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

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

Whats so funny?

 

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

As a fellow Brit, I have to kind of disagree. Perhaps the words "Marvel" and "DC" might engender a slightly confused response but "Batman", "Spiderman", "Superman" - people would instantly get it.

Kids at my sons' age (3 and 5) are dressing up like Spiderman for birthday parties having never seen a film or cartoon, or read a comic, about him. They just "know" he's a hero. Same with Batman and Superman.

That's cultural impact; when the image/icon or "idea" are so embedded within our culture, that 3 year olds understand perfectly even without a clear frame of reference.

Back to the OP, here's a suggestion:

Transformers.

And not just because of the recent live action films (though they've clearly helped). Since 1984, they've been pretty omnipresent and I'd argue a big cultural impact/brand recognition around the world, noticeably so in the UK.

 

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

That's a good suggestion. Pokémon deserves consideration, too, in that case.

 

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

How about Mario then? Several cartoons, live action movie, live action television series, comics, breakfast cereals, etc.

 

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

Well, the Marvel/DC distinction is lost on most Americans, too. Only fans really know (or care) which character belongs to which company.

 

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

I never commented on individual characters from DC/Marvel as not being regonised merely the brand it's self. The likes of Superman/Batman and Spiderman are well known in the UK. X-Men or Fantastic Four might be next. But others such as Green Lantern/ Thor etc.. would be less well known

 

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

Agreed. Star Wars references are everywhere, TV and movies are filled with them, so is pop music... Phrases like "the force is strong with you / him / this one", or "he / she gave in to the dark side" can be heard in the streets, on the bus / in subways... I've heard people whistle the Imperial March in public more times than I can count... People wearing SW-themed clothes can be seen anywhere anytime (ALL AGES!)... And we're talking about the franchise that's been around for 35 years!

I don't see how anything could be compared to this, really. HP could be #2, I don't know... But does it come close? Please...

 

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

Really? And you live in America?

 

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

Martrix references, in what form, in what medium?
I can't recall the last mainstream reference to the Matrix that specifically addressed the films. If I hear/see Matrix mentioned at all it's almost in the negative as it's referring to the now overused 'bullet time' filming style.

 

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

Yeah, I agree.. and meanwhile 30 rock had ewoks on it last week.

 

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

IIRC, TheForce.net used to keep track of the Star Wars references in media. It appears that, at some point, they just stopped bothering.

 

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

This has never happened to me.

By any chance, do you live on Byss?

 

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

Geek culture can sometimes exist in a vacuum. Some stuff isn't nowhere near as well-known as we think they are outside of our community. Some shows and films may drop a geek reference because there's a former (or current) geek writing the script and it's something of a personal shout-out, IMO.

 

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

and lets be honest, that can get far worse with internet forums like this one.

Of course Bronies have taken it to the (il)logical conclusion, by which I mean I can spend years in the real world, and not meet a Brony or even have reason to discuss My Little Pony. I come online, and at times (certainly on this site) im never a few more than 5 posts from a Brony.

As we saw from the Star Trek XI thread, forums have there own in-jokes, that are unique to that forum, but meaningless elsewhere.

 

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

Robau is objectively awesome.

 

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

And I saw a Star Wars McDonald's commercial a couple hours ago . . .

 

How YA like "The Hunger Games" Came to Rule Fantasy and Scifi Films

Filmcritic did a story about fantasy/sf that sems to fit and mentions all the relevant items:

It goes into detail about each topic.
1. Stories, Cinematically Built
2. Built-in, Fanatical Audiences
3. Young (Yet Identifiable) Heroes
4. Ancillary Merchandising

How YA like "The Hunger Games" Came to Rule Fantasy and Scifi Films
http://www.filmcritic.com/features/2012/03/ya-hunger-games-scifi-films/

While harry potter took in all that money and has been the next cultural impact ad star wars the next one could be after 4 movies of The Hunger Games or another YA SFF series.

 

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

You all named so many franchises here... but I also think the only comparable cultural impact in it's size had THE SIMPSONS.
THE SIMPSONS are for TV, what STAR WARS was for the movies.

TV would not be the same without the Simpsons. Culture would not be the same. "D'Oh" is just one example.

If Potter can stand the test of time, and people will be so active about it in let's say 2025, then we can add it to the mix...
Otherwise, look at how fast entertainment has become. Something that is "IN" today, is "OUT" tomorrow.
Does anyone on the street remember franchises like "Lost", "Sex and the City"?

Out of the cinemas or TV... out of memory.

STAR WARS was a revolution in cinemas (sorry... but although AVATAR was visually very impressive, it did not add anything new: We had motion capture since the late 90ies, CGI planets and landscapes were already established in SW and LOTR... yes 3D was impressive, but honestly... it seems it was just a short-lived excursion, look at recent 3D releases), and I doubt there will be a second impact like this.

 

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

I saw a Star Wars themed commercial for the new Volkswagen Passat earlier this afternoon. It was actually pretty awesome and funny.

 

mocap technology

I had to look it up:
wikipedia says:

Interesting stuff.