April 20, 2020, by Ross Wilson

Star Wars and the Things That Made Us

In episode 3 of the Things That Made Us we discuss the 1977 film Star Wars. This might seem like an usual choice but bear with us! Star Wars is a cinematic classic, from the opening scene of a huge spaceship with the glow of a planet’s atmosphere below to the destruction of the Death Star, almost every scene is etched into the minds of cinema goers. But it also a great example of what science fiction and film does for us.

Science fiction has long provided us with visions of what the future looks like. Authors and directors have used film and fiction to warn us of dangers but these accounts have also been inspirational in guiding new technologies as we are inspired by what we see. Star Wars is a great example of this as droids, bionics, laser weapons or holograms have been invented in recent years mimicking the technology seen in the films.

However, beyond this is the way in which these films tell us about who we are now. Films like Star Wars are some of the first films that many people remember seeing as a child. They seem incredibly futuristic but they also offer points of engagement with people’s own life stories. As a guide to the future or as a means to understand the past and present, there is much to to be learnt from an assessment of a what takes place ‘a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…’

https://echo360.org.uk/media/92ee28b0-78ee-47b5-bf50-bb7ddfda1154/public

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