Every generation has its legends. But in 1977, when “Star Wars” hit the theaters, no one would have been able to predict that this little science fiction adventure story would be around at the turn of the century as a solid piece of the American zeitgeist. We were still reeling from “Grease.” For all the American movie-going public knew, “Smokey and the Bandit” was going to be the greatest story ever told.

This summer, “The Phantom Menace” will take its turn in the batting cage of the American collective psyche.

Before we start looking forward to the uncertain “Star Wars” future, let’s take a gander backwards at the trilogy which started it all.

“Star Wars” entered theaters to low expectations by just about everyone. The previews looked cheesy, and as has already been stated, there was stiff competition from a certain Burt Reynolds magnum opus.

But it was a classic tale; the hero’s journey. It would have made Joseph Campbell proud with its bare-bones construction and classic narrative structure. Lucas was no doubt using all his vast college lit experience to give the American public what it didn’t even know it wanted.

What is now referred to as “Star Wars: A New Hope” begins by laying the foundation of the good fairy tale. “Once upon a time” is replaced by “Long ago in a galaxy far, far away … ” It could have said anything. What it told us was not more important than how it told us. From the beginning, “Star Wars” tapped into our collective need for narration.

After a pitched battle in which the evil Darth Vader imprisons Princess Leia, two androids, C-3PO and R2D2 are cast adrift on the desert planet of Tatooine, and their special mission was to find Obiwan Kenobi, a Jedi Master who, for some reason, is the only hope of a captive Princess Leia. The droids are captured by little scavengers called Jawas who sell them to a farm run by Uncle Owen and his nephew, Luke Skywalker.

Luke is a whiny farmboy bent on getting off that rock by any means necessary. He dreams of joining the academy and fighting the Empire. When R2D2 escapes, Luke catches up with him and finally meets the mysterious Obiwan “Ben” Kenobi. Ben tells Luke how his father was a Jedi Knight and after Stormtroopers kill his family, Luke decides to go off and become one, too.

They enlist the help of a smuggler named Han Solo and his big Wookiee buddy Chewbacca to fly them to Alderaan to save the princess. But upon reaching Alderaan they find nothing but an asteroid field and one huge Deathstar capable of destroying planets — like Alderaan, for example.

Long story short, they manage to bust her out, but Ben gets killed by Darth Vader, his old pupil.

Luke goes from land speeder to X-Wing and utilizing the mystical power of “The Force,” blows up the Deathstar.

Such a simple story, and yet before we knew it, crowds were gathered. This film is the very definition of repeat viewership. Fans competed with each other to brag about who had seen it the most times.

“The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi” were mostly continuations of the same story, a few battle scenes, Luke finds Jedi Master Yoda and starts his training, Darth Vader captures Han Solo, then tells Luke that he IS his father. Luke escapes and the move ends on a down note. “Empire” is probably the best of the three, Ford and Fisher steam up the screen with their burgeoning romance, and the entire film has a dark foreboding quality.

Then in “Jedi” all of that is undone as the rebels finally defeat the Empire with the help of a small village of walking teddy bears called Ewoks. Darth comes back to the light side of the force and Billy Dee Williams blows up the new Deathstar.

“Jedi” is widely considered to be the weakest of the three films and those Ewoks are largely why. The final battle scene is a farce. At one point, Chewbacca swings through on a vine and a Tarzan yell can be clearly heard. By the end, the films were parodying themselves and yet they manage to infuse the American psyche with their innocence.

The simple western in outer space theme appeals to a wide variety of viewers, and any faults which might exist in the Trilogy in terms of acting or plot holes are easily overshadowed by the dazzling effects and straightforwardness of the story.