I wish I would have taken a hankie to see The Rise of Skywalker. No, no spoiler alerts; I’m not a fiend. I refer to the sad end of one of the longest relationships of my life.
Speaking most likely to my Gen-X peers who, like me, met Luke, Han, and Leia when we were kids or teenagers. The characters and canon have been a part of popular culture for 42 years, and I can not think of anything comparable before or after. Forty-two… that’s literally a generation.
I’m not saying there has never been or will never be a better story. Only that, holistically, there is only one other pop culture body of work that equals the effect… and, as long as Sly is still alive, we aren’t likely to have to say “goodbye” to Rocky Balboa.
First, in 1977, we did not have hundreds of television channels, billions of YouTube videos, or new music at the touch of a button. Other than three networks and a UHF channel or two, all we had were movies. Everyone waited in line for hours, saw movies many times, in large groups. And then we all talked about it…in person. Together.
Of course Star Wars was great stories and characters. I daresay there will never be another character so universally fearsome that the sound of his breathing becomes an icon unto itself.
At this point I also add the Wicked Witch of the West and the Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to my PTSD list. As an adult, the worst thing Hollywood could do to me was Samarra in the The Ring.
Anyway, after Episode IV, we had to wait three agonizing years to find out who Luke’s father really was, then had to worry about frozen Han Solo for another three.
You get the idea. It’s just really sad to think there won’t be any new Solo-esque lines to quote when I’m feeling snarky. All those characters might as well be family. We worried about them, cheered for them, felt muscles twitch from invisible light sabers during fight scenes. Does it really have to be over?
Still, Lucasfilm was purchased by Disney in 2012 and if we know anything about the Disney companies, they do love to make money. I suppose there might be some future stories about Ray and Finn. So far, I haven’t caved to the new Disney channel cost so I can watch “The Mandalorian”, but that Baby Yoda sure is cute.
Now, before anyone says anything about other franchises, let me stipulate that I am also an official member of the Slytherin House. I know there are millions of Millennials who grew up with Harry and Hermione as happily as I grew up with Luke and Leia. I’m also sad that Harry’s canon has been completed, but his entire story followed those ten years of his life nearly in real time. I’m not talking about quality at all, just that the ten years of Hogwarts is a flash in the pop culture pan and we’ve already had to move on to something else. That’s a mighty high bar to meet.
I think Katniss Everdeen is a close runner-up, but she was three books and four movies and she’s done. Let’s not even talk about vampires with teen angst here.
Super hero movies are also among my favorite entertainment moments, but even those can’t compare to the Lucas-verse. Mark, Carrie and Harrison stuck with it all that time. We’ve had at least three film Supermen, and I’ve lost count of Batmen. And it’s not just movies; it’s about the volume of pop culture material. I grew up in a time of Queen, Springsteen, Genesis, and Prince. When was the last time any singer or band had the universality to sell out 40 football stadiums on tour?
All this to say, whether you call it art or entertainment, I’m glad there are gifted geniuses out there who create a little of the glue that gives us things to talk about without truly arguing. While I do love a good Kirk vs. Picard debate, at least people didn’t call each other names or vow to leave the country when Chris Pine took the bridge of the Enterprise.