Aaron Corona
Mrs. Holan
English 3
5/5/2017
Star Wars And Its Impact On The American Dream
What franchise has been one of the most influential and dominating movie franchises in existence? Star Wars has influenced many generations worldwide with its new version of the sci-fi genre which has influenced the way of thinking and inspired some fans to delve into the many industries connected to this franchise.What impact has the Star Wars franchise had on the American Dream?
Star wars has contributed to making many innovations of technology in the film industry which has added to the entire cinematic experience. Motion control rigs used to create swooping, dynamic spaceships were invented for the original 1977 film (“How Star Wars changed the movies”, N.D.). This works by having a crafted figure or sculpture put on a rig that will allow it to look like it's moving without hands. This has made a lot of ways to create ships or other vehicles that are not created in post. While wholly digitally rendered worlds and even characters (yes, you, Jar Jar Binks) were first fully realised for The Phantom Menace in 1999 (“How Star Wars changed the movies”, N.D.). They create this by creating a computer generated landscape or skin that can be put over existing objects. This has made it easier to create impossibly difficult effects that help the movies look better for the viewers pleasure.
Another big impact to the cinematic world was a revelation on selling toys that go with the movies that are made. Star Wars also showed that merchandising can make even more money than the movies do (Choi 2010). Star Wars was the first to use long merchandising to create a bigger profit than ticket sales. Since it created a long lasting impact on people, the products never lost their appeal. Given that the toys have so far brought in $12 billion, it’s questionable as to whether the toys exist to exploit the films, or, as many people suspect, vice-versa (“How Star Wars changed the movies”, N.D.). George Lucas also sold the merchandising rights for the prequels to Pepsico amounting to $2 billion. He also had a big influence with continued merchandise sales because of the constant release of new movies and TV shows.
This film franchise has grown to encompass and influence many people in different professions. The cultural influence of the six "Star Wars" films, plus the novels, comics, television shows, games, toys, spoofs and documentaries linked with "Star Wars," is such that, in the 2001 United Kingdom census, some 390,000 people stated their religion as Jedi (Choi 2010). Star Wars has at least significantly affected 390,000 people in the United Kingdom only so just imagine how the rest of the world has been influenced. It also mentioned that at the time that was the 4th largest survey of religion in the United Kingdom (Choi 2010). Reagan himself may have drawn upon Star Wars for inspiration when he dubbed the Soviet Union "the Evil Empire." (Choi 2010). Star Wars has been an inspiration to a wide range of people from a former president of the United States to many normal people in other careers. Later in the line of prequels the line,” the evil galactic empire” is used in the 1st episode which some people believe to be a reference to Reagan.
The movie franchise has also inspired many new creations and ideas inspired by the massive franchise. Aerofex, a California-based startup company, developed the Aero-X vehicle, which is described as "a hovercraft that rides like a motorcycle," (Gent 2015). This vehicle can reach speeds up to 45 mph while still floating 10 feet above the ground. This vehicle is related to the speeders in Star Wars which are vehicles that glide above the landscape. The U.S. Navy has already demonstrated a ship-based laser weapon capable of shooting drones out of the sky and disabling small boats (Gent 2015). This weapon has the ability to shoot planes out of the sky and also disable small boats on the water. This weapon is compared to the blasters used by the characters while it could also be compared to the death star laser.
The movie franchise had its biggest impact on the rest of the film industry by inspiring the sci fi movies of the future to create background and detailed story. By the mid-Seventies, science fiction movies were mostly brainy, socially conscious warnings from the future such as Logan’s Run or Stanley Kubrick’s 2001. But the stratospheric success of Lucas’s tale of interplanetary cowboys and Indians put the fun back into sci-fi (“How Star Wars changed the movies”, N.D.). Star Wars had moved to differentiating itself by bringing in lots of improbable tech that is more focused on the story. It also created inspiration for the actors and movie directors for their films in the future. The breadth of storytelling, in terms of backstory and incidental detail, increased exponentially. Movies became franchises, with characters and plot lines continuing from film to film, many with densely detailed mythologies to be pored over and endlessly picked apart (“How Star Wars changed the movies”, N.D.). After the release of Star Wars, lots of movies began to include a bigger backstory behind their films and characters. While others have taken the idea of sequels and prequels to a new level by creating a universe out of many movies that bring new characters to the universe and has crisscrossing storylines that connect many movies together into the one universe.
Star Wars has impacted the American Dream by bringing lots of ideas and innovations that have affected many people who have brought their own ideas and experiences to the fields that they entered after being inspired by Star Wars. The film franchise has impacted many different fields from the movie industry with how they make films to the increase in merchandising for films and tv shows also their effect on the science community with the ideas for new vehicles and weapons inspired by the sci-fi movies and finally to the people inspired by the tales in the movies. Star Wars has had a great impact over the entire world and has brought people and technology to new fields while the film and T.V. industry have made many other great inspirational films and shows that have reached others and inspired them to do great things.
Works Cited
“How Star Wars changed the movies.” telegraph.co.uk, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/star-wars-the-force-awakens/how-star-wars-changed-movies/. Accessed 12 Apr. 2017.
“How 'Star Wars' Changed the World.” space.com, Charles Q. Choi, 0ADAD, http://www.space.com/8917-star-wars-changed-world.html. Accessed 12 Apr. 2017.
“'Star Wars' Tech: 8 Sci-Fi Inventions and Their Real-Life Counterparts.” livescience.com, Edd Gent, 0ADAD, http://www.livescience.com/53114-real-life-star-wars-technology.html. Accessed 12 Apr. 2017.
