Yeah, to me it was somewhere about 1992 when it started to gained steam majorly. Most say it was the Thrawn trilogy books (starting in 1991) that reignited SW, but I really had no interest in those and many I knew didn't either. I think those books were part of the re-ignition, not a primary cause of it.
It was a recognition that - after nearly a decade had passed - something enduring and timeless had occurred with the OT, beyond groundbreaking blockbusters that had generated tons of merchandise.
But... I assume at the time you were a kid, Westerns were fast becoming extinct (regardless of who was in them.) So how does that connect to SW? And the choice of John Wayne wouldn't happen to connect to the recent accusations of racist comments he made would it? You know, because SW fans were a bunch of racists because they thought Rose was a terrible character.
You get kinda paranoid because a lot of this stuff is so carefully calculated and so infused with laughable lies, yet is accepted earnestly and without any question.
It's an interesting idea - that studios have embraced the woke thing mostly because they quickly realized that adding some woke elements made their products immune to criticism, or even negative reaction. "Dislike our movie and you're an intolerant bigot." It's brilliant.
Criticism or negativity was/is a constant major threat to studio product, to a point where in the 1990s they would literally make up (or pay for) positive critic reviews to massage a positive reaction. Woke has given them the guarantee of positive reaction they want. And even the fans couldn't complain because they as a group would be called out.
Just like any film critic who didn't like it: "you didn't like it because you're pale, male and stale" - and surprise-surprise, reviews all turned glowing and critics got to "stay relevant".... and keep their jobs.
Spoiler: 
