The Star Wars Surprise

I had a chance to have dinner with my dad last night. We're both nerdy film fans so the conversation naturally turned towards the new Star Trek film and, of course, Star Wars. (Mainly because Star Wars is better.) In 1977 My dad went to go see Star Wars. Actually, what he went to see was A Bridge Too far. What he ended up seeing was Star Wars.

Because A Bridge Too Far was sold out, my dad had to settle for some no name science fiction film. Needless to say, his expectations were not too high.The unexpected grandeur of Star Wars has kept my dad a die hard fan for 32 years. There are plenty of good reasons why people liked the movie, but one of the big ones is that it was unexpected and out of place. While A Bridge Too Far may have had the hype necessary to sell out that night, Star Wars continues to be a foundation of American culture.

People don't know what they want. They think they want more of the same, but better. What they really want is something better, but completely different. Opportunities abound for the out of place, the unexpected, the big surprise.