What franchise has had the closest cultural impact since Star Wars?

Re: What franchise has had the closest cultural impact since Star Wars

I'm among the few then who wouldn't get all Potter references. Muggle, got that one.
Snape? No clue.
I haven't seen one movie in the series.

 

Re: What franchise has had the closest cultural impact since Star Wars

Love it or hate it, I would say that "The Simpsons" has had a significant cultural impact. Hell, a few years ago they even added the word "D'oh" into the Merriam Webster Dictionary.

 

Re: What franchise has had the closest cultural impact since Star Wars

You raise a very good point. The Simpsons has endured and wormed its way into our culture. Cowabunga!

 

Re: What franchise has had the closest cultural impact since Star Wars

The only way to answer this is to wait as long as Star Wars has been around and then gauge the impact of all the shows mentioned here.

 

Re: What franchise has had the closest cultural impact since Star Wars

Potter, back in theatres, now in 4D Holovision!

That's what I was getting at upthread, yes. I wouldn't see it as milking though; that has a negative connotation that isn't necessarily justified. I'd see it as managing the brand/franchise to find the sweet spot between income vs quality. Sure, both ST and SW have had a lot of valueless merchandising each, but they've also both put out a lot of good material over the decades. If you want to create a lasting cultural impact, I think that managing the franchise in this way is important.

Whether Rowling wants to do this is, I suppose, the question. I'm sure WB, Bloomsbury, et al would not be averse to extending the franchise where possible.

I'd disagree with the way the last sentence is phrased. I don't think the casual viewer necessarily sees the presence of characters from other movies as meaning they're all part of a grand universe. More "Hey that's cool, they got Iron Man (or whoever) into this one too". Slightly different emphasis to yours, though it doesn't take away from the good point that comics have had a big cultural influence beyond those who read them with any regularity.

That's a good addition to the thread. Plus, the Simpsons has been around long enough to have stood the test of time in terms of impact. While we're on the subject of cartoon franchises, the impact of the Looney Tunes and the Disney characters has got to be worth considering in the context of the thread too. Who doesn't know who Bugs or Mickey are?

There's also a wider point to be made about the difference between Brand Recognition and Cultural Impact, though obviously there's an overlap between the two. Star Wars influenced not just its own genre but the whole nature of a blockbuster action movie in some fundamental ways that were carried forward by others.

It would be interesting to consider whether/how some of hte other brands being discussed have done so e.g. Potter, Marvel, Simpsons, etc.

 

Re: What franchise has had the closest cultural impact since Star Wars

^But don;t the likes of Looney Tunes, Disney Characters (mickey etc..), DC and Marvel comic books precede SW, being as they all come out before SW? The question as I read it to mean was shows/franchises created after SW came out.

 

Re: What franchise has had the closest cultural impact since Star Wars

Harry Potter and Twilight, hands down. And definitely not Mass Effect. Gamers may find it teh übergame but the game does not appeal to the mass (sic).
Mass Effect (and Halo to that extent -- and I'm a huge Halo fan) are a niche.

 

Re: What franchise has had the closest cultural impact since Star Wars

You know I forgot about the Disney Characters. While they arguably have had more staying power than even Wars, most children today I'd say still think Potter is more "kewl," than Mickey is - also Potter has more cross over adult appeal than the Disney characters.

 

Re: What franchise has had the closest cultural impact since Star Wars

My Little Pony

 

Re: What franchise has had the closest cultural impact since Star Wars

Harry Potter.

And, as Star Wars was completely revolutionary in its day, with reverberations to the present day and for years to come, so is Harry Potter, by being an überly successful book series before it was an überly successful movie series, something which Star Wars was never and will never be. From this point of view, Harry Potter followed the Star Wars pattern in reverse, and it appears more culturally refined by being literary.

 

Re: What franchise has had the closest cultural impact since Star Wars

Good point; I and others had forgotten that qualifier.

Still, if the OP proves not to mind the digression, I'm personally interested what people think about them too.

 

Re: What franchise has had the closest cultural impact since Star Wars

Sure it's a discussion. ideas of brand recognition and the above are natural.

 

Re: What franchise has had the closest cultural impact since Star Wars

Brand recognition and cultural impact are two different things.

In the UK, the likes of DW, ST and SW have had a cultural impact as most people will understand referrences to them, HP to a certain extent. As for brand recognition, you have the Disney Characters, Loony Tunes, as for the likes of DC and Marvel Comics, I suspect that had little to no brand recogniton in the UK. The recent slew of Superhero movies made have raised awarness but I supsect If I asked the average person on what they thought Marvel made (they would associate it with dried milk powder) as for DC (is that some sort of electrical company or the capital of the USA)

 

Re: What franchise has had the closest cultural impact since Star Wars

Although it is important not to ignore that Jaws had already begun the trend of big-budget, high concept blockbusters with a saturated release and massive advertising budget. Star Wars is a key moment in this phenomenon, but it is not the only moment, nor is it the first.

 

blockbuster first & star wars

Yes for those who were not born or do not know:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockbuster_(entertainment)

 

Re: What franchise has had the closest cultural impact since Star Wars

That's a good point, but with the benefit of time & distance, the sheer magnitude of SW feels greater, as if it acted like an inflection point. Part of that perception admittedly may simply be the relatively long lag time between coming up with the idea of a movie, and getting it into theatres (SW came out just a couple of years after Jaws, after all).

Interesting article popped up today to support this point re: Marvel Comics brand recognition in the UK:

Avengers movie renamed for UK market

 

Re: What franchise has had the closest cultural impact since Star Wars

The new Trek.

 

Re: What franchise has had the closest cultural impact since Star Wars

^ Good one.

 

Re: What franchise has had the closest cultural impact since Star Wars

I'l have to go with Potter. It was the first thing that came to my mind while thinking about the initial question.

But that effect was constrained to the U.S. mostly. On a global scale, the masses know Spidey, the X-Men and that's pretty much it.
The movies are only starting to change that.

 

Re: What franchise has had the closest cultural impact since Star Wars

I can see why because when I thing of the Avengers I think of the TV show. Starring Patrick McNee and Diana Rigg (amognest others). Even though it orginally aired before I was born.