Star Wars Pop Culture Icon
American popular culture has always been a market for sales. Everything that is and has made pop culture what it is in America has been built through commercialization. The ability to sell the main product and then the countless other revenue items that go with that product define American culture. Today in the United States a person would be hard-pressed to fined a movie showing in theaters that does not have a soundtrack out, t-shirt even action figures that go along with it. So where did this idea of marketing out come from? Simple. Star Wars. Thanks to the cultural influence of George Lucas’ Star Wars there is not a director in Hollywood that doesn’t look to cash in through other forms of movie sales. In late 1975 George Lucas began directing something that would soon become one of America’s biggest works of the 20th century. Firstly, it is apparent that Star Wars has gained a place in Western culture verbiage. This is evident of the fact that Star Wars is easily referenced. Much like the Bible and Greek Mythology, Star Wars has characters that are easily defined and referenced without much trouble. It is this popularity that has driven Star Wars to the top of American popular culture. After all what other movie has ever displayed as much iconic reference as the Star Wars trilogies. Go anywhere and there is an understanding of characters such as Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker among others. Everyone has been introduced to these names at some point and so they can reach a level of understanding when the name is heard. Along with the characters in Star Wars there is a basic understanding of plot. Star Wars defined the good versus evil and so the story is easily told almost similar to a fairy tale. Lucas’ ability to create a movie that speaks to all levels has helped its uprising in popular culture. Some have even called it the most advanced fairy tale (Wastler). But beside all of that Lucas was really creating much more than an iconic fairy tale. Moreover