“May the Fourth be with you.”
Did you happen to hear that Star Wars-inspired, six-word sequence uttered yesterday? (Maybe you were the one saying it.) It’s a refrain that, apparently, has been floating around our own galaxy since 1979.
In the years since, the cultural saturation of the Star Wars franchise has only grown, and May 4 now marks the widely celebrated (though unofficial) Star Wars Day. “Indeed, you are powerful,” Darth Vader might intone, if he could observe the sprawling multimedia powerhouse the franchise has become.
But all the galactic fanfare started with a single movie—a “little space thing” as director George Lucas used to call it: Star Wars (with the later addendum Episode IV – A New Hope).
Paul Asay and I hopped on our Banthas (and rode single file to hide our numbers, of course) and convened to discuss the movie that kicked off this space-fantasy phenomenon. Why does the film resonate so deeply with viewers? What religion is most closely mirrored by the mysterious Force? And why didn’t Chewbacca get a medal?
You can watch our conversation below. We hope you enjoy it.
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