star wars
Even when it was popular, it had nowhere near the same "all-inclusive" cultural effect that it does now. (Now, a huge number of people in the mainstream know about Star Wars, it's readily and easily known and referenced in popular culture, and far more people call themselves fans -- people that back in the day would distance themselves from such a geeky, fringe endeavor.) It made a big splash, but was not continued to be embraced by or thought of in the public's minds over the long haul. Moviemakers and others occasionally referenced Star Wars through the eighties and nineties, but these references were coded messages to fringe fans; the public just noticed in passing, quickly forgotten. (The Star Wars fanfare used for the Ferrari launching over the camera in Ferris Bueller was a cute momentary reference for the public, but something that occurred just in passing .. note that the end credits for Ferris Bueller mislabel the movie as 'Stars Wars'.) It was the upcoming impending release of The Phantom Menace in 1999 that brought fringe, actual Star Wars fans out of the woodwork, talking about it in open company, in public as it were, strangers to strangers. This also was evidence of a buzz 'out in society' that showed momentum building and interest growing for the franchise. (I mean, does anybody even remember tv ads for Episode I? They were unnecesary.)
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I had a vested interest in Phantom Menace, being an old school Star Wars fan whose universe was about to be brought back to the screen with a new iteration. I and many other fans did. We were fringe; previously relegated to the woodwork, now beginning to come out and talk openly about this new movie and its impending release. Like it or not, for better or worse, the release of the prequels took Star Wars from a fringe favorite, a glorified cult film, one that didn't stick with the public once the movies were over, to a global, lasting, worldwide phenomenon, one that everyone knows. The prequels brought Star Wars to and embedded themselves in the minds of the masses in a way that has never waned, since.
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