‘Star Wars’ Awakens A New Generation

BY ASHISH VALENTINE, RIANE LENZNER-WHITE AND SHALAYNE PULIA

Star Wars: The Force Awakens broke box office records over the weekend, earning nearly $250 million in North America, based on studio estimates. 

Four decades after the first Star Wars hit theaters, different generations have approached the latest film in very different ways.

University of Illinois students and Roger Ebert Fellows Ashish Valentine, Riane Lenzner-White and Shalayne Pulia reviewed the opening-night screening of The Force Awakens and convened in the studios of Chicago Public Radio to discuss what the Star Wars phenomenon meant (or didn’t mean) to them, going into the film.