Talk:Cultural impact of Star Wars

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This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 12 January 2021 and 30 April 2021. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): MattCrozier8.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 18:48, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

Comment

Didn't there used to be a page around here somewhere with a list of pop culture references to Star Wars? For example, noting when in The Simpsons television show a Star Wars reference appears and briefly describing it. Just wondering. 67.53.78.15 06:42, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

Pop culture articles, especially when they take the form of lists, don't stick around long, I'm afraid. Ichormosquito 23:34, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

Drat. It's not like they are not "encyclopedic" or anything. The list was quite long and I've seen other equally long ones on wikipedia for pop culture items, so I wonder just how long the "don't stick around long" is. Still, I haven't been able to find the history of it. And aren't "reasons for removal" of significant items usually posted on the talk pages? Maybe I've not searched long enough. But, oh well. 67.53.78.15 16:47, 1 September 2007 (UTC)

Reagan

I spot two problems in this article.

1. "Another example is U.S. President Ronald Reagan's labeling the Soviet Union as an 'evil empire'. This reference assumed — correctly — that the fictional Galactic Empire of Star Wars had entered the American lexicon."
2. "Similarly, Reagan employed 'Star Wars' as the colloquial name for his Strategic Defense Initiative program."

Point 1 presumes, perhaps unwarrantedly, that Reagan was making a conscious reference to the "Empire" of the Star Wars films. The combination of the words "evil" and "empire" do not, by themselves, justify this implication. Imperialism as an instrument of foreign policy predates the Star Wars films by several thousand years, and the Soviet state from WWII onward certainly positioned itself as an empire with the invasion and occupation of numerous neighboring states. Unless a quote from Reagan or one of his speechwriters positively linking the remark to the Star Wars Galactic Empire surfaces, the association is unjustified. Point 2 may be propagating a falsehood. Did Reagan ever use the term "Star Wars" to describe the Strategic Defense Initiative? Or was it only those public interest group opponents of the program who were using the term to ridicule it? Unless these issues are addressed with citations, I will delete the first assertion and reword the second point in a few days. Robert K S 13:26, 26 September 2007 (UTC)

No one has addressed the above issues, so I have modified the article to remove or rephrase the incorrect assertions. Robert K S 23:18, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

Query to editors

I would like to add an external link to this page, but, having read the guidelines, I realise that by doing so I may create a conflict of interest situation.

I am currently writing a book about the metaphysical background to Star Wars reaching well beyound the now all too familiar references to the Myth of the Hero. It is a serious academic work which involved re-thinking of Joseph Campbell and enlarging on his concepts. In order to test the interest of potential readers and to have something to show to possible publishers without dumping a wad of unsolicited bumf onto them, I made a website which on some 20-odd pages introduces the main themes and proposals of the book and explains the various concepts involved. It is glaringly obvious that a link to Wikipedia Star Wars portal where my potential readers -- and even publishers -- hang out, has to be advantageous to the future prospects of my book. I cannot in all honesty deny being motivated by this. On the other hand, the content of the site could be, I believe, of value in the context of this page, and of interest in particular to those readers who do not propose to delve deeper into the book once (if ever) it comes out. The site is cleanly written and does not contain any advertising. It is in no way endorsed by Lucasfilm or any other organisation or business.

I would like you to advise me on this. I cannot give the URL here because I could already be transgressing by doing this. Those who wish to view my site could perhaps mail me on ligia-at-f2s.com (please copy the address into your e-mail editor and replace -at- with the @ sign) or use the e-mail feature in the toolbox, and I'll forward the link on demand. I shall return to this page daily to see any advice. Thank you in advance! --Ligia Luckhurst 00:55, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

Please put the link on this page and briefly explain relevance to article and ask could an editor add it if it seems appropriate. Benjiboi 17:47, 3 November 2007 (UTC

Here is the link to the abovementioned site, which is called "An Edifice of Intent -- The Metaphysics of Star Wars":

http://www.starwars-edifice.co.uk

I have never placed links into Wikipedia before, so forgive me if you have to copy and paste into your browser rather than just click on it. If and when it comes to the real link, I'll make a study of how it's done.

Relevance to the article: Star Wars have by its appearance on the scene altered the face of our world to a degree which we cannot even fully appreciate since it is so deeply embedded in our current culture -- and culture is in itself the face of the world. My book which is still a work in progress takes the wiew that this was possible because Lucas, guided by the ideas of Joseph Campbell, through his impeccable intent to create a new global myth, managed to tap into the same ancient magical structures which gave us myths in the past -- used the Force, so to speak. I examine the work of Joseph Campbell in considerable detail, as well as the creative process required to produce work that has the power to change the world.

Editors, please take a look at my site when you have the time and, if you feel that its content is useful, be so good as to add the link to the article.

