STAR WARS 30 years later: After three decades, the Force is still with Tahoe

On May 25, 1977, filmmaker George Lucas released a movie that would influence American pop culture, and the movie business, for generations to come. By the time "Star Wars" appeared on the screen at Tahoe Cinema on July 1 of that year, the science-fiction adventure had already become a hit across the country.

Rachel Shelton, who moved to the South Shore in 1978, saw "Star Wars" in the theater the year before, when she was 22.

"It was the first movie I ever stood in line for, and also the first movie I saw where there was a huge audience reaction, with clapping etc., like you'd normally see for a stage play," said Shelton, who has worked as a ski instructor at Heavenly Mountain Resort, a movie theater manager, and a 21 dealer at Harveys over the years.

"With 'Star Wars,' George Lucas created the first real epic sci-fi saga in movie history, along with the beginning of amazing (at the time) special effects in movies that we'd started to see in '2001: A Space Odyssey' and 'Close Encounters,'" Shelton said. "It also marked a major shift in movie sound with special sound effects, the use of important spatial elements and sub-frequencies, along with glorious symphonies -- something that had never been done in a movie before."



For Michael Stroschein, manager of Neighbors Bookstore in South Lake Tahoe, "Star Wars" has a special place in his childhood. Suffering from severe asthma when he was 9, Stroschein was hospitalized, in an oxygen tent, when his family went to see "Star Wars" in the theater.

"My mother came in and acted out the whole movie for me ... every day, for weeks" Stroschein said. "I was supposed to be released from the hospital three days after the movie would be gone from our theater. So my mother begged and pleaded, and the doctor let me out of the hospital. I went straight from the hospital to the movie theater to see the movie. It was great. I've been a huge fan ever since."

"As I grew older, as I became more interested in the greater story, I think that the social commentary, the mythology of it, the background, the depth of the story -- all those things made it really intriguing and gave us more of a modern myth," Stroschein said. "Where our society's kind of lacking in myths, it gave us this whole structure that we could look at, with heroes and villains, things like that."

"I think what Lucas really did well was he took a myth-style structure and put it into a movie," said Stroschein. "So what that did was gave you a representation of a myth that everyone could see in exactly the same way."

"I don't think that there is any aspect of our culture that hasn't been impacted in one way or another," said Stroschein. "I think that, like with most myths, when a culture embraces them, it tends to impact everything they do. And I think that movies, the way we speak, our upbringing ... is all influenced by that -- and not just the American culture, but the culture worldwide. I think that it's impacted everyone, because it's a very specific visual-audio experience, that everyone gets exactly the same thing."

While the "Star Wars" films are enjoyed by viewers of all ages, the humor, action and flashy effects appeal especially to younger viewers.

"Lucas has always focused on children," Stroschein said. "I think one of the reasons for that is he understands that kids grow up. The little boy who was in the hospital, whose mother was acting out 'Star Wars' for him, became a fan who's probably spent thousands of dollars on various 'Star Wars' stuff -- movies and DVDs and books and toys. When I was a kid, I must have had 200 action figures. I have the original, first-edition comic books in nicely sealed plastic bags. ... So, I think he understands that the story appeals very well to children ... because those kids grow up, and their kids grow up, and it's how myths are created."

"My 4-year-old son, Johnny, is obsessed with 'Star Wars,'" said Meyers resident Jason Chatham. Though the boy is too young to have seen any of the films in the theater, he has a Tupperware case full of action figures, several light-up toy light sabers, and often likes to dress up as Darth Vader.

"He saw Episodes 4, 5, and 6 that we owned. But especially after seeing Episodes 1 and 2 he was hooked. He seemed to really take to Anakin, maybe because he saw him as a young kid, too," Chatham said.

"Star Wars" has become a bridge to talking about many life topics for Chatham's family. "We discuss why Anakin became Darth Vader, and how bad things can happen, but it is important to learn how to deal with it. For Johnny, I feel that being a Jedi helped him to feel powerful and able to face some of his fears. All the episodes are very entertaining, but they also provide valuable life lessons. And everyone knows how much boys like super heroes. The stories are totally based on fiction, but the underlying themes are things that people can relate to."

Four years ago, Kristina and Kouri Penn bought a preschool in South Lake Tahoe and named it Padawan Learners, after the Jedi students in the "Star Wars" films.

"My husband is a fanatic," Kristina Penn said of her husband, whose light-up light saber replica "has the place of honor in front of our flat-screen TV, which has every 'Star Wars' movie ever playing on it constantly."

The couple's Padawan Learners Preschool features many "Star Wars" books and toy light sabers to keep children entertained, continuing the legacy of "Star Wars" for a new generation.

For older students of the "Star Wars" universe, there may soon be a venue for higher Jedi learning at Lake Tahoe Community College.

Adjunct faculty instructor Daryl Frazetti, who has taught several anthropology courses on "Star Trek" at the college, is working on a proposal for an Anthropology of "Star Wars" course, which, if approved, could be on the college's schedule as soon as next year.

"'Star Wars' comes at you from Greek and Biblical mythology," said Frazetti. "This whole idea of the Force brings in Asian philosophy. ... When you really look at it, they deal with a lot of the same social and political issues that 'Star Trek' deals with; it's just done in a different manner."

"You can also see political issues of imperialism; you see issues of slavery; you see issues of racism; so all those components are part of 'Star Wars' ... and I think that those issues, which people see in 'Star Wars' -- they see their own lives; they see their own societies being mirrored."

"I think that's why it's endured for 30 years -- why 'Star Trek' has endured for 40 years," Frazetti added. "They mirror societies, and they draw on our mythologies, our history, and our personal and political and social issues, and they show them to us, and they address them, and that's what brings people in, and that's what keeps people coming back."