Download - Paper on Star Wars IV
Moises Peña
Hist 146
Extra Credit Assignment
Star Wars and the 70’s
In the 1970’s the world was witness to one of the best feature films to ever hit the
big screen, Star Wars. Originally titled Star Wars in the 70’s, the name was later
changed to Star Wars Episode IV, A New Hope, in order to accommodate the prequels
that would follow. The film was released May 25 th, 1977 and it was well received by a
generation that was looking to be different.
In the 1970’s people were upset with how life was all aroun d them, they felt lied
to and betrayed by the norms which they were used to. It is at this time that people
began to look at different aspects of life and began to change. For starters, eastern
civilization religions were being sought after; people were rebelling against their
government, and style wise: people were pushing the fads to the extreme. It is because
of these reasons that Star Wars (1979) became popular so quickly among this
generation.
The story of Star Wars is based on the rebellion against the Empire which is a
story told through the life of a young man, Luke Skywalker. Luke lived with his uncle and
aunt in the planet of Tatooine where he was depended on to help with the harvest.
However, Luke was a lively fellow with a yearning for adventure and a different life;
when he was presented with the opportunity to help the Rebellion fight against the
Empire he jumped at the proposition. In this sense Luke represents the young
generation of the 70’s who were looking for a change in their lifestyles and opposed
their government which is synonymously represented by the Empire.
Another reason why the film became so popular was the fact that it introduced
different space creatures that more or less represented the liberal fashion styles of the
70’s. The more outlandish a person’s clothes were the more accepted they were.
People did not want to be viewed as normal, because of this trend the bizarre
characters in Star Wars were a hit with the young generation because they weren’t
characters that were normally scene on screen.
Star Wars with its entire state o the art special effects gave people of the 70’s a
story to relate to and characters such as Luke, Princess Leia, and Han Solo to look up
to. It also gave them a film they could use as an escape from reality, for roughly 2 hours
an audience was able to dwell in a galaxy far away and observe how the characters
dealt against the oppressive regime of their sector. For these 2 hours people were given
pleasure and comfort.