This good feeling is, ultimately, what keeps people coming back again and again.  Like the fan waiting for her “high,” people who watch Star Wars are not directly aware of its mythological and religious underpinnings, nor do they particularly care how the themes speak to their unconscious yearnings.  And while many acknowledge the movie’s clunky dialogue, flat characters, and shallow plot, such shortcomings do not hinder their enjoyment.  They watch because the experience in itself is exhilarating.  Immersion in Lucas’ well-crafted fantasy world is the perfect place for an audience in need of an escape (Pollock 186).  With its universal symbols and themes, and a setting completely separate from anything on earth, people of all ages, races, and nationalities can share in the fun.  Lucas himself believes that the movie’s success is based largely on the fact that people living in a cynical age simply need “that little bon-bon in their life.”⁹   Star Wars brought about a revival of positive, life-reaffirming films that has continued to the present day.

    Of course, all of this happiness is not necessarily a good thing.  The success of Star Wars spawned a wave of cheap imitations, and Lucas has been accused of renewing the Hollywood trend for mindless blockbusters and infantilizing movies, especially in the science fiction genre (Brosnan 175).  “Star Wars swept all the chips off the table,” said William Friedkin, “What happened with Star Wars was like when McDonald’s got a foothold, the taste for good food just disappeared” (Young).  Such accusations irritate Lucas, who says in retaliation, “I am an independent filmmaker.  People say my movies are just like Hollywood movies, and I say, ‘I can’t help it if Hollywood copies’” (Thompson 70).  Also, while Andrew Gordon praises Star Wars for its easy dualism of good and evil, some scholars wonder if such a feel-good position does not draw a curtain over real life issues and promote an “us versus them” attitude in popular culture (Lyden).  On the flip side, “it’s doubtful whether filmmakers who specialize in fantasy and the otherworldly – directors like Carroll Ballard, Tim Burton and Terry Gilliam – would have gotten their chance at the helm if Star Wars hadn’t made a place for fantasy in American movies” (Taylor).  Either way, Star Wars revolutionized the film industry by proving that science fiction and children’s films, contrary to previous opinion, could be successful.

    The recent Star Wars revival has further proved that, while technology and politics change, human needs remain the same.  The movie’s messages remain as poignant today as they were in 1977, if not more so.  As the 20th century comes to a close, growing conglomerates and the infestation of the internet supply more than enough cause for anxiety and disillusionment, and Star Wars’ moral simplicity is all the more appealing (Jenkins 269).  As Lucas said in an online interview, “Mythology is a human story and it really is timeless.  I think my little experiment to use mythological motifs and archetypes, and the success that comes from it, proves my theory that they’re still relevant” (Maltin).  Of course, the truth could actually be closer to Lucas’ original assessment, that “It just has to do with people happening to like dumb movies” (Pollock 183).  If only it were that simple.

    Whether or not the Star Wars franchise can hold onto its empire in the 21st century remains to be seen, but most signs seem to indicate a long and fruitful future.  Despite generally critical reviews of The Phantom Menace, most of which lodge exactly the same complaints as those in 1977, most fans agree that Lucas has not lost his touch.  (I myself have already seen the movie three times, and it gets better with each viewing.)  And whereas Lucas was not pleased with the look of his original films, even the most die-hard critics of Episode I concede that the film is technologically and aesthetically astounding.  Once again, a Star Wars film is poised to revolutionize the film industry, this time by proving that an almost entirely digital movie can be believable (Stack E1).  Lucas himself will propel the transformation, having already announced his plan to make Episode II entirely on digital film.

    Furthermore, though this is the first movie that Lucas has directed since the original Star Wars, his style remains as giddily effervescent as ever.  Lucas actually feels that the film has an even happier feel than his first movies, because his outlook has changed since becoming the joyful single father of three adopted children, the youngest of which is a six-year-old boy (Maltin).  “For the first time,” he says, “I’ve been able to see what a child’s reaction is to what I’m doing, in a very intimate way” (Thompson 68).  Regardless of the success of the prequels, however, the Star Wars franchise is guaranteed a lovingly arranged monument in the annals of film history.  As film historian Forrest J. Ackerman predicts, “One hundred years from now…a peaceful planet will look back in awe and wonder at the films that thrilled its great, great, great grandchildren.  Leading all the rest will be the Star Wars series” (Martin 24).  So as they say, may the Force be with you.
 

  ⁹ From my transcription of an interview between George Lucas and Roger Ebert that aired on May 15, 1999.