Thank you in advance!--Ligia Luckhurst 20:23, 5 November 2007 (UTC)

Seems well-written and non-commercial (spam) site, I'm adding as useful for reader's interetsed in the subject. Benjiboi 00:54, 6 November 2007 (UTC

Thanks Benjiboi, Force be with you! --Ligia Luckhurst 19:36, 6 November 2007 (UTC)

Likely overstated claim

"Star Wars fundamentally changed the aesthetics and narratives of Hollywood movies,[6], switching the focus of Hollywood-made Films from deep, meaningful stories based on dramatic conflict, themes and irony to sprawling special-effects-laden blockbusters, as well as changing the Hollywood film industry in fundamental ways. Before Star Wars, special effects in movies had not appreciably advanced since the 1950s.[6]"

There's some backup given for the special-effects claim, but I'm a little taken aback by the implication that pre-Star-Wars Hollywood focused on deep, meaningful stories based on dramatic conflict, themes and irony (also, what does "focused on themes" even MEAN?). I suspect an overly strong interpretation or a misreading or possibly even a not very good book, but I don't have the book, so...I'm wondering if there isn't a more nuanced approach to be taken here.

Wintersweet (talk) 06:24, 8 December 2010 (UTC)

I suspect bias against the movie on the part of the person who added that. They may not be especially deep or complex, but I'd definitely say there are strong themes and dramatic conflict in Star Wars. Anyway, given the placement of citations, I'm not so sure the second half of the first sentence even came from the book.--24.147.62.26 (talk) 01:20, 3 September 2011 (UTC)

Impact on Production and Technical Aspects; Star Wars Was Not Truly Groundbreaking

Many claims are made with regards to the technical aspects of the Star Wars films and their lasting effects on the industry. While it is unquestionably true that the Star Wars films CONTRIBUTED to a paradigm shift in Hollywood big-budget productions, it is ABSOLUTELY UNTRUE to claim that Star Wars (episode IV) was "the first" or "one of the first" of a series of films to do this. Example: 2001 a Space Odyssey. People like to discuss its deep themes, but the true impact of 2001 was its SPECIAL EFFECTS. Notable examples include widespread use of extremely complicated set pieces (such as the spinning set in the initial sequence where Bowman is jogging), as well as the images of Earth and Jupiter. At that time, no real life color images of the entire earth had ever been taken (high orbit images capture only part of the earth in frame), nor any of Jupiter. Both shots were synthetic. The point is that 2001 has a more significant place in the timeline/history of the evolution of big budget action/sci-fi films in Hollywood. No one can debate the role that Star Wars played. However, it is not the first "notable" example.68.6.76.31 (talk) 00:49, 8 March 2012 (UTC)

Linkrot

References 3 (Emerson) and 11 (agencynews.com) have become unavailable and I am unable to find alternative sources for either one. Policy is to wait at least 24 months but I am unsure if that is from the date of publication or unavailability so I am placing this section for future reference. 82.72.123.186 (talk) 12:36, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

Chewbacca Mask Lady merge proposal

Disagree with merge proposal. The Chewbacca Mask Lady article is a meme article of which there are many. It's also somewhat long, has a picture and infobox, additional info about Candice Pain, it would be an awkward merge that would probably result in loss of information so it doesn't overwhelm this article with undue WEIGHT. -- GreenC 15:58, 24 August 2016 (UTC)

• I agree with GreenC on this one. -- Gestrid (talk) 16:23, 24 August 2016 (UTC)

where is the discussion?

Star Wars fandom says discuss possible merger here, but there is no section on it? shadzar-talk 15:02, 29 November 2019 (UTC)

The Discussion Starts Here

There's been some discussion of merging Star Wars fandom, but none on here, so this is the beginning of it! I think that a merge would be a good idea, as Star Wars fandom doesn't contain a lot of information, and can be added to this article in around a paragraph, and seeing where the article is at the moment, a merge might end up actually adding more edits to that section as more people know about it. And the subject that it is discussing is apart of the cultural impact of Star Wars. It would improve both this article, and the subject of the merge. Bowtiesarecool06 (talk) 19:09, 3 May 2020 (UTC)

Was looking to merge, but the only material not already there was an unreferenced list of famous fans; given that that list undoubtably would be very long if complete, but also very difficult to verify, I don't think that it is worth moving across. Hence, I've redirected rather than merged. Klbrain (talk) 09:11, 13 September 2020 (UTC)

Resolved

Knights of Renesmee

In The Phantom Menace Special Edition, it says:

With this release, the Knights of Renesmee became the first amateur group to remake an entire film trilogy (the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy) at full length.

