Long, Long Ago

There was a time when it wasn't a cultural phenomenon. Star Wars was a little movie that opened in the summer of 1977. Its pedigree at the time was that it was the new film from the director of American Graffiti. Those of us who had yet to see THX 1138 did not know what to expect. If I had already taken all those literature and film classes, I might have made all the connections to The Hidden Fortress and the dozens of other movies that are alluded to throughout the two hours and sixteen minute running time. If I had ever read any of the Dune books, I might have had a hint for where this was all going.
I didn't. I began reading the hype during its opening week or two, and I found myself being sucked into the vortex that was a movement. That was the summer where everyone went to see Star Wars. That was long before it had an Episode number attached to it. That was long before we were asked to allow Harrison Ford to carry the burden of two pop icons into a new century. If there is a God in Movie Heaven, he won't allow Han Solo to avoid being blown up by hiding in a refrigerator, but that's a discussion for another time.
Another time was when we didn't know that Darth Vader was Luke's father. And please don't tell me that this was a spoiler because if you look it shows up in the top ten of all time and George Lucas had to take a summer off and hire a screenwriter to make it work. If you think about it, the whole thing is a little too simple: All good and evil in the galaxy is found in this tiny knot of people, and I can only assume that Luke may have had certain feelings for his mother because he definitely wanted to kill his father. But that's a story from another time.
What we should all remember and appreciate is that there was a time before there were seven ever-expanding episodes of this myth. There was a time before commercial tie-ins to every car, soft drink and phone company. There was a time before "summer blockbuster" and "opening weekend." It was a rehash of the Flash Gordon serials and all those images and stories that were wedged into the mind of that kid from Modesto.
I spend a lot of time sneering at the accomplishments of Mister Lucas. His vision of a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away is what we will all be lining up to see. Blockbusters aren't just for summer anymore. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to change into my X-Wing tennis shoes and my Wookie T-shirt and head on out to the cinema. It's time once again to embrace the cultural phenomenon.