The Force Awakens

I just had my dad watch the new Star Wars trailer on my phone while sitting in his car. Just listening to it from the passenger seat stirred memories of watching the original Star Wars for the first time from the back seat of an old Toyota at the old Marion drive-in in '77 or '78, with him, my mom, and my younger brother. In my short lifetime, I do not believe that any other singular American pop culture phenomenon has affected me in the way that Star Wars has. Set aside the failings of any of the installments in regard to separate works of cinematic art and consider how the merchandizing of the late Seventies set the stage for what we as consumers in our contemporary modern culture expect to see and hear coincide with a blockbuster theatrical release. Consider how the simplest lines of dialogue have worked their way into our modern lexicon. Consider the themes, although not entirely original, have cemented themselves alongside those of religious and other spiritual teachings. Although my foremost fantastical literary love affair is with the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, it is almost impossible for me to go throughout my day and not have a Star Wars related thought cross my mind. I truly believe it is due to the constant integration and indoctrination of the film property into our global culture over the past nearly forty years. It's something that makes me smile every time one of my children sees the logo in a public place and says, "Look dad! Star Wars!" because I know that was me sitting in the back of an old Toyota in a galaxy far, far away.