Imperial ZOT!!!
Posted on 05/19/2005 5:56:43 AM PDT by js1138
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That raises the cultural context, which was the war in Vietnam, initiated by communists and bungled by politicians, and the Watergate scandal, which magnified the minutiae just when America needed to get serious about its philosophy.
But America was in the grip of the hippies, who held American values in contempt, and they were having an impact in Hollywood. Fiery Katharine Hepburn and sunny Doris Day had all but departed from pictures, versatile Sidney Poitier had been vilified in his prime for being an Uncle Tom, and classy Cary Grant and upright Gary Cooper had given way to sniveling, squinting anti-heroes. The hum of a light saber firing up was a pleasant change from the sound of shrill hippies and their cinematic counterparts screaming in our faces.
Star Wars delivered a tonic for the time: sweeping music, opening scroll and a heap of hokey dialog set to purposeful action with enough optimism to cleanse the stink of Woodstock for a long time.
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(Excerpt) Read more at boxofficemojo.com ...
I remember the Bicentennial, too. My Navy ship, the USS Farragut, was a part of the festivities in NYC. The Tall Ships and the fireworks at the Statue Of Liberty are still great memories (the girls flashing us from the speedboats during the Tall Ships event wasn't bad either).
My father was a squadron commander at NAS Corpus Christi. We had a BIG air show! I remember seeing the tall ships parade on TV.
Having grown to adulthood during the 70's(turned 21 in 1972) I can tell you it was the most dismal decade of my existence. No jobs, Gas lines, high interest rates, Watergate, mostly crappy music, very crappy cars, the start of the AA industry and of course Mr. Jimmy occupying the WH following an almost as bad Gerald Ford. Yes a defeatist attitude did exist in the popular culture. I don't know how many TV shows and Movies had themes that included evil, white business tycoons being outsmarted by the HS dropout, inner city welfare mother, or drugged up Viet Vet goes on killing spree. It was remarkable to sit in the theater watching, "The Wind and The Lion"(a truly great movie in my mind) and seeing people give the US Marines portrayed in the movie a standing ovation when they took over the Sultans palace. People were aching for something good during the 70's and there was very little to go around.
It certainly set the stage for future blockbusters. John Williams was in demand for decades.
Gen-Reagan PING
look at that ghettoblaster! dang, that thing is awesome!
Do you remember Jimmy Carter, "stagflation", "malaise", inflation as the "moral equivalent of war", etc.?
Ping list for the discussion of the politics and social (and sometimes nostalgic) aspects that directly effect Gen-Reagan/Generation-X (Those born from 1965-1981) including all the spending previous generations (i.e. The Baby Boomers) are doing that Gen-X and Y will end up paying for.
Freep mail me to be added or dropped. See my home page for details and previous articles.
Color me ignornant. AA industry?
I was merely a child growing up in teh 70s, but old enough to remember the malaise, the anti-hero, the 'no such thing as a good guy' attitudes, the reeking hippies, the HORRIBLE HORRIBLE colors/fashions/campground-commune-folkart decor that was so prevalent then. I couldn't WAIT for the 70s to end. I remember the summer of the gas shortage : Dad bought a deisel stationwagon just so we could make our summer vacation bearable.
The best thing I remember from teh 70s, until Star Wars, was the Bicentennial. It was glorious. I seldom heard much against America then, but that was when I learned about George Washington and fell in love with the guy. What a hero!
Cheers to all my Generation Reagan FReeper friends!
This report was true for the first three.. but the last two movies especially are nothing but retreds of lib think.
I believe Lucas would be more successful if he stuck to the original formula. There are definite bad guys in the world, and Republicans they aint.
I remember Jimmy Carter, the Iran crisis, and of course the gas lines from the early 70's. But by 1977, we were doing very well. Maybe it was because of being in the military.
I think the story is potentially a great one, similar to LOTR. Power corrupts everyone, even Frodo and even cute eight-year-old kids.
I'm withholding judgement until I see this ine as to whether this theme is developed effectively.
I do wish the acting was better.
Imperial ZOT!!!
Good ZOT!
That's true.
I'll take some kids to see it when it hits the Dollar Theatre ... but my husband and his co-nerds have come up with a "business" excuse to go to the movies tomorrow!
We drove 2 hours to see the original "Star Wars" on my 11th birthday!
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