Some consider the Nation’s Capital as “Fantasyland on the Potomac”. Other outsiders are “Fed Up” with the Federal City. It's better to consider D.C. as “the District of Calamity” (sic).
In May 1977, the original Star Wars film (now known as Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope) premiered at movie theaters. Practically no one expected the tremendous success of Star Wars, as it grossed $775 million at the box office. But the George Lucas film became a sustained cultural phenomenon. When Tory politician Margaret Thatcher first became British Prime Minister, the London Evening Standard published a punny congratulatory ad from the Conservative party which played off of Star Wars rebel imagery vis-a-vis Labour's deathgrip on UK politics after 1978-79 Winter of Discontent.
While the politics of the pun's origination may have faded, the slogan became a geek touchstone. It was a catch phrase on Facebook for "Luke Skywalker Day" in 2008. The first organized grassroots holiday was in Toronto, Canada in 2011. Since Disney took over Lucasfilms in 2013, it has become a celebrated ersatz holiday. It might make you want to sing. Like lounge singer Nick Winters on Saturday Night Live so many moons ago? Almost. But it might inspire the Boogie Storm to make some mad jumps.
Nerds can be willing to spend enormous amounts on kitschy tchotchke which seems to relive their fantasy obsessions from childhood. Think of the gaggle of geeks from the television sit-com “Big Bang Theory” where Shelton wanted to get his vintage Apple II signed by the great Woz. Or the prized mint-in-box Wesley Crusher Star Trek action figure from Will Wheaton. Or Shelton being tempted to play with the mint-in-box Star Trek Transformer Device by a hallucinated voice of Leonard Nimoy. The value to collectors revolves around signatures and being pristine. Ironically, the obsession to be mint-in-box usually negates the pleasure of enjoying the item.
This phenomenon is not just a Hollywood exaggeration. Fan boys are fulminating over the auction of a rare Star Wars promotional poster. The 1978 poster seems kind of silly, with the ‘Droids bedecked with philharmonic instruments to promote the Star Wars Symphonic Suite. Even though the item is considered somewhat uncool because of the symphonic campiness, it is a rare piece of memorabilia AND it is signed by Star Wars creator George Lucas. Therefore this geek grotesquerie will probably sell at auction for between $5,000 and $8,000. Rather than ridicule the Star Wars Symphonic Suite as an unopened package for being cute yet conventional marketing, I suggest enjoying the symphonic suite composed by John Williams. It is a contemporary classical piece that resonates in the popular culture.
It is certainly has more class than "Nick Winters, the Lounge Lizard" (a.k.a. Billy Murray) and his Lounge Medley from Saturday Night Live.
Nerds can be willing to spend enormous amounts on kitschy tchotchke which seems to relive their fantasy obsessions from childhood. Think of the gaggle of geeks from the television sit-com “Big Bang Theory” where Shelton wanted to get his vintage Apple II signed by the great Woz. Or the prized mint-in-box Wesley Crusher Star Trek action figure from Will Wheaton. Or Shelton being tempted to play with the mint-in-box Star Trek Transformer Device by a hallucinated voice of Leonard Nimoy. The value to collectors revolves around signatures and being pristine. Ironically, the obsession to be mint-in-box usually negates the pleasure of enjoying the item.
This phenomenon is not just a Hollywood exaggeration. Fan boys are fulminating over the auction of a rare Star Wars promotional poster. The 1978 poster seems kind of silly, with the ‘Droids bedecked with philharmonic instruments to promote the Star Wars Symphonic Suite. Even though the item is considered somewhat uncool because of the symphonic campiness, it is a rare piece of memorabilia AND it is signed by Star Wars creator George Lucas. Therefore this geek grotesquerie will probably sell at auction for between $5,000 and $8,000. Rather than ridicule the Star Wars Symphonic Suite as an unopened package for being cute yet conventional marketing, I suggest enjoying the symphonic suite composed by John Williams. It is a contemporary classical piece that resonates in the popular culture.
It is certainly has more class than "Nick Winters, the Lounge Lizard" (a.k.a. Billy Murray) and his Lounge Medley from Saturday Night Live.
