I've been thinking about this lately, and it turns out I have 7 answers.
the first thing it means to me is space opera. The genre that the original trilogy embraces, and all these places in this entire galaxy full of strange things all seem to embrace this concept of darkness and stars. The emperor's throne room and Darth Vader's meditation chamber and the Emperor's hologram, they're all breathtaking. The posters for the originals embrace this pretty well as well. And the ending scene in Revenge of the Sith. And the Revenge of the Sith novel embraces it the best outside of the Original Trilogy. Besides Ralph Mcquarrie's incredible art, John William's incredible music, and the abstract concepts of George Lucas, the thing that contributes most to that in my opinion are the things introduced to us in this galaxy far, far away, like the Hutts, and Chewbacca, and carbonite, and so on.
The second thing is the saga itself. The story of the Skywalkers and all others involved in the saga is just so emotional. The tragedy of Anakin, the Hope brought by Luke, the merciless evil of Palpatine, it all just touches me.
Third thing I would say is the expanded universe, the legends continuity mostly, but also some parts of the new expanded universe. I love the way they all connect. There's continuity, there's so many stories, and just such a large universe. Most stories have characters who serve one purpose. The characters in the star wars universe are mentioned in so many stories they seem to have more of a life than characters in other fiction. And the stories told in the expanded universe are also good. They've given us great authors, fantastic stories and different genres which allow this universe to have elements of all sorts of different genres of sci-fi.
the Fourth thing is maybe just the world the originals introduced to us. I hate the hate the prequels get for being different in tone. I mean, the point is that these were not the dark times we saw during the originals. The color scheme comminicates that beautifully and so does the change in the kind of clothing, background, technology, and areas we see. Just look at the posters. The eras are clearly meant to be different for a reason. Now, I do prefer the originals in that aspect, as obvious from my first point and this one, but the prequels sometimes get called "not star wars" for being different like that. But anyway, this point was going to talk about the things people like HelloGreedo, the fans of only the originals, talk about. References to the things we see in the original trilogy. I actually love the "star wars kinet" dancing thing they introduced, because it excites the star wars fan in me. Same with the 2015 Battlefront game, and all the other things which remind us of these clever concepts which have become cultural icons.
The fifth thing is the Force. Just the concept, and all the books written on it, and all the secrets of the sith and the jedi. It's awesome.
the sixth thing is judging the power of different characters. The vs. forums on this website, and the vs. videos on YouTube.
The seventh is obsessing over trivial things like the oldest living creatures, and the largest creatures, and the richest people, and the oldest people, and the most dangerous creatures, that kind of thing. The kind of thing you'd make top ten lists out of.
There's more I want to add but I can't think of it right now and probably will add it in the comments later. So what does star wars mean to YOU?
The second-biggest movie franchise of all time (behind MCU).
In terms of what interests me, a franchise with awesome characters and an awesome former Expanded Universe (I'm talking about Legends), with TK and Force Lightning and philosophical questions and answers and comedy in both its movies and its games. And lightsaber duels, of course.
__________________ Rebel by doing what gives you peace.
I don't know about that. If you're talking influence in culture than you're talking of Marvel as a whole. Comics, Cartoons, toys, etc.
Pretty sure Marvel would come close even before the movies (or before the Disney ones). Spider-Man, Hulk and Wolverine have always been huge. Add that to the movies and I think we have a bigger cultural impact.
Both are kind of shit nowadays though. Well, Marvel is pure shit and Star Wars is heading down that path.
I love that about star wars. It's awesome that almost everyone has some sort of nostalgia relating to it.
I love how everybody has a different take on the question.
Also, I thought of another thing, soldiers. Legends (and TCW) has focused a lot on soldiers throughout the universe, and it has a surprising bunch to say about them.
For me it means a sick combination of Taoism, Hinduism and Christianity.
Of course that Lucas ruined it(even though it was his idea)
Ironic.
One thing that I hate is that only a 'quarter' of individuals can use the Force based on shiti-chlorian count. I also hate that the Force can also be used by darksiders. It would have been way better if the Sith/Dark Side Agencies would be forced to seek 'artificial' ways to mimick the power of the Force. For only the good/harmonized people should be able to use it.
__________________ RealistRacism: "Sheevites, much like the Banites, were meant to increase in power with each member. From Lightsnake to Gideon to Azronger, this was supposed to be the case. However, knowledge must've been lost in some kind of Gravid-like incident, as Az turned out to be a mid-tier debater with a sub-par track record, sh!itting all over Tempest's legacy. Sad."
Last edited by Freedon Nadd on May 12th, 2018 at 10:08 PM
I guess it's due to your overratedness with Sheevy.
__________________ RealistRacism: "Sheevites, much like the Banites, were meant to increase in power with each member. From Lightsnake to Gideon to Azronger, this was supposed to be the case. However, knowledge must've been lost in some kind of Gravid-like incident, as Az turned out to be a mid-tier debater with a sub-par track record, sh!itting all over Tempest's legacy. Sad."
May 11th, 2018 10:58 PM
Thanks Scribble!
