1977 marks the beginning of potentially one of the greatest cinematic sagas of all time. This saga has connected mass amounts of people throughout 1977 to present day, Star Wars. Star Wars has helped form common connections, bring together people with an avid interest in sci-fi, and facilitate friendly conversations.
Old or young, student or teacher, anyone can be a Star Wars fan, take Ms. Karleen Gebhardt, who is a former Star Wars fanatic, for example.
“I would say maybe five or six years ago you would see in my classroom massive amounts of Star Wars paraphernalia and Star Wars propaganda,” Gebhardt said. “I was obsessed, I would rewatch all the movies at least once a year.”
Star Wars helps bring people together, including friends, complete strangers and most importantly family.
“My brother had moved to Omaha and we hadn’t lived in the same city since I was a small child and so we were spending lots of time together and he was like ‘oh we should go see the new star wars movies in the theaters,’” Gebhardt said. “I was like ‘Star Wars? Is that the one, is that the one in like space or whatever’ and he was like ‘You’ve never seen Star Wars?’ I had never seen them as a child. But yeah my older brother Tony, I’ll never forget, and we still talk about Star Wars all the time.”
Star Wars is not only a fun, action filled, sci-fi movie, it has a story of good versus evil behind it in the form of the Jedi fighting the Sith.
“They [The Jedi] don’t have the numbers, they don’t have the firepower, but what they do have is the goodness they’re fighting for,” Gebhardt said. “They come up with courage out of nowhere, they’re so brave and everything seems against them but they still go for it, they still keep going and that’s what I love about it”.
From its inception in 1977, Star Wars has withstanded generations, uniting people worldwide in a shared love for its saga of good versus evil. Whether forming friendships, or strengthning family bonds, Star Wars has solidified itself into our culture, reminding us of the lasting power of hope, and courage.
