FANDOM MONTH: STAR WARS DAY
MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU!
May the 4th Be With You!
The SciFi Camp Crew is kicking off our month of May Fandom Celebrations with the fandom that has its own special holiday: STAR WARS DAY or “May the Fourth Be With You!”1
And what better way to celebrate the Star Wars fandom than taking a generational snapshot of the different eras of Star Wars pop culture.
The Generational Impact(s) of Star Wars
For nearly 50 years, STAR WARS has captured the imagination of generations of children (and adults, too). What started as a Flash Gordon-esque pulp sci-fi adventure grew into something more with every subsequent movie in the original trilogy.
1977-1983: Three Movies. A Sci-Fi Culture RESET.
Prior to the debut of STAR WARS in 1977, sci-fi aesthetics were decidedly glitzy, nigh utopian-esque. Star Trek (1966) was the pinnacle of science fiction, with its beautiful ships, clean design lines, and immaculate bridges.
STAR WARS changes things. Everything is dirty, used. The Millennium Falcon, the darling and daring ship, is a lived-in setting. Han Solo and Chewbacca call it home, and it shows. The grime of the Falcon brings a new paradigm in science fiction. And it doesn’t take long for this to show its face in other Science Fiction properties. ALIEN (1979) comes out and is lauded for its ‘truckers in space’ motif, and the Nostromo is clearly out of the STAR WARS grungy playbook.
But it wasn’t just the gritty realism of the Falcon and the Star Wars locales that caught our attention; it was the stark contrast to the utility and stone-faced monoliths of the EMPIRE. The gray, lifeless kitbashed surfaces of the Star Destroyers and the Death Star, almost in line with the previous paradigm of clean sci-fi design of yesteryear, yet somehow hollowed out, devoid of personality. This was all by choice. The empire of STAR WARS was a cold, indifferent regime, uniform in its design and personality, and its settings, scene dressing, and aesthetics all were presented in direct opposition to the rebels.
Writer’s Fandom Share
“Star Wars, for me, was the creative awakening that took me from the story-of-the-week Star Trek science fiction to the galaxy-spanning story and lore that was Star Wars. The iconic silhouettes of the ships, the lived-in vibe, and the paramount battle of good versus evil were a rich kindling for my young creative mind.
Star Wars culture continued to build throughout the 80’s, with The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983) rounding out a trilogy that cemented Star Wars at the top of the sci-fi zeitgeist with Star Trek.
1978 - 1999: An Expanding Universe
If the original Star Wars films captured kids of all ages and announced the arrival of a new sci-fi paradigm, then the time between films cemented that paradigm with a litany of books, graphic novels, toys, and an avalanche of merch.
For many, the “Expanded Universe” (The EU, for short) became equal to the Star Wars films; perhaps even more “Star Wars” than the original films. And with little word of more films to come, the expanded universe was the only new Star Wars stories fans were likely to get.
Writer’s Fandom Share
“It was the EU books which made me a Star Wars fan. Each story opened up what felt like an interconnected galaxy of endless possibilities. I knew that I could open up a book and once again fall into an adventure with my favorite characters. And those characters weren’t limited to the ones seen on the screen. Characters like Jaina Solo, Mara Jade, Iella Wessiri, and Winter showed me that I too belonged in a galaxy far, far away. These stories sparked my imagination and inspired me to create.”
- Rose
However, by the 1990’s - the late 1900s for those who choose violence - there were rumors… rumblings that George Lucas was ready to return to a galaxy far, far away and that new Star Wars films were on the horizon.
George Lucas announced he was writing a Star Wars prequel in 1993-1994. A few years later, 20th Century Fox and Lucasfilm released new editions of the original Star Wars films with limited theatrical runs. The Star Wars Special Edition theatrical releases debuted in the U.S. starting on January 31, 1997, to celebrate the 20th anniversary. The trilogy was released monthly: A New Hope on January 31, 1997, The Empire Strikes Back on February 21, 1997, and Return of the Jedi on March 14, 1997. (The Taco Bell merchandising alone caused mass hysteria for collectors ⤵️ )
But these were not NEW Star Wars films… even if there were noticeable changes since their original VHS releases. But that would change…
November 18, 1998.
1999 - 2005: A New Trilogy for a New Generation
The trailer that created a frenzy. 15 years had passed since the last Star Wars film, and the generation who had grown up on the films, whether in the theaters or at home with a worn-out VHS copy, were frothing at the mouth for new Star Wars.
And with a decade or more of lore-building expanded universe content, there were certainly expectations. Not just on quality, but in story.
But the Prequels were different, and many who had fallen in love with the original films were caught off guard by the change in tone, the new characters, the more ‘sanitized’ aesthetic of the Republic Era versus the grimy rebel alliance setting of the originals, and there were some storylines in the prequel trilogy that ran afoul of established stories in the expanded universe.