Mrs. Holan
English 3
5/5/2017
Star Wars And Its Impact On The American Dream
What franchise has been one of the most influential and dominating movie franchises in existence? Star Wars has influenced many generations worldwide with its new version of the sci-fi genre which has influenced the way of thinking and inspired some fans to delve into the many industries connected to this franchise.What impact has the Star Wars franchise had on the American Dream?
Star wars has contributed to making many innovations of technology in the film industry which has added to the entire cinematic experience. Motion control rigs used to create swooping, dynamic spaceships were invented for the original 1977 film (“How Star Wars changed the movies”, N.D.). This works by having a crafted figure or sculpture put on a rig that will allow it to look like it's moving without hands. This has made a lot of ways to create ships or other vehicles that are not created in post. While wholly digitally rendered worlds and even characters (yes, you, Jar Jar Binks) were first fully realised for The Phantom Menace in 1999 (“How Star Wars changed the movies”, N.D.). They create this by creating a computer generated landscape or skin that can be put over existing objects. This has made it easier to create impossibly difficult effects that help the movies look better for the viewers pleasure.
Another big impact to the cinematic world was a revelation on selling toys that go with the movies that are made. Star Wars also showed that merchandising can make even more money than the movies do (Choi 2010). Star Wars was the first to use long merchandising to create a bigger profit than ticket sales. Since it created a long lasting impact on people, the products never lost their appeal. Given that the toys have so far brought in $12 billion, it’s questionable as to whether the toys exist to exploit the films, or, as many people suspect, vice-versa (“How Star Wars changed the movies”, N.D.). George Lucas also sold the merchandising rights for the prequels to Pepsico amounting to $2 billion. He also had a big influence with continued merchandise sales because of the constant release of new movies and TV shows.
This film franchise has grown to encompass and influence many people in different professions. The cultural influence of the six "Star Wars" films, plus the novels, comics, television shows, games, toys, spoofs and documentaries linked with "Star Wars," is such that, in the 2001 United Kingdom census, some 390,000 people stated their religion as Jedi (Choi 2010). Star Wars has at least significantly affected 390,000 people in the United Kingdom only so just imagine how the rest of the world has been influenced. It also mentioned that at the time that was the 4th largest survey of religion in the United Kingdom (Choi 2010). Reagan himself may have drawn upon Star Wars for inspiration when he dubbed the Soviet Union "the Evil Empire." (Choi 2010). Star Wars has been an inspiration to a wide range of people from a former president of the United States to many normal people in other careers. Later in the line of prequels the line,” the evil galactic empire” is used in the 1st episode which some people believe to be a reference to Reagan.
The movie franchise has also inspired many new creations and ideas inspired by the massive franchise. Aerofex, a California-based startup company, developed the Aero-X vehicle, which is described as "a hovercraft that rides like a motorcycle," (Gent 2015). This vehicle can reach speeds up to 45 mph while still floating 10 feet above the ground. This vehicle is related to the speeders in Star Wars which are vehicles that glide above the landscape. The U.S. Navy has already demonstrated a ship-based laser weapon capable of shooting drones out of the sky and disabling small boats (Gent 2015). This weapon has the ability to shoot planes out of the sky and also disable small boats on the water. This weapon is compared to the blasters used by the characters while it could also be compared to the death star laser.
The movie franchise had its biggest impact on the rest of the film industry by inspiring the sci fi movies of the future to create background and detailed story. By the mid-Seventies, science fiction movies were mostly brainy, socially conscious warnings from the future such as Logan’s Run or Stanley Kubrick’s 2001. But the stratospheric success of Lucas’s tale of interplanetary cowboys and Indians put the fun back into sci-fi (“How Star Wars changed the movies”, N.D.). Star Wars had moved to differentiating itself by bringing in lots of improbable tech that is more focused on the story. It also created inspiration for the actors and movie directors for their films in the future. The breadth of storytelling, in terms of backstory and incidental detail, increased exponentially. Movies became franchises, with characters and plot lines continuing from film to film, many with densely detailed mythologies to be pored over and endlessly picked apart (“How Star Wars changed the movies”, N.D.). After the release of Star Wars, lots of movies began to include a bigger backstory behind their films and characters. While others have taken the idea of sequels and prequels to a new level by creating a universe out of many movies that bring new characters to the universe and has crisscrossing storylines that connect many movies together into the one universe.
Star Wars has impacted the American Dream by bringing lots of ideas and innovations that have affected many people who have brought their own ideas and experiences to the fields that they entered after being inspired by Star Wars. The film franchise has impacted many different fields from the movie industry with how they make films to the increase in merchandising for films and tv shows also their effect on the science community with the ideas for new vehicles and weapons inspired by the sci-fi movies and finally to the people inspired by the tales in the movies. Star Wars has had a great impact over the entire world and has brought people and technology to new fields while the film and T.V. industry have made many other great inspirational films and shows that have reached others and inspired them to do great things.
Works Cited
“How Star Wars changed the movies.” telegraph.co.uk, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/star-wars-the-force-awakens/how-star-wars-changed-movies/. Accessed 12 Apr. 2017.
“How 'Star Wars' Changed the World.” space.com, Charles Q. Choi, 0ADAD, http://www.space.com/8917-star-wars-changed-world.html. Accessed 12 Apr. 2017.
“'Star Wars' Tech: 8 Sci-Fi Inventions and Their Real-Life Counterparts.” livescience.com, Edd Gent, 0ADAD, http://www.livescience.com/53114-real-life-star-wars-technology.html. Accessed 12 Apr. 2017.