I’ve heard Star Wars: Episode IV referred to as a “space opera” more than once, most recently today in Cracked.
The “space” part I get. I’m lost on the “opera” part. Since there are no horned-helmeted Viking maidens or passionate arias, I’m guessing it’s something in the plot or narrative technique.
Can any literature majors explain this to me, please?
Start with “soap opera”–ie cheap melodrama.
“Space Opera” implies soft sci-fi.
Traditional opera plots tend to be very melodramatic. In the early days of radio, a lot dramatic programs aimed at women were similarly melodramatic, and were mostly supported by adverts for detergents, hence “soap opera.” A little further down the line, melodramatic sci-fi radio shows became a big thing, and were derisively termed “space opera,” because they were viewed as similarly low-brow fare, but for men instead of women.
Of course, westerns were called “horse operas.”
Sounds apt.
“Opera” to me means emphasizing on the emotions of the central characters than, say, any perfunctory world building or politics it may have.
It’s an old time term used more in the 50’s and 60’s than now. Star Trek was described then as a space opera. Westerns were called horse operas, and of course there were soap operas for daytime serials. It just means episodic stories, usually dramatic, sometimes overly so.
Godammit, how’d you guys all get together and ninja me?
The term is still used today for world-spanning science fiction adventures. It was considered passe, but Star Wars came along and revived the subgenre.
A good overview of the field is The Space Opera Renaissance by David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer.
Star Trek was shorthanded as “Wagon Train in space.” Westerns dominated television for the decade before Star Trek, so proclaiming it as a variant of a horse opera was the easiest way to describe it. Even though good science fiction had since 1950 been loudly protestingthat it wasn’t just westerns in space. Maybe “good” science fiction wasn’t, but 90% of sf, like 90% of television, wasn’t good and much of the field was either westerns in space (or sailing navy in space or air force in space).
And, indeed, “Star Wars” (as originally shown, none of that stupid “episode” stuff in the name!) had the feel of a western. Indeed, it was intended to feel much like the old episodic shorts that were shown at movies before the main feature (especially during Saturday matinees; MAN I wish they still did that!). That’s why you enter the movie in the “middle” of what’s going on, with the crawl telling you what has gone on before, and with the rebel ship fleeing the pursuing star destroyer.
About radio melodramas, it was interesting to me to find out how the original trilogy was turned into a radio play at NPR. How retro… 
So I guess that’s where Hamill discovered his considerable talent for voice acting.
If you ever watch an opera you will understand the term. Those singers emote!
And while we’re here the SF novel Space Opera by Jack Vance is a very entertaining read.
Wikipedia has a whole entry on what space opera is, plus a bunch of examples.
I am interested in learning more about this Space Opera idea. It calls to me, somehow.
I always thought of Star Wars more as a fairy tale, but I think it’s the same concept. It’s a simple story told in primary colors with really villanous villains and brave heroes, broad sweeping themes (and theme music), not much geared towards nuance, detail, the complexities of massive political forces squaring off as adversaries, the specifics of interplanetary governing, or other subtleties. It isn’t Star Trek, let alone Ursula LeGuin, but it’s a spectacularly well-done offering in its own genre.
I actually saw Philip Glass’s opera based on one of Doris Lessing’s “SF” books. Set on another planet, even! So it was, in fact, a “Space Opera.” But it wasn’t nearly as much fun as a Real Space Opera.
Space Operas deal with Galactic Empires, heroes, villains & Bug Eyed Monsters. Light on the actual “science”–heavy on the action. Back when “serious” SF dealt with subtle psychological matters, Space Operas were considered relics of the old pulp days.
But that first Star Wars movie made us remember that Space Operas could be quite enjoyable. And Philip Glass did not provide the sound track!
The order in which these terms were invented was first “horse opera,” then “soap opera,” and then “space opera”:
I see it most often used by snobs who want to trash any SF that they don’t personally like. So pretty much everything will eventually be labeled “space opera” by someone eventually.
