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George Lucas’s film Star Wars (1977) had a lasting impact on the genre of science fiction films, the film industry in general, popular culture, and the political culture during and after Ronald Reagan’s presidency. Lucas had established Lucasfilm Ltd. in 1971 and later founded Industrial Light and Magic, a special effects company. The revolutionary special effects in Lucas’s films set a standard for future science fiction and action films. The new technologies used to make Star Wars included a new type of motion camera, innovations in sound technology, and developments in digital and computerized sequencing. Before Star Wars, possibly the last science fiction film to revolutionize the genre was director Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). The financial success of Star Wars changed Hollywood’s negative perception of science fiction films, making possible the production of other such films, including Star Trek: The Motion Picture (dir. Robert Wise, 1979).
Lucas eventually made six Star Wars films, the original trilogy and a prequel trilogy. The titles and years of release are: Star Wars (later retitled Star Wars: Episode IV-A New Hope, 1977); Star Wars: Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back (1980); Star Wars: Episode VI—Return of the Jedi (1983); Star Wars: Episode I-The Phantom Menace (1999); Star Wars: Episode II-Attack of the Clones (2002); and Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith (2005). By 2005 the two Star Wars trilogies and all merchandising and franchising had earned close to $20 billion, making it among the most popular and profitable film series in U.S. film history. Many of the episodes were nominated for and won Oscars and other film awards.
The plot of the films centers around Luke Skywalker, his family, the Jedi Knights, and the turbulent history of an intergalactic empire struggling from opposing totalitarian and democratic forces. Luke’s character, his independent spirit, and tensions between him and his father (and surrogate fathers) hearken back to stories from the American West, Dickensian tales, and chivalry and medieval romances. The films also embody Joseph Campbell’s structuralist approach to mythology. A subtext underlying the films pits a romantic notion of mysticism and the divine in nature against an overreliance on technology. Though futuristic and featuring such “technology” as light sabers, warp drives, androids, and sky cities, the story takes place “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,” a setting that shrouds Star Wars in an ambiance of legend and mythology. In technical terms, the films are more science fantasy than science fiction and created a genre labeled “space opera.”
A variety of influences have been identified. These include Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress (1958); author Isaac Asimov’s Foundation trilogy (1951-1953); Frank Herbert’s Dune books; and Jack Kirby’s Fourth World series published by DC Comics in the early 1970s. The relationship between Luke and his Jedi mentor Yoda is reminiscent of author Carlos Casteneda’s Don Juan books about shamanistic initiation. The films’ opening credits, with a scrolling tilted text that moves outward, is an homage to the Flash Gordon cinema-graphic serials from the late 1930s. Lucas indicated that he wanted to create a modern mythology, and the popularity of the films suggests that he succeeded. As evidence of this popularity are the many Star Wars-themed books and novelizations, comic books, syndicated comic strips, video and computer games, Web pages, and blogs, in addition to action figures and other Star Wars-related franchising and merchandizing.
Perhaps the most striking influence of Lucas’s films was on American political culture during and after the Reagan administration (1981-1989). Reagan was at times dubbed “Ronald Ray-Gun” in underground comic strips from the 1960s because, as an actor, he had played Steve Coe in Lewis Seiler’s Murder in the Air (1940). In this film, Reagan’s Coe tests an experimental “ray” weapon called the Inertia Projector. Reagan was reportedly a fan of Star Wars, and he incorporated various allusions to the film into his foreign policy. In particular, he referred to the Soviet Union as the “Evil Empire,” advocated a missile defense system that was later labeled “Star Wars,” and drew parallels between communism and the Rebel Alliance of Star Wars.
Reagan’s two Evil Empire speeches were delivered on June 8, 1982, at the British House of Commons and on March 8, 1983, to the National Association of Evangelicals. On March 23, 1983, Reagan delivered what became known as the “Star Wars speech,” in which he enjoined “the scientific community … those who gave us nuclear weapons … to give us the means of rendering these nuclear weapons impotent and obsolete.” Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative, which proposed the development of ground- and satellite-based laser weapons that could target and destroy ballistic missiles, was termed “Star Wars” by a skeptical press and scientific community. The program was seen as heightening cold war tensions and militarizing space.
Star Wars allusions continued during the George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush administrations. During the Persian Gulf War (1991), for example, military officials called themselves Jedi Knights. Research, development, and funding for “Star Wars” missile defense technology continued through 2006, generating several books, including Francis FitzGerald’s Way Out There in the Blue: Reagan, Star Wars, and the End of the Cold War (2000); The Phantom Defense: America’s Pursuit of the Star Wars Illusion (2001) by Craig Eisendrath, Melvin A. Goodman, and Gerald E. Marsh; and Loring Wirbel’s Star Wars: US Tools of Space Supremacy (2003).
Bibliography:
- Jenkins, Garry. 1997. Empire Building: The Remarkable Real Life Story of Star Wars. Secaucus, NJ: Carol.
- Meyer, David S. 1992. Star Wars, Star Wars, and American Political Culture. Journal of Popular Culture 26 (2): 99–115.
- Reagan, Ronald. 1983. Address to the Nation on Defense and National Security. March 23.
- http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1983/32383 d.htm.
- Seed, David. 1999. American Science Fiction and the Cold War: Literature and Film. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn.
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