Post #705548

CatBus said:

Easterhay said:

...or at least accept that the prequels have their fanbase and are referenced in modern films as much as the original trilogy was in its day.

Your whole post presented a good point, but this section right here presents the limitations of that point. It's fair to measure cultural relevance through references in other prominent cultural works.  And, in works produced in the same eras, they may be about equal.  In works produced today, they may also be about equal.  I don't know either of these for a fact, but I'm willing to consider the possibility.  But the bolded text highlights the difference.

Star Wars was made nearly forty years ago and it's still a very relevant cultural work.  If someone made a reference to The Phantom Menace in 2036, it will make about as much sense to the audience as a "Dude, where's my car?" joke.  Yeah, that's a prediction, and yeah, predictions can be wrong.  But I simply see no way in hell the prequels will be anything more than an interesting footnote in 2036, akin to the Holiday Special today (which still gets referenced, but not much).