Your reactions make perfect sense, and you are right that our society *needs* Star Wars. Not necessarily Star Wars specifically, but the kind of thing it is.

Star Wars is a modern myth. It's a conglomeration of all manner of ancient stories and myths that have survived for so long because they are somehow ingrained in what makes us human. There are very few common themes that run through all cultures, but one of them are the basics of these ancient myths. Sure, myths vary from culture to culture, but the essentials are usually all there. Greek myths and tragedies, Arthurian legends, even Shakespeare fit the mold.

Today, alas, we have lost touch with a lot of that. These stories survive most prominently in fairy tales, and we somehow have the naive notion that we should "grow out" of them. They're studied in schools, but they're not supposed to be studied, they're supposed to be experienced and felt and taken to heart. I don't think all society's ills would be cured if we paid more attention to mythic storytelling, but I think it's something we as a race need to have. Because you're right -- however corny it may sound, they do teach. They don't teach anything we don't already know intellectually, but -- since they do appeal to some intrinsic aspect of the human psyche -- teach us to take these lessons to heart.

Star Wars is one of the few modern myths in existence. It was consciously based on ancient myths, particularly Greek myths. Episode one injects an Arthurian element. I think "The Princess Bride" was successful largely because it accomplished the near impossible task of being a myth and parodying a myth at the same time, and succeeding unusually well in both pursuits. I can't think of another modern myth off-hand. I'm sure there are others, but the point is that the selection is so limited that when one comes along, people leap on it. Then the imitations fail to recognize what makes them appealing and churn out duds.