The Party in Full Force
by Vera H-C ChanMay 24, 2007
May the Force—oh, forget it. People will be chanting the familiar mantra all weekend to commemorate the 30 years since a galaxy far, far away arrived in movie theaters on May 25, 1977. At that time, the Akira Kurosawa-inspired film was just plain old "Star Wars": no 'new hope,' no roman numerals... heck, the Internet didn't even exist.
But today, the Lucas empire rules cyberspace. "Star Wars" ranks in the top 1,000 searches, and that's not including all the queries for Lego, various video and online games, costumes, characters, stamps, and parodies.
The galactic phenomenon retains its youthful and predominantly male appeal. A third of the online Jedis are under 13, and 7 out of 10 searchers are guys. Most of these young masters apparently monitor "Star Wars" from the Plains outpost of Indianapolis, which twice hosted the official convention. Other regions channeling the Force are Oklahoma City and Fresno (not far from George Lucas' Modesto hometown).
Speaking of the convention, this year C4 is being held May 24-28 in Los Angeles, a bit closer to the Hollywood nucleus of the "Star Wars" galaxy. We're hoping the annual celebration explains why cyber-inquiries for "star wars costumes" start in April, and don't let up until after Halloween. So, expect to see blaster rifle-toting stormtroopers, quip-quoting Yodas, and heavy breathing evil-doers in full Force. For a sample of the creatures that'll be making an appearance at the Convention, here are the most-searched characters this week...