Fandom throughout the ages

Star Wars debuted in theaters on May 25th, 1977, and I'm sure you've seen the pictures: people lined up around the block to get in, and after they watched it, they went and saw it again and again and again.

The way films are released 46 years later owes something to that. Star Wars and Jaws (released in 1975) made the modern blockbuster: a big, massive film that studios have come to rely on to make up a lot of their revenue for the year. That only continued through the 1980s and 1990s, and today, you'll see a ton of emphasis placed on the box office returns of that first opening weekend.

Back in the 1970s that wasn't the case: films opened and stayed in theaters for months, or in the case of Star Wars, opened months after that initial premiere. Case in point: the film didn't open in Vermont until July and August. I did some digging recently for some social media content for the Vermont Historical Society, and noted a handful of ads that theaters placed in newspapers in June that the film was on its way:

It was interesting poking through newspaper archives to see how the film first popped up in reviews and commentaries in May 1977 (mostly wire stories and syndicated reviews), then the ads, and then the reactions in local papers. You can feel the anticipation building.

Star Wars arrived in Vermont in mid-July, and I found an outstanding article from the Burlington Free Press (published July 27th), in which correspondent Susan Green provides a glimpse into what the reaction was like:

What caught my eye here is that Vermonters were eager for the movie: just as they had everywhere else around the country, moviegoers were lining up to catch the film, and even days after its initial release, theaters were still packed to the gills as people showed up again and again to catch the film. In the second half of the article, Green notes that it wasn't just boys catching the film: there were plenty of women in the audience as well, as well as grandparents who wanted something to talk about with their grandkids. It was – and is – a film for everyone to enjoy.

While it's Star Wars day, I figure it's a good opportunity to highlight some of the longer pieces I've written over the years here and elsewhere:

"Qanon for nerds": Fandom isn't immune to online radicalization

A feature about the intersections of far-right ideology and pop culture, and how radicalization happens.

Michael A. Stackpole's Rogue Squadron novels unlocked Star Wars' vast potential

An appreciation of Michael A. Stackpole's X-Wing novels.

Building A Galaxy

This was a series that I'd written for the Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog about the history of the Expanded Universe.

Origin Stories (The earliest tie-in stories )
Heir to the Trilogy (Timothy Zahn kicks off the Expanded Universe)
Expanding the Universe (how the Expanded Universe continued to grow)
New Publisher, New Directions (The New Jedi Order and Prequel era)
Unexplored Territory (The Clone Wars multimedia project)
Endings and Beginnings (the late stage EU)

30 years ago, Timothy Zahn resurrected Star Wars

A look back on the impact of the Thrawn trilogy 30 years after it was originally published.

Returning to a lost galaxy

Why a never-published edition of a Star Wars novel appeared online, and what the demand for it means. (Copies of this pirated book are still going for hundreds online.)

Squandered legacy

How a premiere cosplay company imploded.

One foot in front of the other

What it's like to march in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade as a stormtrooper.

The transformation of the Tuskens

My feature about aome missed opportunities with the portrayal of the Tusken Raiders in the Book of Boba Fett.

Nostalgia's limits

In which I tried to piece together some of the issues I had with The Book of Boba Fett and how the demands for streaming content puts pressure on storytelling.