No Right Answer: This Generation's "Star Wars"

[orangeapples]

Twili... what is that shining dot over in the distance?

Lets see here:

Lord of the Rings really does belong to a different era. It might actually belong to the Star Wars generation.

Star Wars prequels is a bit iffy since they were created by the Star Wars generation for both their generation and their children. It could be a new Star Wars revolution and this generation really does love Star Wars, but my stance against LotR is the same one I have with SW. It wasn't created for this generation.

Harry Potter really does belong to this generation through and through.

I'd like to put Avatar: The Last Airbender on the list, but the movie...

 

[search_rip]

Happy Birthday Dan !!!

On topic: "this generation's Star Wars" is still Star Wars although is the new crappy trilogy nah the Harry Potter movies are the closest thing

 

[awsome117]

I'll defend the star wars prequels another time, as I have something far more true and even more hateful to say.

This generations "Star Wars" is Twilight. As much as I hate and detest Twilight, I can't think of a movie/book series that has caused more of an uproar and "re(de)volution" since Star Wars. Yes Harry Potter is fantastic and I do enjoy them (even though I'm not a fantasy guy) but Twilight seems to be the more dominate presence here.

Would say more but class time.

 

[lord.jeff]

Toy Story should be this generations Star Wars.

 

[A. Smith]

Harry Potter wins hands down. If you ask a random person on the street to name a wizard, it's going to be Harry Potter, and not Gandalf.

More seriously, it had a bigger cultural splash then Lord of the Rings. It had more staying power. Not because it's better, but because it did. It made J.K. Rowlings the richest woman in Britain, it sold more merch then Jesus, and the movie franchse was seen by the entire planet.

In the nerd community, this might not be apparent, because everyone's "over" Harry Potter and because Lord of the Rings is a nerd cultural touchstone, but in the general population, LotR came and went while HP changed things.

I'd also like to add that the reason Lord of the Rings was even made was that fantasy became cool again in the late 90s early 2000s... because of Harry Potter. Harry Potter started this wave of fantasy (and even, maybe, of sci-fi/superhero/nerd movies). It was the proof that the general public was interested in more then just sitcoms on the big screen.

That's not to say that the LotR movies are not as good as the HP movies (in fact, I think they're far superior), but that's not what this debate is about. In fact, I'd say the original Star Wars movies were not that great. The acting was cheesy, the story predictable much of the time, and the effects didn't hold up. Yes, it was revolutionary at the time, but that doesn't make them good. It did make them stupendously popular, and it changed pop culture... Just like HP.

Finally, I'd like to add that while overall, LotR franchise might (might) have had more influence on culture (it invented adult fantasy), bringing us Dungeons and Dragons , WoW, and so on, it's influence has been spread out through the past 60 years. The movies themselves were not hugely influential, I think, because it was all things we'd seen before. It was done expertly, and it's a story that deserved to be on the big screen, but it was not revolutionary.

Unlike Star Wars... And Harry Potter.

 

[ritchards]

I'm Gen X, so... meh.

 

[GeorgW]

First off, happy birthday Dan!
Secondly, looking forward to next episode, about damn timefor a three-way. Though, who's gonna be the judge?
Thirdly, and most importantly, you're all wrong. HP seems like the wrong generation, but that depends on the definition of generation, so you may be correct. LotR has permeated every generation ever since it was made, gen Y can't call dibs on it. The SW prequels seems simply insulting to my generation, though I haven't heard your arguments.
For me, it's the Matrix. Just the first one. While just one movie, it had such a massive impact on the culture.

 

[Zen Toombs]

In my opinion, Harry Potter is more of this generations "Star Wars" than Lord of the Rings. Lord of the Rings was a far better set of movies, but it didn't have that enormous impact on our generation that Harry Potter did. Just my opinion when the video started and nothing was said during it altered my opinion, although adding the "Star Wars Prequels" was unexpected.

