On May 25, 1977, the world once again changed forever. And very few had hope for the movie that had changed the world forever to perform well at the box office. It debuted in thirty-two movie theaters, with the distributor forcing the theaters to screen the film by threatening not to provide them with copies of one highly-anticipated movie. 

That highly-anticipated movie was “The Other Side of Midnight” — an adaptation of Sidney Sheldon’s best-selling novel of the same name. It did okay at the box office, earning around $25 million on a budget of $9 million, but most likely, you never heard of it. The movie that theaters didn’t want to screen – as space opera was dead for more than a decade – was “Star Wars.” 

• A Box Office Blockbuster
• A Never-Ending Franchise
• A Cultural Phenomenon

Those are just a few words that can be said about Star Wars. Here’s the funny thing: the franchise that we now view as an inseparable part of our culture could not have happened at all, given how little faith the film’s distributor, 20th Century Fox, had in it. But Star Wars did wonders at the box office, earning over $500 million during its initial run. 

But what caused such a success? What turned the franchise into a cultural phenomenon almost instantly? It remains a frequent topic for film analyses and essays today. Even if, instead of writing an essay on your own, you order it from essay services that you will find on write my essay for me Google search results, you are well aware of the characters and their stories. 

You’ve surely heard the “Star Wars (Main Title)” or “The Imperial March (Darth Vader’s Theme)” by John Williams at least once in your life. You know who Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, or Darth Vader is without watching a single installment of the franchise. And if you haven’t, you miss a lot of important themes in the franchise. So, let’s check out the lessons we can learn from it. 

Embrace Your Uniqueness

Don’t stick out! God forbid, don’t stick out! Be like everyone else! Despite the positive changes occurring in our society, the “don’t stick out” policy is frequently utilized in schools and colleges — institutions that should help you develop your unique skills and abilities. It’s not a big deal, but it makes your time at educational institutions far from pleasant. 

Princess Leia once delivered the traditional wisdom not to be afraid of who you are. And there are two different ways to approach it. You can rebel, telling your teachers and professors what you think about their teaching methods. Or take a more understanding approach. After all, they have too many students to take care of each of them. But don’t give in. Be yourself. 

Seek Loyal Friends

Some are lucky to make great friends early on and carry that friendship through the years. Most of us go through parting ways with old friends and do not always make new ones. Our feelings are hurt, and we find it extremely difficult to trust new people. But sometimes, the most unlikely person becomes your loyal friend. Mind that Han Solo initially had zero interest in joining the Rebel Alliance. 

One thing that you keep in mind when deciding on your prospective friends is loyalty. Friends are loyal to each other. If your friend is dishonest with you, if they are not around when you need them the most, you cannot trust them. And there’s no need to hold on to people like that. It’s unlikely that your friendship will last long, and they surely won’t help you to destroy the Death Star. Most likely, they are working for the Galactic Empire. 

Small Actions Have Large Impact in the Long Run

You have a dream. You may try achieving it through education or other things, like side gigs. And, more often than not, we tend to believe in a sudden breakthrough rather than slowly building up to our prospective success. Yet, there’s no such thing as a sudden breakthrough. All stars who seem to become famous out of the blue spend years doing their art unnoticed. 

But the absence of signs that you’re on the right track and that you’re going to achieve something soon often makes you want to give up. You’re doing something seemingly with no results. Poe Dameron says in the Last Jedi, “We are the spark that will light the fire.” And little things that you do right now will have a big impact in the long run. So, don’t give up, and be open to new opportunities. 

It’s Never Too Late to Change

Shakespeare said that “All the world’s a stage,” and these words from his play “As You Like It” are quoted frequently, as they explain how society functions. You can take “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely Players” as a mere excuse for your or someone else’s actions. You can continue the phrase with “…and life is meaningless” for your late teens or early twenties existential crisis. But you don’t have to stick to one role.

If you’re a mere player, you can always take another role. Anakin Skywalker, aka Darth Vader, shifted from protagonist to antagonist, only to become a protagonist yet again in the last minutes of his life. So, it’s never too late to change, regardless of how many mistakes you’ve made. The change won’t erase them but will give you a new way. As Yoda said: “Do. Or do not do. There is no try.”

There’s No Single Perspective, and It’s Okay

We often fall victim to the naive idea that people see things the way we do. Then, when realizing we were completely wrong, we fall victim to another naive concept: friends are those who subscribe to my point of view, and enemies are those who don’t. And that’s how dictatorships are born!

There’s no single perspective because everyone sees and interprets things individually. And that’s okay. You can’t agree on every aspect with your friends. And those who have different opinions are not your enemies. Unless you are Emperor Palpatine or the opposite opinion supports crimes against humanity. 

Final Thoughts

It’s always easy to dismiss something as popular as the Star Wars saga as nothing more than just a bombastic franchise that offered and continues to offer special effects that have never been seen before. But it’s much deeper than that. Maybe it doesn’t have the smartest ideas out there, but as you can see, there are some useful takeaways. Check it out if you haven’t seen it, or re-watch it if you have, and may the force be with you.