The original 'Star Wars' films are the best, say American fans

The Ipsos Consumer Tracker, fielded on Ipsos' Omnibus platform, asks Americans questions about culture, the economy and the forces that shape our lives. Here's one thing we learned this week.

Why we asked: The Consumer Tracker is an Ipsos super power. We wield it for good almost all of the time, with a mission of putting good data into the world to further understanding of people, markets and society. We want you to have better data with which to make better decisions. We are noble that way. 

But every now and then we also use it to settle bets — as long those bets might interest enough other people. For instance, this is why we have trended data on what people think of QR codes on menus. So my teenagers’ persistent insistence that “Clone Wars” was the apex of "Star Wars" story lines required some debunking. I will acknowledge my failing as a parent that their gateway into "Star Wars" was the animated “Clone Wars” series. However, after watching that and other pieces of the franchise, they have joined the majority of Americans who consider themselves fans. 

But my kids swore that everyone thought “Clone Wars” content was the best. Which led me to wonder if there was something to that. 

What we found: Yes, dad is correct that basically no one thinks the “Clone Wars” is the best. That said, my hunch that maybe there was an age split is also confirmed. Younger Americans (18-34) were twice as likely as middle-aged (35-55) to rank “Clone Wars” “best” and five times as likely as older Americans (55+). We see a similar strong age split with “Episode II: Attack of the Clones” — that’s the second in the prequel trilogy for those who are struggling to remember what order all of these movies and shows dropped in.