[Nepeta]

Science fiction is a lot more than space opera. Good science fiction may have nothing to do with space, as shown by many Twilight Zone episodes.

I grew up watching Science Fiction Theatre. I read Andre Norton as a young teen. This was back in the era when the genre was believed to be consumed almost entirely by young males. In my teen summers, I worked my way through the library's stock of Asimov, Clarke, etc. I love science fiction. When I was old enough, I bought books and attended (chiefly male) science fiction conventions. However...

I dislike Star Wars. I disliked it in 1977. The Star Wars universe is a universe that could be stripped of its setting and be made as a western, a Chinese costume epic, a European period piece...it is eye candy, not idea candy.

Minus the special effects, what is there to talk about? The characters are predictable. I'm not even sure why the rebels are the "good guys," except that the actors are the prettier ones. The Leni Riefenstahl Triumph of the Will moment at the end of the first movie creeped me out.

Star Wars has stunted science fiction. There are many people who now believe science fiction IS space opera. Even space opera need not be predictable; Star Trek TOS holds up surprisingly well. Those episode actually can yield some interesting discussion without once considering special effects! And the Star Trek TOS future is a seriously American future, based on merit.

[Cronos]

Star Wars takes from the Foundation novels (a galactic empire), from Naziism, from cowboy movies, from Samurai and swash-buckling movies. What raised it was first the music — utterly inspiring and second the backstory when they made up the Jedi v/s Sith storyline

[Bidimus1]

Star Wars can barely be called space opera hey space hayburner more likely if one wishes to read true space opera I recommend EE doc Smith has a very good starting point or for something a little easier to find Edgar Rice Burroughs Mars series

[Fai Mao]

Preach on brother!

Star wars is not science fiction

1. There are too many races of people
2. The light saber, come on really, that isn’t technology it is simply spiritualism more in line with Vincent Price or Boris Karloff stuff

[mrsmith]

“back in the era when the genre was believed to be consumed almost entirely by young males”

ALL sci-fi is for young males.
Or it isn’t sci-fi.
The better sci-fi expands that audience but mustn’t lose it’s defining audience.
Sci-fi films are most often ruined by Hollywood’s desire to appeal to the ‘dumb sluts’ advertising demographic.

[cuban leaf]

I own This Island Earth, When Worlds Collide and Forbidden Planet.

I’ll leave it at that.