I don't see the works of this group among the fan films. Should they be? --Error (talk) 21:06, 21 November 2020 (UTC)

Beneath the Dome

There is an article about the unreleased Return of the Ewok but not about the released R2-D2: Beneath the Dome. --Error (talk) 21:12, 21 November 2020 (UTC)

False rumour mills and disinformation sites

This fenomenon has been gaining traction recently. Not sure if it was covered by enough reliable sources to become noteworthy, but it's a very old issue that more people have started talking about in the wake of the racist harrassment of Krystina Arielle. It concerns the proliferation of false rumours and disinformation in the Star Wars fandom, via websites like Bounding Into Comics, or Pirates and Princesses, and youtube channels including Mike Zeroh, Clownfish TV, Overlord DVD, Geeks+Gamers, That Starwars Girl, Midnight's Edge, DrunkCPO and several others. Incidentally all of these websites ans youtubers are part of the Comicsgate movement, and present themselves as the voice of the Star Wars Fandom, under the moniker The Fandom Menace. I think this needs to be mentioned in some fashion, if reliable sources cover it.

Incidentally, it strikes me as odd that The Fandom Menace redirects here, and makes me think somebody got the wrong impression that "the Fandom Menace" is a nickname the Starwars Fandom has given itself, which is false. The Fandom Menace is actually another name for the alt-right Comicsgate Movement. 46.97.170.20 (talk) 10:56, 4 February 2021 (UTC)

The Fandom Menace redirects here

The Fandom Menace is the name of a loosely affiliated group of Comicsgate-adjacent internet trolls who have drawn attention to themselves with the racist harrassment against John Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran. It is NOT an affectionate nickname for the Star Wars fandom. The Fandom Menace needs to either redirect to Comicsgate, or be given it's own article. 46.97.170.40 (talk) 11:03, 25 February 2022 (UTC)

Split content into Star Wars fandom

I think there is enough content and sources to warrant a dedicated subarticle on Star Wars fandom. See Star Trek fandom, Tolkien fandom, etc. _{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 08:33, 17 July 2022 (UTC)

Seconded SouthParkFan65 (talk) 23:20, 17 October 2022 (UTC)

There used to be a separate Star Wars Fandom article, but it was created for POV-pushing purposes by a notorious far right hate group calling themselves The Fandom Menace (the inspiration behind Intelligencia, from She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. The article contained false information, either uncited or cited from discredited false rumour mills, and aimed to whitewash the FM-s long history of racist and misogynist online harrassment of various women and actors of color involved in pretty much anything in the past decade. The consensus was, that with the false information removed, the article did not contain enough information to justify a separate article, so it was changed to a redirect, and all encyclopedically useful information was moved here. nothing changed in the past two years that would justify undoing that. 46.97.170.32 (talk) 09:39, 31 October 2022 (UTC)

Split: I think the fandom is notable enough to get its own article, despite its failure to survive as a separate article. But I don't think that creating a new article from scratch would mean that that would happen again. From what you describe, I'm glad that it got gutted and pruned.

But I would have argued against making it into a redirect because, while the information then and there might have been lacking, the fandom is so sizable that enough information must exist.

Star Wars is super popular; its fandom is huge. To think that they left/are leaving no impact such that the press/academic literature wouldn't write anything from which an article would rely on seems... unreasonable IMO. Fan studies are a even whole academic field, I doubt that they would overlook SW fandom. And the press surrounding the franchise for decades? That no one there reported on the fans, the movies' audience? Nah, I don't believe it.

I know for SURE that there is a lot of material about the fandom that fits our standards to work with, it's just that someone just needs to bother to sit down and research it. To the point that I think the biggest trouble would not be finding stuff about the SW fandom, but filtering through it all!

Mignof (talk | contribs) 22:57, 28 November 2022 (UTC)

A bit late to your discussion but i just now realized that en.Wikipedia is missing a own "Star Wars fandom article" which is honestly just absurd. Star Wars is one of the biggest nerd and hobby communities in human history so its absurd that there isn't a article about it on biggest information platform. Its a shame that the toxic bigots destroyed the old one but that shouldn't stop, but merely motivate people from write a new factual one (it definitely did for me). I'm a big nerd and recently started to write and improve the star wars Wikipedia articles. I could definitely atleast partially write on a fandom article.UnkreativeFrog (talk) 07:30, 29 May 2023 (UTC)

Support. Star Wars is arguably the most culturally influential media franchise ever, with by far one of the largest fandom communities a fictional universe has ever created.-- Maxeto0910 (talk) 22:36, 7 July 2023 (UTC)

Support I think there is enough material to support a full article, and having one would make space to feature noteworthy fan films which are yet not notable enough for a stand-alone article, without running into problems with WP:DUE. Daranios (talk) 15:05, 24 April 2024 (UTC)