People who haven't seen the original Star Wars

It stopped being a pop culture thing years ago. Lots of geeks won't believe that, but STAR WARS returned to being straight up nerdy in like 1999. I know plenty of people who are college aged and then some who have never seen the originals.

It's still a pop culture thing. The fact that there are people that haven't seen it isn't a barometer of that. The fact that if you showed most of those same people a picture of Darth Vader, they'd recognize him, is.

A lot of people would recognize the Noid, too. It's just a marketing thing, not an actual part of the culture any more.

Actually, I completely agree with that statement, as far as the prequels are concerned. The OT is a different story.

I've only seen Episodes 1, 2 and 4. That doesn't really bother me either - I never got all caught up in it like a lot of people did. I enjoyed what I saw but that was it. If I don't ever see the other ones (although I plan to) it won't be a big deal to me anyway. Maybe that revokes my film fan card but I'm okay with that.

I used to be shocked when people told me that. As I've gotten older and hung around with people who aren't in the nerd crowd, I've realized that Star Wars isn't the holy grail of cinema that I assumed it to be in my youth. To other people, particularly those who grew up after it was all over, it's just another set of fantasy/sci-fi movies that they don't really care about.

The interesting thing is that Lucas' Special Edition treatment actually took the sheen of "classicness" off of the trilogy, and by re-releasing them, made them "just movies" again.

Shocked? Hell, I had to go to college before I even met ANYONE my age who'd seen an Episode.

$2.3 billion worth of people worldwide is a lot of geeks. I realize box office isn't indicitive of quality or anything, but that's more money than just the geek crowd can bring in.

I honestly don't understand your point. Lots of movies makes lots and lots of money. They aren't really part of the "pop culture."

I never said it was a fringe thing. Just that most people don't give a shit about STAR WAS beyond just another movie.

Listen to the man. Where the fuck do you live where people that aren't nerds think Star Wars is more than (at absolute best) "a cool movie, I guess"?

Which nut must I donate to never hear any conversations about "Star Wars" again?

Neither. You just have to stay off the Internet for the rest of your life.

Don't tell Helix.

When I was in school, everyone liked Star Wars, the nerds, jocks, preppies, whatever. Talking to some of my friends that are in their early twenties, Star Wars is seen as a bit nerdy to them. Just some science fiction movies.

How are we defining "pop culture" now? Darth Vader made the cover of Time and Rolling Stone last spring. I work in a photo finishing lab. I see lots of pictures of people's Christmas presents and birthday parties. There are always Star Wars toys somewhere in the mix. I don't know how you could even argue that Star Wars is no longer culturally relevant.

To me the real test is recognizability. Even if someone isn't necessarily a fan themself or has never seen the work in question, they know that it exists and they know something about it. For example, I have personally never seen any of the Pink Panther films. But I do know that Peter Sellers played Inspector Clouseau in them. I can also hum the theme song. Does the fact that I have not seen them make them any less culturally relevent? That the version with Steve Martin was the #1 movie last weekend and has grossed $42 million so far provides a compelling argument that it must still mean something to a lot of people.

Star Wars will probably join the list of classic movies that people will know on a peripheral level, even know the famous quotes, but will have never seen.
Gone With The Wind
Midnight Cowboy
Godfather
Star Wars
And coming soon- The Matrix

I know people that havent seen the "originals" but pretty much everyone i know has at least heard of them.

I think they have become part of cultural history more than pop culture. People look back on them in a "yeah i remember the first time i saw it" way rather than - "these are the best films ever made" theory that was doing the rounds for a year or so. I seem to recall several "100 greatest films ever" lists that had Eppisode 4 at the top of them.

Probably voted by readers of Empire movie magazine. 90 per cent of their readers have only ever seen three movies. Six now, thanks to Lord of the Rings.

i think more people will see the original star wars movies than will see the films bobclark mentioned, on the basis that they are a pretty good way to shut the kids up for a couple of hours. however, i think in 20 years time pepole will more likely remember most of pixar's output more fondly than star wars.

But it has to be a little more than that, based simply on how Episode III opened. Making $50 million on a Thursday indicates, at the very least, an incredibly high level of interest. I think you've reached some level of pop culture when friggin' Bill O'Reilly brags on his radio show (and I have no idea how I tuned in this particular day) that he's seen the movie early.