Also, there were two Clone Wars shows. One was a traditional animated series titled Star Wars: Clone Wars2 that ran from 2003 to 2005 (between Episodes 2 and 3 in production) and was meant to literally bridge the gap between Episodes 2: Attack of the Clones and 3: Revenge of the Sith.
The second was a 3D animated show, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008 - 2013, 2014, 2020) took pieces from Episode 2 (Attack of the Clones) leading up to the events of Episode 3 (Revenge of the Sith), fleshing out the full escapades of the Jedi, the Republic Civil War (including the growing threat of the Sith and Palpatine) that would run all the way through the time after the trilogy was released and into future Star Wars properties… more on that in a bit.
And with that, fans had a complete six-film saga, never to be touched again.
Just kidding.
2012-2015: The House of Mouse, Lore, and the Fight Over “What is Star Wars?”
From 1978 to 2012, over 300 adult and young adult novels were published in the Star Wars universe. The Expanded Universe, based on content alone, was a massive part of the lore and narrative of Star Wars. But one moment shifted all of it. All at once, nerd voices everywhere cried out in horror and were silenced.
On April 25, 2014, Disney announced that the Expanded Universe would be renamed “Legends” and that all games, books, and television shows, save for a few properties such as the Clone Wars TV show, were no longer considered canon. This announcement drew substantial backlash from some of the most die-hard Star Wars fans.
It was also a new beginning for Star Wars, defined under a new public square: social media. Previously, anger over core Star Wars changes spread around internet message boards, conventions, and fan clubs. But with social media now the cultural cornerstone of our modern discourse, fans had plenty of platforms to sound off on their dissatisfaction with the ‘House of Mouse’ and their wholesale dissolution of the Star Wars content empire.
2015-2019: A Sequel Trilogy, Defined By Expectations
Even amidst talks of Disney ruining childhoods (see below), Disney released a Sequel Trilogy, starting with The Force Awakens (2015), then The Last Jedi (2017), and The Rise of Skywalker (2019). While the first two films had box-office and critical success, the final film seemed to diminish in box office, critical, and fan response. The reasons for this are many, and I don’t want to get into that in the post.
Writer’s Fandom Share
“I genuinely loved The Last Jedi, and I know that is a cardinal sin to many in the SW fandom. But I don’t really care. 😜 I loved what they did with Luke, and I loved the overall message of a messy, failing resistance that just keeps having to fight space fascists … for some reason that really sticks out to me…
Anyway - I loved the blend of the sequels' practical and CG elements (after the Prequels leaned really hard into CGI) to bring some of that lived-in quality back. And I freaking loved the Holdo Manuever moment in TLJ.”
(let the hate mail commence)
Suffice to say that STAR WARS fans are passionate beyond measure, and they have nearly 50 years of expectations and a nearly scholarly approach to the story’s lore and mythology. Coupled with online influencers and creators having strong feelings about what the story did wrong (or right), there was a schism in the fandom on par with - if not greater than - the one created when the prequel trilogy was released.
For the record… I did not watch this 1.5-hour YouTube video, and I’m not demanding that you do, either. 😜🛸
STAR WARS FANS have a lot of passion, with some excited about specific eras (and not so excited about others) while others like the whole enchilda… and others like … a lot more or a lot less. No two fans are the same. And I haven’t even TOUCHED on the massive amounts of video games, comic books, novelizations, trading cards, and miniature war gaming… and so much more. The list goes on and on. That being said… ⤵️
GIVE US YOUR FREAKY STAR WARS FANDOM!
What era calls out to you?
Do you like it all?
Just a bit?
Just the games?
Just one movie?
What part MADE YOU A FAN?
(TELL US IN THE COMMENTS, AND WE WILL ADD YOUR QUOTES IN THE POST AND TAG YOU!)
… and to you as well…
It was directed by Genndy Tartakovsky (Samurai Jack, etc.).
I never got into the expanded universe. I loved the original Clone Wars shorts, and played both Force Unleashed games, so I had no real basis for comparing how the sequel trilogy "broke" anything.
My love of Star Wars was less about a specific era, and more about the Falcon and lightsabers.
I started to really go all in in more recent years. I (generally) really enjoy what Disney is doing with the universe. Jedi Survivor and Fallen Order were a ton of fun, and Outlaws was better than folks give it credit for.
I will say this, though: I really wish the sequel trilogy had played out differently. I feel like the story was building up to a role reversal. We saw Kylo Ren struggling with his allegiance, and we saw Rey filled with so much aggression, I genuinely thought that Rey would turn to the dark side, and Kylo would rejoin Luke to stop her.
I don't hate how it actually ended, but I do think the bait and switch would have been better.