Poll: Why the name Star Wars?

[Chase Yojimbo]

Star Wars, a name that has lived everysince the 70's. The idea of which was made by George Lucas, and starting after 'The Empire Strikes Back' he made a buddy named Steven Spielberg. Afterwards they were known as the 'Makers of Dreams'.

But why did they use the name Star Wars? True, it is all about Wars, and true it is based in a galaxy far far away otherwise known as Stars. What I am asking is why do most Sci-Fi movies or shows usually have Star in it anyways? Theres Star Trek, Star Gate, and the older version of Battle'Star' Galactica *I will not count the abomination that has plauged the television recently* and a multitude of other movies and/or shows out there that no one cares about.

I am asking the Escapist for their Opinion in the matter.

 

[XJ-0461]

To establish that's it's in space?

Also, an equal number of Sci-Fi shows don't have "star" in the name; Doctor Who and Firefly for example.

 

[reg42]

Because it takes place in the stars, and the title immediately makes you think of space. That'd be my guess.

 

[Billion Backs]

Stars are most often associated with space, and naming a movie "Space Wars" would be corny even for the 70s, I think.

Although... Space Balls...

 

[Legion]

You have to remember that people tend to respond well to familiarity, so naming them all beginning with 'Star' makes people think of a certain image and so on. I am not sure which ones came first but they are all fairly old and that was probably the 'in' thing at the time.

 

[alxhrmn]

It's a war that takes place amongst the stars. I can't think of a more appropriate title.

 

[Sixties Spidey]

Yeah.... It's the story of a bunch of Wars taking place in the stars of a distant galaxy. What more could you ask for? Self-explanatory if you ask me.

 

[Tharwen]

Star Wars is by no means the only franchise with a horrible name that just stuck. Just consider the multitudes of others which I can't remember right now but I know exist because I've already had this thought myself.

 

[paragon1]

I wouldn't say that putting star in the name is all that popular. You just happen to have to extremely well known (and two not quite as well known)movies/shows with them in the title. Frankly, I'm surprised there's not a whole hell of lot more titles like them.

And what's your problem with the newer Battlestar Galactica? I thought it was great.

 

[Swifteye]

It's a war that takes place amongst the stars. I can't think of a more appropriate title.

Exactly. War in the stars. Star wars. If it was a war in the bayou it would be called bayou wars. That doesn't sound too bad. Alligators and men on those raft things fighting to the death to the tune on banjo music.

 

[Snarky Username]

Well probably because there were wars. That happened to take place in outer space. Where there are stars. So Star Wars.

 

[Hurr Durr Derp]

Star Wars... The name might be a little too obvious, but I guess that's one of its strengths. Even if you somehow never saw the movies, you'd have a fairly good idea of what kind of movie to expect the moment you heard the name.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Tell me, what should it have been called?

It is a civil war, taking place in space; therefore the universe involved and when the universe is involved, stars are involved.

 

[Arawn.Chernobog]

It's a War...

...

IN SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE!


Therefore, yeah

 

[2xDouble]

It's a title that does its job. Star Wars... wars in/about stars... what is it really about? what does that mean? you have to watch the movie. See how that works?

It also brings together two very different groups of people: the "I like stars" group of science-fiction fans (not celebrity stalkers, though I'm sure the title brought in its fair share of those), and the "I like wars" group of violence/action movie fans.

The simple, apt, and slightly vague titles are always the best.

Did the naming have anything to do with Star Trek (out before, but largely forgotten until after Star Wars and Star Trek: The Motion Picture), Battlestar Galactica (created by Lucas and ILM using techniques learned making Star Wars), or Stargate (movie made in 1997, 20 years after Star Wars)? Yes, yes it did...

Edit: (after actually reading the original post...) I think the "star" naming convention is simple coincidence. Star Trek: about a trek or journey through the stars, Star Wars: about a battle or war between the stars, Stargate: about a gateway between the stars...

Battlestar Galactica is a little different, because the "star" in the name is part of the class of ship or "Battlestar" (probably so named because it was made for battle and the size of a star, or some such supposition). It could easily have referred to an airplane, naval vehicle, space station... pretty much any type of ginormous military structure (though obviously it makes more sense as a spacecraft).

 

[cuddly_tomato]

Star Wars? The name is basically the best Lucas could think of at the time and was only put in as a placeholder. He never really expected this horrific film of gratuitous violence and graphic sex to be certified for general release, and so never bothered to actually change the name to something better before it was released.

 

[xvbones]

It is called Star Wars because Lucas lacks the imagination required to name his movies.
In order, the godawful names:

"The Phantom Menace"
"Attack of the Clones"
"Revenge of the Sith"
"A New Hope"
"The Empire Strikes Back"
"Return of the Jedi"

These are all terrible names. This is because Lucas is bad at titles.

/thread.

 

[RanD00M]

It was a war that happened on many start.So I guess that it as good a title as any.

 

[Dana22]

Because Star Peaces sounds stupid.