Moises Pea Hist 146 Extra Credit Assignment Star Wars and the 70s In the 1970s the

world was witness to one of the best feature films to ever hit the big screen, Star Wars. Originally titled Star Wars in the 70s, the name was later changed to Star Wars Episode IV, A New Hope, in order to accommodate the prequels that would follow. The film was released May 25th, 1977 and it was well received by a generation that was looking to be different. In the 1970s people were upset with how life was all around them, they felt lied to and betrayed by the norms which they were used to. It is at this time that people began to look at different aspects of life and began to change. For starters, eastern civilization religions were being sought after; people were rebelling against their government, and style wise: people were pushing the fads to the extreme. It is because of these reasons that Star Wars (1979) became popular so quickly among this generation. The story of Star Wars is based on the rebellion against the Empire which is a story told through the life of a young man, Luke Skywalker. Luke lived with his uncle and aunt in the planet of Tatooine where he was depended on to help with the harvest. However, Luke was a lively fellow with a yearning for adventure and a different life; when he was presented with the opportunity to help the Rebellion fight against the Empire he jumped at the proposition. In this sense Luke represents the young

generation of the 70s who were looking for a change in their lifestyles and opposed their government which is synonymously represented by the Empire. Another reason why the film became so popular was the fact that it introduced different space creatures that more or less represented the liberal fashion styles of the 70s. The more outlandish a persons clothes were the more accepted they were. People did not want to be viewed as normal, because of this trend the bizarre characters in Star Wars were a hit with the young generation because they werent characters that were normally scene on screen. Star Wars with its entire state o the art special effects gave people of the 70s a story to relate to and characters such as Luke, Princess Leia, and Han Solo to look up to. It also gave them a film they could use as an escape from reality, for roughly 2 hours an audience was able to dwell in a galaxy far away and observe how the characters dealt against the oppressive regime of their sector. For these 2 hours people were given pleasure and comfort.