Here's a bunch of quotes on the cultural impact of Star Wars.
Emerson, J n.d:
"For 22 years, between the release of the original "Star Wars" film ("Episode IV: A New Hope") and the release of the first prequel ("Episode I: The Phantom Menace"), the "Star Wars" phenomenon had an impact on American popular culture like nothing else before, or since."
"The "Star Wars" phenomenon wasn't really so much about "content," though. It was more about capturing zeitgeist-lightning (or hyperspace star fields) in a bottle."
Hunter, S in Brown, J 2009:
"And that moment, I think, it's just one of the most treasured moments I have in a life of movie going. I mean, it promised so much, it was so romantic, it was so revitalizing, it was so much a sense of reinventing the genre, that it's a very powerful emotional moment."
"Well, for better or for worse, it spawned a host of imitators. Not imitators in the sense that they -- I'm not talking about cheesy imitations or parodies, but what it did was it made -- it sort of made the summer movie blockbuster. "
Pollock, T in Caro, R 2005:
"These are coming into a vastly different cultural world," Pollock said. "That not only includes the `Star Wars' movies but so many other large, long trilogies, Asian movies, epic movies. . . . Did `Lord of the Rings' have the impact that `Star Wars' had? No -- not because it isn't as good. I loved it dearly. But it came into a world where `Star Wars' existed and so many other things too."
Bach, S in Rickey, C 2005:
"Star Wars' transformed Hollywood from a moviemaking town into a synergized marketing town,"
Shyamalan, MN in Rickey, C 2005:
"He created a religion," says Shyamalan. "No other filmmaker has ever done that."
Ealy, C 1999:
"...they're trying to understand the cultural significance of the Star Wars saga, and in turn, discover clues about how a story captures the imagination of a society. It's too easy to dismiss Star Wars as unworthy of critical attention, they say. It's quite another matter to attempt to understand its resonance."
Biskard, P in Ealy, C 1999:
"Star Wars legitimized comic-book movies, where the endings are happy. It took serial formulas, B-movie formulas of the 1930s, and used modern technology to pump up those formulas and reinvent them. I call it the gentrification of the B movie. . . . It paved the way for the blockbuster syndrome of the '80s."
Jenkins, H 2005:
"The rich narrative universe of the Star Wars saga provided countless images, icons, and artifacts that could be reproduced in a wide variety of forms and sold to diverse groups of consumers."
"The action figures provided this generation with some of their earliest avatars, encouraging them to assume the role of a Jedi Knight or an intergalactic bounty hunter, enabling them to physically manipulate the characters and props in order to construct their own stories."
Lucas, G in Sibley 2007:
The success of the Star Wars series would not be possible if it did not possess an abiding cultural resonance. After the release of The Empire Strikes Back in 1980, Mr. Lucas told an interviewer that "this is the kind of movie we need. There needs to be a kind of film that expresses the mythological realities of life -- the deeper psychological movements of the way we conduct our lives."
References:
Brown, J 2005, The impact of the Star Wars trilogy, viewed 10th March 2010,
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/jan-june05/star_wars_5-19.html .
Caro, M 2005, The power of the dark side, viewed 10th March 2010,
http://www.chicagotribune.com/chi-0505080390may08,0,5154795.story?page=1.
Ealy, C 1999, Understanding Star Wars, viewed 10th March 2010,
http://delrio.dcccd.edu/mhenry/UnderstandingStarWars.htm.
Emerson, J n.d, How Star Wars Shook the World, viewed 10th March 2010,
http://movies.msn.com/movies/starwars/?GT1=7701&.
Jenkins, H 2005, Quentin Tarantino's Star Wars?: Digital Cinema, Media Convergence, and Participatory Culture, viewed 12th March 2010,
http://web.mit.edu/cms/People/henry3/starwars.html.
Rickey, C 2005, Debate brews about cultural impact of 'Star Wars', viewed 10th March 2010,
http://media.www.the-telescope.com/media/storage/paper749/news/2005/05/09/StarWars/Debate.Brews.About.Cultural.Impact.Of.star.Wars-953413.shtml.
Sibley, R 2007, How George Lucas created a cultural force, viewed 17th March 2010,
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=c782db39-0f36-4ad1-bdf2-27a115ecb422
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