To "most people," I'd say you're right, Star Wars is just another event movie. But if that's the case, I wouldn't be surprised if it was that way all along for most people. It's the devout -- yet mostly normal -- people that made it a piece of pop culture.

Marin County, CA.

There's lots of people who haven't seen GONE WITH THE WIND either and that's sold more tickets than STAR WARS.

So what's your point here?

And honestly, after the new trilogy, why would anyone seek out any more Star Wars? Why should a teenager today want to take a chance on the Empire Strikes Back when every one of the prequels was lifeless and hollow?

I think it indicates a lot of geeks going to see the same movie at the same time, often several times in a row.

I'm reopening the "creepiest post ever" sweepstakes.

Thinking the Prequels are so much worse than the OT is a niche thing too. For many they are ALL just whizzy spaceship movies. Getting het up about the depth of Empire is not what most people are doing.

That's how the Tooth Fairy picks his kills.

Dan, you should adjust your quoting a bit there.

Indeed.

It's okay. Just looking out for you.

Except I'd know that "herpes" isn't plural, and thus your gambit is foiled. Amateur.

I can't fight you, Dan.

I'm too scared of you.

I am the greetest! Now I am leaving Earth forever for no raisin!

Were I a lesser man, I'd point out that that's a misquote in and of itself.

But I digress. On to the thread at hand. Star Wars, for most people, really isn't anything more than a movie. They may remember when they saw it, because it was a big deal when it came out, but it doesn't MEAN anything to them, like it means something to the more hardcore fan base. They know the quotes, and some of the more memorable beats, but increasingly, particularly with younger audiences, they're starting to know these quotes and beats not because they remember the films, but because they've become such cliched easy pop culture gags. More and more people are going to start remembering what we might've thought was "great" when we were kids based solely on what gags are on shows like Family Guy, or spouted by witty characters in Buffy, or referenced in other, newer films.

Star Wars was fun, and it did have an undeniable cultural impact, but the average Joe on the street really doesn't care one way or the other. It's either good or it sucks. If it has some significance in your life, good for you. But don't be shocked to discover that for most people, they're just big movies that everyone's heard about.

You mean not everyone's life is validated by watching space gorillas fight clone soldiers?

Er... because teenagers tend to like the prequels more than the older "fans" do. I have quite a few friends who like the prequels and not the originals (I'm still trying to figure out why), and another who just made his way through the prequels. He didn't like the first two, but liked Revenge of the Sith so much he wants to borrow my box set and see what happens next.

The moviegoing public (and yes... I know I'm defending the people who make Big Momma's House 2 and When a Stranger Calls box office hits) tends to be quite a bit less cynical than we do.

There's a large generational component to the whole thing. Those who were around when the original trilogy was released were far more affected by it, in general, than those who grew up later. The more generations that have gone by since that time, the less important those movies have become. They've faded further into the background noise of "classics films" as generations arise that consider Home Alone to be a movie from their youths. And only hard-core film geeks are really into watching a lot of movies made before they were born. They want something current that their friends will be talking about.

They only Star Wars film I've seen from start to finish is Episode 2 and that was because it was too fucking out to be outside so we went to a movie. I haven't seen any of Episodes 1 or 3 and I've seen bits and pieces of the OT. I've always meant to watch the OT, but its not something high on my priority list.

My ex roommate had never seen the originals, but was enamoured of the new trilogy. He was 19 and i was 25 at the time, and I got the rare opportunity to break in a new Star Wars nerd by showing him all three originals in order. He barely knew anything about them was totally caught up in the magic.

I found it odd at first to say the least, but then I figured my generation was pretty much the last to give a shit about the OT. I saw Jedi in the theater, was too young for the others, but devoured them all on VHS. Star Wars was like a rock thrown into the middle of a still pond. The contact area was greatly affected, but by the time the ripples got to shore (1990s and beyond), they had pretty much dissapated.

Not very interested in Star Wars myself; even as a kid I was never able to sit through them.
I did, however, see TPM in theaters, but only because I had friends that were into Star Wars and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about; it ended up being one of the most regrettable film going experiences in my 24 years of life.
Darth Vader. Han Solo. Light-Sabers. The only three things about Star Wars that I personally could ever really call "cool". (and I thought Yoda was cute)

I am a geek, and I wear the title well, but Star Wars, videogames, toy collecting, and RPG's have never been my thing.

