Ep.22: Star Wars Movies

Intro

Hello and Welcome to this episode of the podcast, "The Mnemonic Tree", where we add a single mnemonic leaf to our Tree of Knowledge. 

Today's episode will be on one of the biggest movie franchises of all time with an estimated value 70 billion, which was produced by the same man who created the Indiana Jones franchise.  And of course, I am talking about Star Wars which was created by George Lucas.

Today our mnemonic will cover the 9 Star Wars movies in order

So, with that being said, we will begin with a summary from Wikipedia.

 

 

Wikipedia Summary

Star Wars is an American epic space opera[1] multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film[a] and quickly became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various films and other media, including television seriesvideo gamesnovelscomic bookstheme park attractions, and themed areas, comprising an all-encompassing fictional universe.[b] Star Wars is one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time.

The original 1977 film, retroactively subtitled Episode IV: A New Hope, was followed by the sequels Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983), forming the original Star Wars trilogy. Lucas later returned to the series to direct a prequel trilogy, consisting of Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002), and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005). In 2012, Lucas sold his production company to Disney, relinquishing his ownership of the franchise. This led to a sequel trilogy, consisting of Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017), and Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019).

All nine films, collectively referred to as the "Skywalker Saga", were nominated for Academy Awards, with wins going to the first two releases. Together with the theatrical live action "anthology" films Rogue One (2016) and Solo (2018), the combined box office revenue of the films equated to over US$10 billion, making Star Wars the third-highest-grossing film franchise of all time.

Extracted from: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars]

 

 

Mnemonic

 

Star Wars Movies Mnemonic – A New, Empire, Returns, with Phantoms, and Clones, to get Revenge, on the Force, of Jedis, led by Skywalker

(Picture a new empire returning) 

 

1.                   Star Wars:  A New Hope (Episode IV) 1977

2.                   Star Wars:  The Empire Strikes Back (Episode V) 1980

3.                   Star Wars:  Return of the Jedi (Episode VI) 1983

4.                   Star Wars:  The Phantom Menace (Episode I) 1999

5.                   Star Wars:  Attack of the Clones (Episode II) 2002

6.                   Star Wars:  Revenge of the Sith (Episode III) 2005

7.                   Star Wars:  The Force Awakens (Episode VII) 2015

8.                   Star Wars:  The Last Jedi (Episode VIII) 2017

9.                   Star Wars:  The Rise of Skywalker (Episode IX) 2019

 

 

Five Fun Facts

 

1.       Behind Darth Vader were two people in the original film trilogy.  James Earl Jones was the voice and David Prowse was the body.  David Prowse was a British Bodybuilder who did not get along with Lucas who subsequently banned him from all “Lucasfilm associated events”.   Many believe it was because Prowse was too vocal about his displeasure when he learnt, that they would use another actor for the Vader unmasking scene.

 

2.      The original R2D2 actually spoke English, not just beeps and whistles.  And he used that English to insult and berate C-3PO.   This was in an original draft in 1974 and was eventually changed to the cute, lovable robot we have all come to know.

 

3.      The first Star Wars almost caused conflict between Tunisia and Libya.  Libya who was ruled by Muammar Gaddafi threatened conflict if a military vehicle was not removed from the Libyan border.  Well, that vehicle ended up being Lucas’s prop for the Jawa Sandcrawler.

 

4.    Carrie Fisher who played General Leia Organa slapped Oscar Isaac, who played Poe Dameron more than 40 times in an effort to get a scene right in the Last Jedi.

 

5.      Chewbacca who was played by Peter Mayhew in Return of the Jedi, needed bodyguards in bright vests while they were filming in the Redwood Forests of Northern California.  Why you ask?  Well, because they were extremely concerned about hunters and Chewbacca’s likeness to a bear.  True story!

And apparently, they were also worried about authorities trying to arrest him for creating … Wookieeleaks!

 

 

Three Question Quiz

 

Q.1.  In Star Wars, what do they call the power that binds the galaxy together?

 

Q.2.  What is the name of Han Solo’s ship?

 

Q.3.  How old is Yoda when he dies?  Options are 100, 500 or 900?

 

Bonus Q.  Who is the young Jedi Knight who becomes Darth Vader?

 

Bonus Q.  What did Obi-Wan Kenobi say to Luke Skywalker when he was having great difficulty using chopsticks at a Chinese Restaurant?

 

 

Mnemonic Recap

 

Star Wars Movies Mnemonic – A New, Empire, Returns, with Phantoms, and Clones, to get Revenge, on the Force, of Jedis, led by Skywalker

(Picture a new empire returning) 

 

  1. Star Wars:  A New Hope (Episode IV) 1977

  2. Star Wars:  The Empire Strikes Back (Episode V) 1980

  3. Star Wars:  Return of the Jedi (Episode VI) 1983

  4. Star Wars:  The Phantom Menace (Episode I) 1999

  5. Star Wars:  Attack of the Clones (Episode II) 2002

  6. Star Wars:  Revenge of the Sith (Episode III) 2005

  7. Star Wars:  The Force Awakens (Episode VII) 2015

  8. Star Wars:  The Last Jedi (Episode VIII) 2017

  9. Star Wars:  The Rise of Skywalker (Episode IX) 2019

 

 

Three Question Quiz Answers

 

Q.1.  In Star Wars, what do they call the power that binds the galaxy together?

A.  The Force

 

Q.2.  What is the name of Han Solo’s ship?

A.  The Millennium Falcon

 

Q.3.  How old is Yoda when he dies?  Options are 100, 500 or 900?

A.  900 years old

 

Bonus Q.  Who is the young Jedi Knight who becomes Darth Vader?

A.  Anakin Skywalker

 

Bonus Q.  What did Obi-Wan Kenobi say to Luke Skywalker when he was having great difficulty using chopsticks at a Chinese Restaurant?

A.  Use the forks, Luke!

 

 

Word of the Week

 

cantillate

kan-tl-eyt ]  

verb (used with object)

to chant; intone.

 

Example

“Use the force” cantillated through Luke Skywalkers head during the attack on the Death Star.

Extracted from: [https://www.dictionary.com/]

 

 

Website:  https://www.themnemonictreepodcast.com/

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-mnemonic-tree-podcast/id1591795132

Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/show/3T0LdIJ9PBQMXM3cdKd42Q?si=WQ1SnHo5QgOawX-mxS6yUA

 

 

References

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHBD_en-GBAU697AU698&sxsrf=AOaemvLPt0FzOzNau72fU4QongAxsNI1-w:1641893982205&q=Star+Wars:+The+Last+Jedi&stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAONgFuLVT9c3NExKNs0xNClMV-LSz9U3KIk3zzYp05LKTrbST8vMyQUT8cWpRZmpxVYgdvEjxgBugZc_7glLuU9ac_IaoyMXHsVC0lxsrnklmSWVQoJS_FyoNloxaTBVMXEw8CxilQguSSxSCE8sKrZSCMlIVfBJLC5R8EpNyZzAxggAeCITvaoAAAA&sa=X

https://www.dictionary.com/e/word-of-the-day/cantillate-2022-01-10/?param=wotd-email&click=ca77rh?param%3Dwotd-email&click=ca77rh&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Live%20WOTD%20Recurring%202022-01-10&utm_term=WOTD

https://bigquizthing.com/blog-post/star-wars-trivia-questions-for-fun-game-night/

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