The first memory that I can recall is of Star Wars. Well, really it’s of the chandelier in the lobby of the old Belle Meade Theatre (more recently BookStar).

The battles in Return of the Jedi were a little too intense for my 3-year-old mind to handle I suppose. I would later have a similar experience when John Travolta plunged a needle into Uma Thurman’s chest in Pulp Fiction, only it was at Nipper’s Corner, and there wasn’t a chandelier, and I still have nightmares about Vinnie Barbarino stabbing me - but that’s another story.

But with Tuesday’s release of the Star Wars Trilogy on DVD, I can’t help but reflect on the impact the movies have had not just on my fragile little mind, but on our entire culture.

Too often it is assumed that only geeks like Star Wars, and while (we) they certainly are more fanatical about the films than most, that’s ignoring how immensely popular the trilogy was and is with the mainstream. The original three films have grossed over $1 billion at the domestic box office after all - and that ain’t all geek money.

One of the main things Star Wars has going for it is it tells such an epic story. Epic films nowadays usually come from popular books - Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings - and while Star Wars owed a lot to its sci-fi and pulp roots, it was still fresh and purely cinematic. Fathers betraying sons, rebellions against empires, planets blowing up … Ewoks. By now we take it for granted that Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker’s father, but when that was first revealed in The Empire Strikes Back in 1980? Not even Janet’s wardrobe malfunction tops that shocker.

And the characters - aside from delivering one of the most iconic film villains of all time, is there a better example of casting, writing and acting kismet than Harrison Ford as Han Solo? The perfect actor to play the perfect rogue. Luke may be the hero of the piece, but Han gets the girl, the cool ship, the sidekick - all the fun.

Regardless of whatever you may think of the prequels (lifeless!), regardless of whatever you may think of George Lucas continuing to tamper with the original movies (let go, old man!), regardless of whether you even personally like the films or not, this DVD release serves as a reminder of how engaging and well-done popcorn movies can be. To light fire to the imagination of an entire generation is no small feat, especially considering it was done from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

Back in the lobby, my father calmed me down and asked me if I wanted to go home. But I sucked it up, went back into the theater and, like so many others, never really came back out.