A couple of weeks ago, the trailer for the latest Star Wars movie, The Last Jedi, was released. Several co-workers gathered in our conference room and watched it multiple times on the Surface Hub.
It was a shared experience between lovers of this movie saga. We dissected the meanings behind the dialogue, commented on the music, spoke about how awesome December was going to be when the movie is actually released. It was fun. It was enjoyable. Like I said, a shared experience.
But when I got home, I realized that this unifying experience was not limited to our conference room. Twitter was alive with the buzz of the trailer. People from every walk of life: Geeks, Politicians, Sports Writers, Tech CEOs, Software developers, Literary Writers. The whole gamut was represented in the “audience” of Star Wars fans.
It occurred to me at that moment, that Star Wars is THE unifying force (pun not intended) in our current climate. With so much divisiveness present in our collective society, this one movie franchise seems to have the power to bring us all together.
I wonder if George Lucas ever dreamt that would be the case way back when this story was forming in his mind.
Editorial Note: Despite the tragedies that are the prequels, he should be very, very proud.
