# Star Wars Is Called a "Space Opera." Why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 3, 2016, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-called-a-space-opera-why/770567 "2016-11-03T23:35:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-called-a-space-opera-why/770567/1 "2016-11-03T23:35:01Z")
I’ve heard _Star Wars: Episode IV_ referred to as a “space opera” more than once, most recently today in _[Cracked](http://www.cracked.com/article_24389_7-trailers-famous-movies-that-were-absurdly-full-s2A2At.html)_. 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? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-called-a-space-opera-why/770567/2 "2016-11-03T23:38:37Z")
Start with “soap opera”–ie cheap melodrama. “Space Opera” implies soft sci-fi. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-called-a-space-opera-why/770567/3 "2016-11-03T23:39:52Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-called-a-space-opera-why/770567/4 "2016-11-03T23:42:03Z")
Of course, westerns were called “horse operas.” ---
**Author:** ![Trancephalic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trancephalic/32/380_2.png) [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-called-a-space-opera-why/770567/5 "2016-11-03T23:42:13Z")
> [@](#): > > o·pe·ra1 > ˈäp(ə)rə/ > noun > noun: opera; plural noun: operas > > ``` > **a dramatic work in one or more acts, set to music for singers and instrumentalists.** > synonyms: grand opera, light opera, musical, musical comedy, opéra bouffe, operetta > opera as a genre of classical music. > a building for the performance of opera. > > ``` 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. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-called-a-space-opera-why/770567/6 "2016-11-03T23:45:09Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-called-a-space-opera-why/770567/7 "2016-11-03T23:47:20Z")
Godammit, how’d you guys all get together and ninja me? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-called-a-space-opera-why/770567/8 "2016-11-03T23:53:15Z")
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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Space_Opera_Renaissance)_ by David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2016, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-called-a-space-opera-why/770567/9 "2016-11-03T23:54:16Z")
Star Trek was shorthanded as [“Wagon Train in space.”](http://hubpages.com/entertainment/Wagon-Train-In-Space-Understanding-Star-Trek) 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 protesting](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/GalaxyOct50rearcover.jpg/300px-GalaxyOct50rearcover.jpg)that 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). ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-called-a-space-opera-why/770567/10 "2016-11-04T02:00:59Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-called-a-space-opera-why/770567/11 "2016-11-04T02:16:08Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > 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. 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… 🙂 > **[That Time NPR Turned 'Star Wars' Into A Radio Drama — And It Actually Worked](https://www.npr.org/2015/12/18/460269884/that-time-npr-turned-star-wars-into-a-radio-drama-and-it-actually-worked)** > > In the 1980s, NPR looked to the film saga to help boost audience numbers. it bought the rights from George Lucas (for $1) and got the original Luke Skywalker. The result was an overwhelming success. > [@](#): > > But if this was selling out, it sure came cheap. George Lucas had graduated from USC and was a fan of the campus NPR station. So after a little prodding, he gave away the radio rights to Star Wars for $1 — a public radio budget if there ever was one. > > The producers brought in John Madden, a little-known theater director who had worked with the BBC. Madden says, “The idea of doing this seemed a complete hoot, but I was so up for it.” > > And so were some of the movie’s stars: Anthony Daniels returned as the uptight protocol droid C-3PO, and Mark Hamill voiced Luke Skywalker. The Hollywood-public radio collaboration was so notable that there was a photographer in the studio to document it. Madden says Hamill, a radio newbie, was an absolute natural. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-called-a-space-opera-why/770567/12 "2016-11-04T02:26:19Z")
So I guess that’s where Hamill discovered his considerable talent for voice acting. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-called-a-space-opera-why/770567/13 "2016-11-04T02:30:29Z")
If you ever watch an opera you will understand the term. Those singers emote! ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-called-a-space-opera-why/770567/14 "2016-11-04T07:52:15Z")
And while we’re here the SF novel [Space Opera](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Opera_(novel)) by Jack Vance is a very entertaining read. ---
**Author:** ![MN\_Maenad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e95f7d/32.png) [@MN\_Maenad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MN_Maenad)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-called-a-space-opera-why/770567/15 "2016-11-04T11:10:59Z")
Wikipedia has a whole entry on what [space opera](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_opera) is, plus a bunch of examples. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-called-a-space-opera-why/770567/16 "2016-11-04T12:35:41Z")
I am interested in learning more about this _Space Opera_ idea. It calls to me, somehow. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-called-a-space-opera-why/770567/17 "2016-11-04T12:48:53Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-called-a-space-opera-why/770567/18 "2016-11-04T13:02:26Z")
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! ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-called-a-space-opera-why/770567/19 "2016-11-04T13:30:39Z")
The order in which these terms were invented was first “horse opera,” then “soap opera,” and then “space opera”: > **[Find Definitions Written for Kids | Merriam-Webster Student Dictionary](https://www.merriam-webster.com/kids)** > > Kid-friendly meanings from the reference experts at Merriam-Webster help students build and master vocabulary. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2016, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-called-a-space-opera-why/770567/20 "2016-11-04T13:41:10Z")
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. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-called-a-space-opera-why/770567.md?page=2)