I just came across quite a profound observation which I think is worth repeating. I just watched footage of the press scrum outside the premiere for the new Star Wars film, and one of the actors commented that films like this bring people together: big franchise filmssuch as additions to the Star Wars series, or Bond or Harry Potter, capture the worlds attention for a moment. They bring people together so that, for a while, we can put devisions of politics, ethnicity, gender, sexuality or whatever aside, and come together over a film. I think he was spot on. That is surely the power of big genre films. We can all share in their enjoyment; they form a common point of reference. Of course, one can poo-poo such films all day long; I personally think Star Wars is looking more and more like a children’s franchise. Yet they are so big that they cross cultural devision, so that, for a moment sat in the cinema, we become one people again. At a time when intercultural devision and animosity are on the rise, surely that is a good thing.