I checked the Wikipedia article and some interviews, and haven't found any specific answer.
What specifically does the "awakening" of the Force in the title refer to?
Was the Force somehow asleep or dormant? (which would, since it Binds The Galaxy Together, explain the Inflationary cosmological models).
Or that there were no active Force users since Vader and Sidious offed every Jedi and then each other? We know Luke's still around.
Or something else?
Canon or word-of-god answers only, please.
In my opinion, the title The Force Awakens refers to the awakening of two characters.
We are introduced to Rey in her humble and meager life of poor scrounging, as she patiently awaits the return of her family to Jakku. Throughout the film, she is pure, she is skilled, and she is strong. As she faces Kylo Ren and his clearly strong grasp of the Dark Side, something awakens (unintentional word choice) inside her, and prevents Ren from accessing the information he needs. Slowly, she gains her powers (a point Ren himself acknowledges). Over time, she becomes stronger in her recognition of the Force within her, culminating in one of the final scenes of the movie where her newfound strength, originating from the Force, saves her. Also: she is always dressed in light colors, and her outfits look typically Jedi.
Throughout much of the film, Luke feels like a J.J. Abrams nod a what Hitchcock called a macguffin: something that drives plot but never really appears on screen. Of course, this only applies to the first… two hours and fifteen minutes of the film or so. Early on, we learn that Luke abandoned his teachings when Kylo Ren was seduced by the Dark Side and disappeared. Our heroes must fight the First Order without him for the entirety of The Force Awakens. Many die. But when the mission is complete, and Rey leaves the rebel base, she heads to the location on the now completed map to Luke. Upon finding him atop a mountain(?), Rey offers Luke his old lightsaber. Perhaps Rey will be the catalyst that causes Luke to finally return.
Most likely: it is a combination of the Force “awakening” in Rey, and the Force in Luke returning to the rebels.
According to Visual Dictionary:
The Visual Dictionary says the following:
Since the disappearance of Luke Skywalker and the shattering of his fledgling Jedi following, the cosmic Force has lain dormant, seemingly quieted to those able to sense its presence.
The adventures of Rey and Finn on Jakku coincide with a turbulence in the cosmic Force, a sudden ripple indicating the awakening of newfound ability. With the Jedi and their records vanished, few—other than Kylo Ren and his mysterious master—are able to appreciate this occurrence.
UPDATE 2017/11
As per Adam Driver interview with Empire, that "awakening" applies equally to light side (Rey) and Darks side as well:
We find Darth Vader already completely committed; I was curious about starting with someone who was less together, who was starting in a place of self-doubt. The title of The Force Awakens wasn't just referring to the light side, it was the dark side as well.
I'm unsure of canonicity of this (as in, is this Driver's personal adlibbing or canon?) but worth menioning.
Great question. The crucial thing here is that Snoke says "there has been an awakening" BEFORE the 2 most likely candidates: 1) Reah's vision 2) Reah is interrogated by Kylo.
Therefore either a) there must be something going on with the Force that we don't see or b) the title is meaningless nonsense.
When Anakin was a child, he happened to randomly fly inside a mother ship and accidentally blew it up so probably he was guided by the Force (maybe Palpatine). So maybe some of the characters are being guided by the Force and this is the Force awakening? Maybe Luke is guiding Reah?
Listen to the soundtrack carefully, this is where you will find the answer. I believe the beginning of the Force awakening within Ray is with her meeting of BB-8, not selling him, and then she uses the Force to pilot the Millennium Falcon. The clues are subtle, but that is how I hear it.