I am suprised whenever someone tells me that he or she hasn't seen the OT. I am also surprised when someone tells me he has never seen Jaws, or Raiders, or Chinatown. I don't see why Star Wars has to be in a separate category. The Empire Strikes Back is a very enjoyable movie, and it is possible to admit that you like it without simultaneously admitting that you are an egregious geek.

Then again, I am a college student, and - though I don't go around asking - I probably meet twenty people everyday who have seen zero of the films mentioned in this post. On one hand, I kind of feel sad for them, but on the other, I do not care at all. Mostly that second thing.

Not necessarily. I don't consider myself a "hard-core film geek," but I've actively sought out (and rented, purchased and borrowed) countless movies made before 1980. And it seems like there's a point of view of "Either people LOVE Star Wars or they just know about it." There is a middle ground. I like Star Wars. I don't own any of them but that's only because I'm waiting for the SuperSet with all six films. I think they're fun movies and I enjoyed both of the prequels that I saw. In fact, I've enjoyed 3 out of the 3 SW films that I saw. I just don't totally embrace the franchise or the phenomenon. They're cool movies that I enjoy watching but that's pretty much it.

If "Star Wars" is not pop culture...what movie is?

Important word here is WAS. Not nearly as far out there as some people imagine.

Star Wars is important to pop culture in the same way as the A-Team or the Dukes of Hazzard. It'll always be known and remembered by someone. Some dummy will always have a T-Shirt for it. Thinking it'll be something that everyone from every generation has seen is being delusional. I know that I have friends who have kids that think the Anakin starring trilogy are the greatest, but they have no idea who Han Solo is, nor do they care to find out. Add to that, a generation that doesn't give a shit about either trilogy and a generation that grew up watching the first trilogy, but is now over it and you have a whole lot of people who couldn't care less about it. We're not surprised that there's only a handful of obsessive Trekkies left compared to a lot of people who haven't watched Star Trek. It's time to realize that Star Wars falls into the same category.

I'm perfectly willing to believe there are people out there who have never seen the motion pictures, especially considering its television rotation is pretty light, but what is it less "mainstream" than? Maybe Pirates of the Carribean...that's the single largest live action property without a pre-conceieved fanbase, it and has a genuine movie star.

This is a lot of posts for a 29-year-old movie franchise.

My wife and i thought that anyone who hasn't seen or loved the OT was un-American. We showed them to my brother's ex-girlfriend for the first time (she watched "Halloween" and other horror movies as a wee kid) and she wasn't impressed. it blew my mind. i guess i'm a delusional geek, but i thought that SW was one of the reasons we have big popcorn summer movies (Jaws also). And who could forget the toy & merchandising revolution that Lucas caused. Maybe it a generational thing, but SW helped bring sci-fi (or fantasy in space) into the main stream, like no other movie/s had. By combining so many genres (war, pirate, western, samurai, myth, sci-fi serial) it made itself accessible to such a wide audience. May the force be with you, that is hot...

I love the (original)original trilogy and when Phantom Menace came out I'd been seeing a girl for a couple of years and she'd never seen a Star Wars movie.

She thought the "little green one with the big ears" was "annoying" and the "frog-man" was "funny".

We broke up soon after.

Note to future posters:

If you break up with a girl based solely on her liking Jar-Jar Binks, just turn your dick in at the door. You won't be needing it.

Remember the hype leading up to The Phantom Menace in '99? Star Wars was on every magazine cover, all over television. Of course I understood full well that not everybody wanted to see a new Star Wars movie, but what really stunned me was some friends of mine who had no idea the film was coming. How could you be conscious in the spring of '99 and not know there was a new Star Wars on the way? Well, a surprising number of people are complete pop culture blanks. They've never seen an episode of the Simpsons. They couldn't tell you who Clark Kent's alter ego is. They couldn't name all four Beatles. They think Jack Nicholson is a golfer. They wouldn't recognize Madonna walking down the street. There are in fact a remarkable number of people who have not only never used the Internet, but have no idea such a thing exists. I don't get it, I don't understand how anybody could be so sheltered from the mainstream of modern life, but it's surprisingly common.