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Revision as of 09:41, 2 March 2007 by 216.51.150.46 (talk) (→Expanded Universe)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Star Wars is a science fantasy saga and fictional galaxy created by writer/producer/director George Lucas during the 1970s. This epic trilogy began with the film Star Wars (later retitled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope), which was released on May 25, 1977, by 20th Century Fox. The film became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, spawning five more feature films developed by George Lucas and an Expanded Universe of his films, which includes three spin-off films, five television series and an extensive collection of licensed books, comics, video games, action figures, trading cards, card games, backpacks, Lego sets and other products, all of which are set within a fictional "galaxy far, far away."
Cultural impact
Main articles: Cultural impact of Star Wars and List of cultural references to Star WarsThe Star Wars saga has had a significant impact on modern global pop culture. Science fiction since Star Wars, particularly in film, has often been influenced by and compared to Star Wars. References to the main characters and themes of Star Wars are casually made in Western society with the well-qualified assumption that others will understand the reference. George Lucas is also famous for using the best possible cameras and technology (see also Industrial Light and Magic) in his films. Many say that the visual and virtual effects that take over today's films would have never been created if not for Lucas's revolutionizing of the film industry with Star Wars.
Parodies
Both the film and characters have been parodied or spoofed in popular films and television. Notable film parodies of Star Wars include: Hardware Wars, a 13 minute spoof which George Lucas has called his favorite Star Wars parody; Spaceballs, a feature film by Mel Brooks, and Troops, a COPS-style documentary.
There have been numerous parodic references to Star Wars in films such as Back to the Future, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Hot Shots! Part Deux, and most of the films of Kevin Smith. In 1997, the first film's twentieth anniversary, Saturday Night Live featured a pair of skits that parodied the film's screen tests, which included Kevin Spacey playing Christopher Walken auditioning for Han Solo. Walken was originally considered for the role before Harrison Ford was chosen. Star Wars Kid swung a golf ball retriever pretending to be Darth Maul. Star Wars toys is a parody that uses Star Wars Toys and Stop Motion Animation.
Songs
There have been many songs based around the Star Wars universe, the most notable of which are "Weird Al" Yankovic's Yoda, (a parody of The Kinks' "Lola"), which describes Luke's training with the "wrinkled and green" Jedi master, and The Saga Begins, (a parody of Don McLean's "American Pie"), which chronicles the events of Episode I. The latter of these is particularly reveled, as it was released one week before the film. On Blink-182's album "Dude Ranch", the track "A New Hope" discusses the bassist Mark Hoppus' obsession with Princess Leia.
In late 1977, at the height of the original Star Wars craze, comedian Bill Murray portrayed Lounge Lizard Nick Winters on Saturday Night Live and sang a swanky version of the Star Wars theme, complete with inane improvised lyrics. Carrie Fisher reprised her role as Princess Leia on SNL in a parady of Star Wars and the old beach party movies with Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello with Fisher as Annette singing about Obi Wan Kenobi
In 1977 an album called Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk was released by Meco which featured disco remixes of Star Wars music.
Other songs based on the Star Wars saga include The Star Wars Gangsta Rap and Star Wars Cantina.
Northern Ireland band Ash released an album called 1977, named in honor of the year Star Wars was released, on which "Lose Control" used sound bytes of a TIE Fighter, and a song entitled "Darkside Lightside" is an obvious reference to the mythology created by the films.
Other references
Film director Kevin Smith has frequently used the Star Wars movies as points of humor in a number of his films. His first was in a scene from Smith's 1993 independent film Clerks, main characters Dante and Randall have a lengthy discussion about the parallels between the endings of Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and independent contractors being victims of war related casualties. Other examples include lightsaber battles in Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, and another discussion in his recent Clerks II where Randall tries to defend his Star Wars fandom against fans of the Lord of the Rings movies. Another, in Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, Holden McNeil (Ben Affleck), references the famous Han shot first, saying, "This may be the worst idea since Greedo shooting first, but a Jay and Silent Bob movie?".
References
- http://www.boston.com/ae/celebrity/articles/2005/08/11/changing_his_stripes/
- http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/bio/0,,516339,00.html
- On philosophy and religion influences: The Tao of Star Wars, Or, Cultural Appropriation in a Galaxy Far, Far Away
- On Technology influences: This site explains the many influences in its analysis of the writing of Star Wars.
- Books about religion/philosophy and Star Wars:
- "Peace Knights of the Soul: Wisdom in 'Star Wars'," by Jon Snodgrass, Ph.D., Foreword by Jonathan Young, Ph.D.ISBN 0-9755214-7-0
- The Tao of Star Wars by John M. Porter ISBN 0-89334-385-4
- The Dharma of Star Wars by Matthew Bortolin ISBN 0-86171-497-0
- Star Wars And Philosophy by Kevin S. Decker, Jason T. Eberl, William Irwin ISBN 0-8126-9583-6
- "Conception" section based on: The Star Wars Timeline Gold-Appendice L-Understanding the Lost Episodes (p. 141–142).
- The Tao of Star Wars by John M. Porter ISBN 0-89334-385-4
- On the influence of Joseph Campbell on the Star Wars films:
- "Peace Knights of the Soul: Wisdom in 'Star Wars'," by Jon Snodgrass, Ph.D., Foreword by Jonathan Young, Ph.D.ISBN 0-9755214-7-0
- Henderson, Mary. Star Wars: The Magic of Myth. Companion volume to the exhibition at the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. New York: Bantam, 1997.
- Larsen, Stephen and Robin Larsen. Joseph Campbell: A Fire in the Mind. Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions, 2002.
- Moyers, Bill and Joseph Campbell. The Power of Myth. Anchor; Reissue edition (1991) ISBN 0-385-41886-8
See also
Here are some of the general articles featured in the Star Wars portal. For a detailed outline of the Star Wars Misplaced Pages articles, please see Category:Star Wars.
General information
Star Wars universe
External links
- The official Star Wars website
- TheForce.net — One of the oldest Star Wars fan sites
- Wookieepedia: The Star Wars Wiki — A wiki devoted to Star Wars
- Directory to Star Wars sites on the internet.