OK besides this below and DEVO coming out of the Kent State massacre, what are other facts you have about the evolution of art / music /etc that wouldn't be obvious if you didn't know but, retroactively, explain and/or illuminate a LOT ?
Reminds me of how almost all the French dadaists and surrealists were WWI veterans of the trenches seriously exploring alternatives to conventional thought and language.
George Lucas REALLY wanted to impress Spielberg, Coppola, et al, but the first time he showed them Star Wars they laughed him out of their little boys’ club. He then gave it to his ex-wife to edit, and she is the only reason it became a hit.
She did not work on the prequels. Take it as you will.
That issue goes further. There's a direct correlation between Lucas ignoring the brilliant people he brought together to make the movies to go his own way and decline in quality of the franchise. The pattern was evident in the original trilogy, long before the prequels.
