The orchestra begins and the logo follows in its classic yellow, retro styled font reading “Star Wars”. The iconic slow crawl follows which explains the background that lead up to the movie the viewer is about to see. This is one aspect of the Star Wars brand that separates it from other movies or even movie sagas. This and many more icons build this brand, from their eye-catching lightsabers or infamous characters like Darth Vader. Even those who have not seen a single movie recognize these symbols. Due to its long running series, Star Wars has been made a household name and exists in the bedrock of pop culture. A resurgence in trilogies in two different generations, endless merchandise, and a theme park in the works Star Wars has a juggernaut level brand that extends through the memories of old veteran to the series to the continuous flow of new fans.
It all began during that slow crawl of a brand-new movie, “Star Wars: The Adventures of Luke Skywalker” on November 12, 1976. This movie would later be known as “Star Wars: A New Hope” because it started a trilogy, which started a saga. The original trilogy is known as “A New Hope”, “Empire Strikes Back”, and “Return of the Jedi” all carrying the “Star Wars” title as well. Technological limits in 1976 kept the original in select theatres limiting its audience. Only those who could effort the spend the money and time would be able to sit in a dark room to watch this new science fiction film. Although the audience of sci-fi nerds and children soon grew. As technology advanced and availability increased, the single hit gained a following which is what prompted writer and director George Lucas to begin on another. This trilogy of movies had been released between 1977 to 1983. Much of their fan base grew up, so to rebuild this galactic empire the “prequels” were released. Ranging from 1999 to 2005 the next trilogy had a new target audience. At this point in time technology had advanced so much from the originals that nearly anyone could watch. DVDs increased availability and expanded
the audience to anymore with a television and DVD player. The resurgence intended to bring back the fans of the originals while also grabbing the attention of the children of the time. Old fans who were now parents could bring their families to see the movies they loved, which built Star Wars back up to its famous status. This pattern, to release a new trilogy approximately 10 years after the previous had been released, began again in 2015. Yet again three more movies will carry those yellow letters titled “Star Wars”. Technology again developed, the entire Star Wars saga can now be downloaded and watched anymore in the world. The audience has grown and grown thanks to the increase in technology and ability for the media to be shared. Yet even still each new movie is released in a dark room with a limited number of seats just like in 1976. Although a classic theatre release is still in place new technologies have helped spread the science fiction fire throughout the world allowing everyone of any age to hear a classic space adventure.
The massive fan following of a series as big as Star Wars has a massive window for merchandise. Fans gladly buy up a shirt or maybe a mug, but others buy anything they can that could be considered relevant to that galaxy far far away. The merchandise was intelligently crafted to target all different age groups. The fans come face to face with these products in nearly every store they visit, then again as they encounter other fans in public. A t-shirt is practically a portable, wearable billboard showing off the large Star Wars logo for a dedicated fan to make other fans jealous, persuading them to get one just like it. Although its not just t-shirts, in 1978 a toy company called Kenner, which later became Hasbro,
released their first action figures. These 3.75-inch action figures where smaller than the standard figurine of their time making this a risky business venture. It was decided to cut down the size to increase the number of figures that could be produced. This paid off when they flew off shelves alongside all other merchandise including clothing, lunchboxes, and posters. As the movies became more popular and more began to release more and more good with “Star Wars” labels came out. This was merely the starting point, now in the year 2017 nearly every good imaginable can be bought having some Star Wars theme or logo. An incredibly wide net allows for a
large audience. Fans will of course buy shirts and posters, more hardcore fans may expand this collection, but most people stick to everyday items. Another huge market, children, want Star Wars toys and videogames. These people show off their love but may catch the eyes of non-fans who, interested in the product may begin their journey as a fan themselves. This cycle continues and attracts more and more people every day, expanding the audience from viewers to potential viewers and even those who may otherwise not have heard of Star Wars. When its broken down, the audience does some of the marketing themselves simply by loving Star Wars. They buy up products, proudly display them, and bring in new friends to the Star Wars universe. With merchandise reaching across multiple platforms the logo reading “Star Wars” in its traditional font is easily recognized and brings nostalgia and excitement to fans. This is the intention of casting such a wide net. The more recognizable a label or icon and the more exposure to it, fans and nonfans want to be a part of this “in-group” created by the vast amount of product.
After Disney purchased the Star Wars property from George Lucas’s company Lucasfilm in 2012 they began to go to work on how to improve the Star Wars brand. In 2015 Disney released a statement that they would be creating a whole Star Wars theme park for fans to explore. This will not only be a new avenue for merchandise sales, but it will be an entire destination for all hardcore fans. Not only will Disney and Star Wars be building their brand with exclusive activities and goods with the park but they are selling an experience that can be marketed in itself. Not only will the actual day or weekend be marketed, but the memories each park go-er could make and all the good times too. This is going to be an experience to be had, not only media but a face to face interaction with a universe and characters that are so loved. This targets fans of course but a typical Disney go-er would also encounter this and may be transformed into a fan too. Disney’s branding of a Star Wars branded theme park will show through in their advertisement, they show commercials of happy families living out days of fun and adventure in their parks. They will persuade fans that this is everything they’ve ever wanted in a Star Wars theme park. It uses the audience’s emotions against them, knowing that lifetime fans of the series would want nothing more than to spend a day with their favorite characters in their favorite universe. This continues to inflation the fans perception of how great Star Wars is and spills over into an appreciation for Disney too. With Disney already having a good reputation in the field of making childhood favorites come to life, Star Wars is in good hands.
What began with a single action adventure has become a gargantuan company, Star Wars has invaded hearts, households, and wallets for decades. After eight movies, with more than three still on the way, intent to continue growing the Star Wars empire is always moving forward at light speed. Now being guided by Disney, a master of the public’s view, Star Wars gains popularity and extends into multiple medias, from screens and downloads to face to face merchandise and fully immersive theme parks. The audience continues to grow and flourish in unexpected places. New showings for Star Wars used to be children and sci-fi nerds now includes so much more of the general public, loving something perceived as nerdy has begun to flow into the main stream. Bonding older audiences who grew up with the originals, millennials admiring the “prequels”, and children in 2017 watching a new trilogy unfold before their eyes, Star Wars has become a box set of generations communicating and sharing something that they love with those around them. It has transcended the theatre screen and become a tool to bring people together through mutual love of something entirely made up. Who knew fourty-one years after some kid on Tatooine picked up a light sword families and generations of viewers would bond over creativity and adventure. The brand is strong with this one.
Reflection:
Once I began Project 1 I took a shot in the dark. I knew I wanted to talk about Star Wars, one of if not my top cultural kryptonite, but where to begin? I didn’t really know how to do a real rhetorical analysis because I hadn’t ever done one so I decided to just dive head first into it. I began by letting my ideas flow out about each of my different artifacts. I misinterpreted what the purpose of the project was so I ended up doing lots of research on the movies, merchandise (dealing with sales numbers), and the theme park that will be coming out. Once I got to conferences I was told how wrong I was in my researching. Luckily, throughout the conference I discovered what the paper was actually suppose to be like. I got busy writing again and got a better rhetorical analysis, analyzing the audience, mode, media, and all other levels of it. Eventually I think it ended up being a good analysis, realizing how much of it is actually based on marketing and how involved the emotions are when connecting an audience to a specific franchise.