On the Star Wars Prequels, my thought is that they only technically qualify as this generation's "Star Wars"[footnote]By virtue of literally being the Star Wars of this generation[/footnote] and that otherwise that set of movies was close to irrelevant.

 

[Eri]

I'm gonna have to go with Mass Effect instead of any of your choices.

http://www.couchathletics.com/content/135-mass-effect-generations-star-trek

 

[draythefingerless]

I'll defend the star wars prequels another time, as I have something far more true and even more hateful to say.

This generations "Star Wars" is Twilight. As much as I hate and detest Twilight, I can't think of a movie/book series that has caused more of an uproar and "re(de)volution" since Star Wars. Yes Harry Potter is fantastic and I do enjoy them (even though I'm not a fantasy guy) but Twilight seems to be the more dominate presence here.

Would say more but class time.

no.

Twilight is actually a symptom of the impact of Harry Potter. Twilight exists and is famous because of the Harry Potter effect. Harry Potter has a theme park. A THEME. PARK. It is part of pop culture now IN EVERY PART OF CULTURE. Twilight is just infamously bad. It just got a following with a specific very small section of the population. Dont kid yourself, Twilights fans are actually the minority.

 

[k-ossuburb]

You're all wrong, it's the Matrix trilogy.

Like you said, it didn't have to be good movies, but what do you say to this?

The Matrix was a completely new take on the sci-fi genre that took classic concepts and reinvented them, just like Star Wars.

The Matrix popularized and revolutionized special effects in cinema, just like Star Wars.

The Matrix was the three-part journey of a young "chosen" hero destined to do great things, just like Star Wars.

The Matrix had a sage-like mentor who guided the hero through his trials and instructed him in the ways of doing really cool shit ("free your mind" vs The Force), just like Star Wars.

The Matrix encompassed several philosophical concepts and weaved them into its narrative for the good guys to live by, just like Star Wars.

The Matrix has been parodied, referenced, satirized and ?most importantly? emulated by many other movies following its release, just like Star Wars.

The Matrix encapsulated the current culture and made several references to things popular with the culture of the time (such as anime, kung-fu movies, video games, Dystopian futures, etc), just like Star Wars.

I could go on, but I think I've made my point, if you're looking for "this generation's Star Wars" look no further than The Matrix trilogy because it's all there, whether you like it or not, it's all there.

 

[Clankenbeard]

Harry Potter wins. If kids are willing to read to get their storyline fix, then it is the clear victor. Colleges are challenging one another to Quiddich competitions. There's now a Harry Potter section in Univerasl Studios. More people know about the Time Turner than Tina Turner. I can't name more than four people in Lord of the Rings, but I could rattle off a couple dozen HP folks.

In reading this thread, why exactly doesn't doesn't Warner Brothers start a Harry Potter MMO? Seems like low hanging fruit.

 

[Panzervaughn]

For it to be 'this generations star wars' I think there has to be certain criteria.
-There have to be people cosplaying it
-it has to be quoted to death
-it has to give rise to some sort of slave-leia level fetish.
-you have to be ashamed of it a large % of social circles in public

So, i think this generations 'Star Wars' is, and i weep for those damned souls, Jersey Shore.

 

[Arif_Sohaib]

........
Also, as dumb a sport as it is, Quiditch is becoming an actual activity. My college has a team. Jesus.

Congratulations on inventing the Jetpack or Flying Broom and the most dangerous sport since Buzkashi.

 

[adlerman1]

Is it just me or does everyone seem really drunk in this episode?

 

[Canadamus Prime]

This generations Star Wars? So in other words what's this generations most over-hyped, self-raped, fan wank, geek property.

 

[Firefilm]

Sorry Dan, your attempt at an English accent gave me cancer.

I hope you're proud of yourself.

I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt any one. Guess it's back to the whipping tree with me.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Sorry Dan, your attempt at an English accent gave me cancer.

I hope you're proud of yourself.

I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt any one. Guess it's back to the whipping tree with me.

Whipping won't be sufficient, I'm afraid.

I'll get the nipple clamps and the weasel.