I think you are conflating "average SW fan" (kids and adults from the very beginning) with "obsessive diehard fan" (us who yes, had these films imprint on our DNA since childhood.) All of our parents enjoyed SW when it came out because it *did* cater to them as well as us, the difference is that grownups who saw the OT when it came out, reacted to it the way we would later react to say Top Gun or maybe Pirates of the Caribbean. Films that are fun and exciting and even funny in parts that you thoroughly enjoy from beginning to end but aren't life changing.
That's how most adults responded to the OT. It simply wouldn't have made the numbers that it did if it catered to children and no one else.
You said it better than I did. But when it comes to a lasting impression , kids were the target.....and the main target.
The merchandising clearly was directed in a large number to kids. I mean we had SW tshirts for adults , and a disco song they shook their booties too, but most of it was toys, bubble bath (remember that stuff?) , lunch boxes (I am sure some adult brought on to work) and sheets and blankets....
If we really wanna be honest with ourselves , they brainwashed us into hard core consumerism at a very young age through these films....and it really really stuck with us.
Most of people my parents age can barely remember the names of the droids....my mom always says RDD2.
The point was , those kids grew up, kept collecting but their adult tastes kicked in, and the new SW just does not have the adult content we want. Because it's mainly geared to kids, as was the OT.
Do you know any boomers that are huge SW fans? If you do they are the rare exceptions, New SW is kid centric , as was the OT. It was never ment to last with that age group. The PT was (and still is) an abomination to me because I was an adult when I saw it. So it really has not lasting impact on me besides more SW content. Same as the DSW universe , more content , much of it is not lasting to me. Entertaining , but it can never capture us the way OT did when we were kids.
