You might be interested in a previous thread on the same topic:

-o- Why did Star Wars become such a cultural phenomenon in 1977? (242 comments | 1 year old)

• The topmost top level comment puts the movie in perspective with the science fiction that preceded it as well as the story structure, genre conventions, and aesthetics of the movies that surrounded it.

-Followup Questions

If, after looking through the above thread, there are major questions that have been left unanswered or specific topics given insufficient detail, feel free to ask followup questions. Liberal quoting from the thread is encouraged to both allow for clearer answers and to prevent users from wasting time repeating points already addressed.

The following users are flaired on the topic and/or have answered questions on it in the past, and would likely be able to answer these followup questions:

-o- /u/rocketsocks

-o- /u/BonSequitur

-o- /u/Wades-in-the-Water?