海角大神

If there was any聽doubt that 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� is more than a commercial Force, one need only peruse social media. Less than two months before the Dec. 18聽release of 鈥�,鈥� photos of children dressed up in Halloween costumes inspired by a galaxy far, far away dominated news feeds.

It was like 1977 all over again, when their parents and grandparents sported galactic and聽聽outfits and costumes of their own while under the then-recent spell of the original 鈥�.鈥� Some parents in 2015 even dressed up as 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� characters alongside their offspring,听often boasting Jedi Master/聽or hero/villain themes.

Lightsaber Battles 2015, originated by flash-mob organization聽, is hosting聽Dec. 18 events in聽听补苍诲听, and聽Dec. 19聽events in聽听补苍诲听. At the time of this post, more than 19,000 had RSVP鈥檇 on the Facebook event page for L.A.

Those mass gatherings of faux-saber-wielding enthusiasts will take place after countless parents, aunts, uncles, and family friends have rewatched the first 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� trilogy 鈥� and possibly the disappointing prequels 鈥� with next-generation fans. 鈥淭he Force Awakens,鈥� in turn, will serve as a bridge between the old and new by featuring the return of much-loved characters such as聽, General (n茅e Princess)聽, and聽, alongside new favorites, including聽,听, and聽.

Composer John Williams has returned to score 鈥淭he Force Awakens,鈥� revisiting some timeless musical themes. Familiar ships are returning, too, with a fallen Star Destroyer, the Millennium Falcon, and scores of X-wing and TIE fighters eagerly spotted in popular聽. 聽

鈥淚n the past few years, we鈥檝e really seen the Internet diversify in a way it wasn鈥檛 before,鈥� says Luke Y. Thompson, editor of聽聽a pop culture website. 鈥淪tar Wars fandom is easier to find ... online versus fans of 鈥楢kira鈥� or 鈥楩irefly鈥� or whatever else,鈥� he adds. 鈥淭he principle, though, is the same ... there are millions out there who share the interest, and once that awareness hit it became OK to say so in public.鈥�

The science fiction franchise鈥檚 immeasurable influence could be also be seen in viral pictures of Star Wars sand sculptures in Japan by the artist聽聽and a statue of Vladimir Lenin in Ukraine that was transformed by fellow artist Alexander Milov into聽.

Where a 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� enthusiast was once a stereotypical male nerd, that fan base now spans all the way to the Obama administration, which issued a humorous response to a聽

Even the popular ad line might need to be changed to 鈥淏aseball, apple pie鈥�and Star Wars.鈥� In 2015, 25 of 30 Major League Baseball teams held Star Wars-related events at their home ballparks. Minor League Baseball (MiLB) squads, in turn, hosted 46 Star Wars-themed games this past season. (The winner of the 2015 MiLB alternate themed聽聽was the Potomac Nationals鈥� Lando Calrissian top, with other Star Wars graphics featured on another seven of the 80 entries.) 聽 聽 聽 聽聽