100. Star Wars

Once there was a time when Star Wars was just the name of a movie, and not the most toxic subject ever to hit the internet. Well, we yearn for that time, listener... so go with us on this journey back to the Skywalker homestead and get ready to harvest some moisture as we return to the very first movie we ever discussed on the show: Star Wars (1977). Among other things, Matt reiterates for the thousandth time that this movie should only ever be called Star Wars. You may be tempted to call it something else, perhaps some sort of chronological designation, or a fragmentary expression of some sort of new hopeulness. Resist this temptation. Also: We unpack why Laci has never been able to get into the original Star Wars movies, and why that is perfectly reasonable. Next week: The Whole Nine Yards (2000)!   Time stamps: 00:01:51 — Big-picture thoughts on the Star Wars franchise 00:10:25 — Our personal histories with Star Wars 00:22:28 — Pre-movie predictions 00:25:25 — History segment: Career overview of George Lucas and the development of Star Wars; career overviews of stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Alec Guiness; quotes taken from George Lucas: A Life by Brian Jay Jones 00:56:46 — In-depth movie discussion 02:01:34 — Final thoughts and star ratings     Artwork by Laci Roth.  Music by Rural Route Nine. Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify (https://bit.ly/48WBtUa), Apple Music (https://bit.ly/3Q6kOVC), or YouTube (https://bit.ly/3MbU6tC).    Songs by Rural Route Nine in this episode:  "Winston-Salem" - https://youtu.be/-acMutUf8IM "Snake Drama" - https://youtu.be/xrzz8_2Mqkg "The Bible Towers of Bluebonnet" - https://youtu.be/k7wlxTGGEIQ   Sources: George Lucas: A Life by Brian Jay Jones — https://amzn.to/47xTVk3 Power of Story: Visions of Independence at 2015 Sundance Film Festival (George Lucas interview w/ Robert Redford) — https://www.youtube.com/live/YX-9QCkwHiI?si=7wj7qgLqQhKRLIQo