Thirty years seems to fly by extremely quickly. There I was one moment queueing for ages outside the Odeon waiting to catch up with the latest craze. And the very next I'm a middle aged (but twinkle-eyed) sloth reading about who their favourite Star Wars character is based on six films (as outlined in this months 'Empire'). Yes, my Dad was right and life does seem to pass by in an instant (rather like the hyperspace button on the 'Millenium Falcon'). In 1977, the world was still excited by the prospect of space travel. The Apollo missions of 1968-1972 were still a fresh (if rather costly) memory and it seemed only a matter of time before mankind would embark on another feat of exploration. After all the shuttle programme was well into its design phase and hopefully this would realise the ambition of cheaper space travel.
I think that Star Wars series has provided more let-downs than highlights over the years (Empire Strikes Back versus all the rest), although the franchise has provided a share of amusement in places. It seems that only 'Lord of the Rings' has the kind of marketing muscle to offer any alternative - and that is a sobering thought. I have all sorts of misgivings about the injustices of the 'Hollywood system' against any other kind of cinema. Injustices that appear to injure the rights of less mainstream directors in the USA, or any director in another country, to make truly thought-provoking films. Indeed, Star Wars and perhaps Jaws before it seemed to sound the death knell for truly artistic film making in Hollywood. Not that either were bad films - Jaws is in fact one of my favourites - but they provided a blue print for change. The rise of the blockbuster saw a parallel decline in films that made you think. Strangely, while Star Wars was investing a new form of conservatism into film a revolution was occuring in music. The Pistols has released 'God Save the Queen' and punk was upsetting 'middle england'. Punk rock filth was causing middle-class fury and it appeared that Britain and perhaps the world would never be the same again.
Ultimately who would have thought that after another thirty years the majority of punks would be forgotten, Strummer and Vicious would be dead, and thirty-five years after Gene Cernan had been the last human to walk on the moon (alledgedly), no other human would have left the earths orbit? But still the legend of 'Star Wars' lives on - what a bizarre world we live on.
Here to make me feel better are a few tasty morsels from 1977 that hopefully will provide inspiration for another thirty years. Somehow I think that 'Star Wars' will outlive them all.
1 comment:
Ah, 'No More Heroes.' Fabulous track.
Great blog, by the way. Will post a link over at mine.
Ed
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