Vigilance
Explorer
Exactly this. And yet, it is still the worldwide #1 movie of all time. I would love to see a better movie up there.
Cheering on sales figures
Exactly this. And yet, it is still the worldwide #1 movie of all time. I would love to see a better movie up there.
I suspect it has a much more direct effect on the budget for future Star Wars movies. It's a given that Disney is going to make a ton of movies in the franchise. But the amount each one makes determines the amount that is spent making the next one.
Look at the first five Planet of the Apes movies if you want to see how this looks on a downward spiral.
Sorry, but that's just wrong. Avatar has left a huge lasting impression. Just because it doesn't haven't a dozen sequels and a shelf of toys in every store doesn't mean it's forgotten.
Avatar was to the Star Wars prequels what Star Wars was to Logan's Run. A breakaway hit with groundbreaking special effects that redefined the industry standard for both movie makers and movie viewers. I'd go as far as saying that techniques developed in Avatar are the reason Abrams was able to use practicals and sets that maintain the feel of old-school Star Wars while using modern CGI for aliens and other special effects.
Bedrockgames
Legend
I am not saying it wasn't an important movie, but no one really talks about it anymore the way they might about the Goodfellas, Matrix, Star Wars, Fight Club, The Godfather, and other movies that left a lasting impression. I feel like Avatar was a big even when it happened. I don't feel it had a big cultural impact (technological, absolutely, but not cultural).
billd91
Not your screen monkey (he/him)
I doubt it goes that deeply or as specific. They just want their tribe to be recognized as #1! Whether JJ Abrams (or any of the actors in Star Wars) have a better deal than Cameron (or the actors in Avatar) is generally immaterial to most people affirming loyalty to the tribe.
Do sports fans even do this? They may watch some of the contract deals but does anybody ever get up to crow that their team's payroll is the highest? Well, maybe Yankees fans. But most other sports in the US, for example, have various forms of salary caps that make it hard to keep a dominating, championship team from being broken up by players wanting more money and seeking their market value elsewhere. And I think most fans, given their druthers, would prefer to keep the dominating, championship team together even if it means their players aren't doing as well as the market will bear. And woe to the well-loved athlete who shows such disloyalty to a team by seeking money elsewhere as a free agent - the tribe will turn on that poor bastard.
You know, I don't agree. Nobody quotes that film. Most people can barely remember it. It was important because it was a 3D showcase, but culturally? Nothing. I couldn't name a singe character.
I'll give it "unobtainium". That stuck.
Ryujin
Legend
Motorcycle racers have been referring to trick parts as "unobtanium" since I was a kid, and probably decades before that.
Oh, well I guess it doesn't even get that then!
Ryujin
Legend
It was new to you, though, much in the same way that Jerry Seinfeld exposed a huge number of middle-Americans to New York Yiddishisms, that they had never heard before. They weren't new, but they were niche.
MechaPilot
Explorer
That doesn't matter. Being a "better" film is meaningless when it comes to revenues. If quality was relevant then the Transformers franchise wouldn't be earning so much.
Vigilance
Explorer
Of course. However, I can ROOT for a better movie to be the best selling movie of all time. I'd root for Avatar over Transformers, and I root for Star Wars over Avatar.
The question was why are people rooting for Star Wars. The answer isn't just tribalism.
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