Reflections on George Lucas and Modesto

Based on taped interviews conducted with George Lucas in the early 1980s, this chapter, originally delivered as a symposium address in 2006, reflects on the filmmaker's early life and the inspiration he drew from his years growing up in Modesto, California. It argues that Lucas's characteristics as a child and teenager, such as his ability to interact with different social groups at school while remaining shy and aloof, shaped his sensibilities as a director, producer and businessman. The influence of post-war popular culture on Lucas is revealed by the interviews. Comic books and cartoons were childhood forces with which Lucas directly identified at the height of his career in the 1980s. His efforts over his career to leave his small town past behind are belied by the powerful influences of his Central Valley childhood and young adult years, as expressed by the filmmaker himself.