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.