into what the people want to watch so well done.
Now you might ask what makes me say that? Well, even though Star Wars had an amazing storyline, fans had complaints about the significant time gaps between each movie. Another concern was the introduction of different factions in the galaxy but no further exploration of them in the future.
So, to fill in those gaps and bring these factions in extreme detail to the people, shows like The Mandalorian, Andor, Ahsoka, The Bad Batch, etc. were created without once messing up the timeline built over 47 years, which is truly commendable. Trust me when I say this, if you are missing out on Star Wars, you indeed are missing out on a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Relatable and Inspiring Characters
The fate of any franchise depends totally upon the appeal of the characters appearing in it. When it comes to Star Wars, the characters and their appeal were bang on. It was so well done that even after such a long time names like Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Boba Fett, Master Yoda, Chewbacca, etc. are familiar to people who were not even born when the original movies were released.
More than appeal, Star Wars has given people characters that inspire them. Characters like Luke Skywalker teach people that their legacy does not define them, that to never give up. Characters like Anakin are a symbol of power and its corrupting nature.
“ “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” – Master Yoda
These and many more life lessons by Master Yoda can hit a nerve when you are going through something. Who could have thought that a fictional character could teach you the way to live your life?
When Star Wars started making its presence felt, there were not a lot of franchises to promote strong female characters. However, Star Wars brought in characters like Padmé Amidala, Leia Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, and many more which were an inspiration to young girls of that time, telling them that they can be whatever they want to be if their will is strong enough to do it.
Ahead of Its Time Visual Appeal
When it comes to science fiction movies, what sets them apart is the overall visual appeal that it manages to project. When the first movie in the franchise, Star Wars: The New Hope, came out in 1977 it was something people had never seen before. The laser guns, the battleships, space combat, and above all, The Lightsabers absolutely blew people away.
The first Star Wars movie had cutting-edge cinematic shots even before CGI was a thing. To lend a realistic effect, scenes involving the Death Star flight were shot using model jets flying over a highly-detailed Death Star sculpture. Star Wars: The New Hope had a shoestring budget of just $11 million as compared to other popular movies of that time. The production of the movie broke many conventions and ultimately became the reason behind the existence of the visual effect giant Industrial Light & magic.
Now it’s not like other filmmakers have not tried out making flicks like these but none of them were able to match the visual appeal of Star Wars by any measure. To date, when it comes to a show or a movie made in the Star Wars universe, the visuals are incomparable and never fail to amaze people who have been following Star Wars for generations, quite literally.
Socio-Cultural Impact of Star Wars
Have you ever wondered the basic difference between a movie and what we call ‘Cinema’? A movie comes, and people enjoy it and talk about it for a few days, months, or even a couple of years but later forget about it. However, when we talk about the phenomenon called ‘Cinema’ it is a movie or a series of movies that leaves its imprint on the history of mankind and will be remembered and cherished as long as humanity exists.
Star Wars is the franchise that gained the status of cinema for itself. Whether it be the iconic greeting of “May the Force be With You“, Obi-Wan Kenobi’s iconic line “It’s Over, Anakin, I Have the High Ground“, Master Yoda’s reverse sentence formation, or the quote from the Mandalorian Creed “This is The Way“, they hold a special place in the hearts of people who grew up living the lore of Star Wars.
Not only that, the high ground quote is still in circulation via memes and skits, can you imagine? A movie that came out in 2005, still holding relevance to date and for years to come? It just blows my mind.
Star Wars also brought to us the lightsabers—the weapon of choice used by the Jedi. When Star Wars initially came out, Lightsabers became one of the most popular toys in the market, and guess what? they still are! Some people even tried making real lightsabers using high-intensity concentrated flames. I guarantee you, give any man, of any age, a lightsaber as a present, and that man will be the happiest human alive on this planet as he powers up his lightsaber. After all, “This is The Way“.
Star Wars revolutionized the entertainment industry and ushered in a new era of sci-fi movies. As we celebrate 47 years of the first Star Wars movie this month, the franchise doesn’t seem to finish at all. With Star Wars: The Acolyte releasing on June 4 and Star Wars: Skeleton Crew set to debut this Christmas, the great intergalactic battle saga continues.
Aparna Ukil
