COLLECTING STAR WARS
With Star Wars, the more you learn, the less you know. Characters, chronology, vehicles, backstories and so, so many licenses, all so intertwined that to dive into it all is to understand the very definition of “going down the rabbit hole.” Nevertheless, what a fantastic, intense, intellectual fall it is. There is no bottom, and that is why Star Wars has lasted more than 40 years.
From the initial screenplay, born in May 1973, the ways in which a single fan base broadened the story in directions no one individual ever could is a true human phenomenon. Star Wars is a common thread tying together humanity’s global culture (even if you haven’t seen all the films).
Creator George Lucas has never been shy about where his ideas for the Star Wars saga came from and what he intended them to represent. Lucas cherry picked outer space battles from characters such as Flash Gordon and fashioned C-3PO after Maschinenmensch from Fritz Lang’s Metropolis. The cinematography and storylines pay homage to director Akira Kurosawa and Lucas’ fascination with the 1955 cinematic visual effects from the British war picture, The Dam Busters, influenced spaceship dogfights in Star Wars.
Memorabilia from these sources are valuable in their own right, but serious saga collectors seek out these pieces because they draw a straight line to plot, characters and settings. Fans see these influences as diverse and derived from storytelling techniques as old as humanity. Critics see too many
