Shrapnel Games Blog

Star Wars was released.

I remember seeing it about every day that summer, and then once school started again on weekends. Seems like it was in the theaters forever, although my recollection may be hazy. And even though Star Wars quickly spawned all those marketing tie-ins that everyone was cashing in on (one bizarre memory was being dragged along by my mother to go shopping for fabric, and the fabric store was selling Star Wars action figures) I don’t think anyone knew how big it was until Empire came out. We saw it on opening day at Phipps in Buckhead and there was already a looooong line, including campers, before us. That’s when the realization of what Star Wars was really hit. A geek movie that could be appreciated by non-geeks. How often does that happen?

Will there ever be another movie that impacts popular culture like Star Wars did? Sure, movies keep getting bigger, and it seems like every new release breaks some sort of record, but none have even come close to being as globally influential as Star Wars. You gotta feel a little sorry for the kids today whose first experience with the franchise was Episode I.

-Scott

PS: Without Star Wars there would be no Chad Vader. If you have not seen the CV episodes, be sure to check’em out, they’re some of the funniest and most professional Star Wars fan films I’ve seen.