main
side
curve
  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

A long long time ago in a galaxy far far away..

Discussion in 'Star Wars Saga In-Depth' started by EECHUUTA, Jul 24, 2008.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. EECHUUTA

    EECHUUTA Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 2007
    How long ago do you think this was compared to our modern time in this galaxy? By this I mean the events that happened in A New Hope.
     
  2. HemDazon90

    HemDazon90 Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 4, 2008
  3. MatthewZ

    MatthewZ Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 21, 2003

    I don't follow your question, but anything would just be a guess.
     
  4. KennethMorgan

    KennethMorgan Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Sep 29, 2004
    Since this tagline was added to make ANH, and the following saga, seem more like a modern fairy tale, it's meant to be intentionally vague, like, "Once upon a time..."

     
  5. Ramza

    Ramza Administrator Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 13, 2008
    1600 CE, 250.6 Light years away.

    Just a guess.
     
  6. EECHUUTA

    EECHUUTA Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 2007
    Ah. I think I get it. I just took that line to literally mean that it happened hundreds or several thousand years ago in a far away galaxy, and the characters had all died centuries ago.
     
  7. DarkLordoftheSith14

    DarkLordoftheSith14 Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 26, 2004
    Well, based on relativity of time and space it could be happening along with our current time and still be a long time ago. See when you look at a galaxy in a telescope the image you are seeing is millions of years old, because that is how long it takes the light or image to reach us. So if you traveled faster than light to say the andromeda galaxy the earth would now be millions of years older than when you left it. So if something is happening a "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" it could still be happening right now in relation to our space and time.

    That was everyone's physics lesson for today.
     
  8. Ramza

    Ramza Administrator Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 13, 2008
    Not exactly (I think). If you traveled faster than light to reach Andromeda (Or, theoretically, the Star Wars galaxy) you would arrive slightly before you left. Earth would be younger than when you left it...

    Boy, this would be an awkward time to misinterpret my Stephen Hawking...
     
  9. DarkLordoftheSith14

    DarkLordoftheSith14 Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 26, 2004
    Yes, you are correct my good, sir. I still think that relativity could allow for the Star Wars events to take place close to present day based on relativity, but I am not entirely sure on that. Hmmm...maybe...I don't know. Now I'm confused LOL!
     
  10. jedibri

    jedibri Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 2000
    I'm going to play a hunch and say "A long time ago." :D
     
  11. Arawn_Fenn

    Arawn_Fenn Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Jul 2, 2004
    So what?
     
  12. the_immolated_one

    the_immolated_one Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Sep 24, 2006
    You were correct to interpret that line the way you did because it did take place long ago and the main characters have all died in that fictional world.

    "George remarks to Rob Coleman that the story of Star Wars is actually recounted by R2-D2 to the Keeper of the Whills, one hundred years after Return Of The Jedi."----Source: The Making Of Star Wars Revenge Of The Sith
     
  13. Master_Starwalker

    Master_Starwalker Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 20, 2003
    I don't know that those are contradictory ideas. Lucas certainly intended it to be taken literally as pointed out in the quote mentioned by the_immolated_one but at the same time, it perfectly sets up the space fantasy atmosphere that is maintained throughout the series.
     
  14. the_immolated_one

    the_immolated_one Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Sep 24, 2006
    You're right, Starwalker. It is both a literal statement and just a nice imbellishment. The literal meaning is more for the die hard fans like us who have this unfortuate disposition to seek out Lucas quotes.
     
  15. rich-narco

    rich-narco Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    May 5, 2004
    no.

    Relativity PRECLUDES you from travelling faster than light. You can't.

    If it happened a long time ago - it happened a long time ago. Not "now - but you won't be able to see it for a million years".


     
  16. Solo_Watto

    Solo_Watto Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Jul 21, 2008
    It?s meant to be indefinable. Tangential. Both in the past and the future.
     
  17. Arawn_Fenn

    Arawn_Fenn Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Jul 2, 2004
    Yeah.
     
  18. QuiGonJade

    QuiGonJade Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 2, 2002
    Well I think it's obviously vague on purpose, but I've wondered about this too. I don't care that much about how far, far away. As for how long ago, I get this impression we're supposed to assume several centuries, maybe a few millennia. But it could also take place 2 billion years ago. Or it could take place in 1954. Hey, in 1977, people would've said 1954 was "a long time ago." They just don't call it 1954 on Tatooine or Dagobah or Coruscant.
     
  19. drg4

    drg4 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 30, 2005
    Somewhere around the time John McCain was born.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.