Culture, Identities and Technology in the Star Wars Films PDF Download
Are you looking for read ebook online? Search for your book and save it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Download Culture, Identities and Technology in the Star Wars Films PDF full book. Access full book title Culture, Identities and Technology in the Star Wars Films by Carl Silvio. Download full books in PDF and EPUB format.
Author: Carl Silvio
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476611068
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 245
Get Book
Book Description
Released in May 1977, the original Star Wars movie inaugurated the age of the movie blockbuster. It also redefined the use of cinematic special effects, creating a new textual universe that now stretches through three decades, two trilogies and generations of fascinated viewers. The body of critical analysis that has developed from this epic focuses primarily on the Star Wars universe as a contemporary myth. However, like any fiction, it must also be viewed—and consequently analyzed—as a product of the culture which created it. The essays in this book analyze the Star Wars trilogies as a culturally and historically specific phenomenon. Moving away from the traditional myth-based criticism of the films, the essayists employ a cultural studies model to examine how this phenomenon intersects with social formations such as economics, technology, race and gender. Critical approaches are varied and include political and economic analysis informed by feminism, contemporary race theory, Marxism, new media studies and post-humanism. Among the topics covered are the connections between the trilogies and our own cultural landscape; the problematic issues of race and gender; and the thematic implications of Lucas’ presentation of technology. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.
Author: Carl Silvio
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476611068
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 245
Get Book
Book Description
Released in May 1977, the original Star Wars movie inaugurated the age of the movie blockbuster. It also redefined the use of cinematic special effects, creating a new textual universe that now stretches through three decades, two trilogies and generations of fascinated viewers. The body of critical analysis that has developed from this epic focuses primarily on the Star Wars universe as a contemporary myth. However, like any fiction, it must also be viewed—and consequently analyzed—as a product of the culture which created it. The essays in this book analyze the Star Wars trilogies as a culturally and historically specific phenomenon. Moving away from the traditional myth-based criticism of the films, the essayists employ a cultural studies model to examine how this phenomenon intersects with social formations such as economics, technology, race and gender. Critical approaches are varied and include political and economic analysis informed by feminism, contemporary race theory, Marxism, new media studies and post-humanism. Among the topics covered are the connections between the trilogies and our own cultural landscape; the problematic issues of race and gender; and the thematic implications of Lucas’ presentation of technology. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.
Author: John C. McDowell
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 147666286X
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 209
Get Book
Book Description
George Lucas spoke about the didactic role of cinema and about his own work being presented through the "moral megaphone" of the film industry. A considerable body of scholarship on the six-part Star Wars series argues (unconvincingly) that the franchise promoted neo-conservatism in American culture from the late 1970s onward. But there is much in Lucas' grand space opera to suggest something more ideologically complex is going on. This book challenges the view of the saga as an unambiguously violent text exemplifying reactionary politics, and discusses the films' identity politics with regard to race and gender.
Author: Gary Westfahl
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786442972
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 291
Get Book
Book Description
Essays in this volume demonstrate how science fiction can serve as a bridge between the sciences and the humanities. The essays show how early writers like Dante and Mary Shelley revealed a gradual shift toward a genuine understanding of science; how H.G. Wells first showed the possibilities of combining scientific and humanistic perspectives; how writers influenced by Gernsback's ideas, like Isaac Asimov, illustrated the ways that literature could interact with science and assist in its progress; and how more recent writers offer critiques of science and its practitioners.
Author: Christina Flotmann
Publisher: transcript Verlag
ISBN: 3839421489
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 395
Get Book
Book Description
The study combines theories of myth, popular culture, structuralism and poststructuralism to explain the enormous appeal of »Star Wars« and »Harry Potter«. Although much research already exists on both stories individually, this book is the first to explicitly bring them together in order to explore their set-up and the ways in which their structures help produce ideologies on gender and ethnicity. Hereby, the comparison yields central insights into the workings of modern myth and uncovers structure as integral to the success of the popular genre. It addresses academic audiences and all those wishing to approach the tales from a fresh angle.
Author: Miles Booy
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1501364731
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 199
Get Book
Book Description
Upon its initial release in 1977, many critics regarded Star Wars as a childish retort to the mature American cinema of the seventies. Though full of sound and fury, some felt that it signified nothing. Four decades later, the significations are multiple as interpretations of the film's strange imagery and metaphoric potential continue to pile up. Interpreting Star Wars analyses and contextualises the dominant trends in Star Wars interpretation from the earliest reviews, through Lucasfilm's attempts to use its position as copyright holder to promote a single meaning, to the 21st century where the internet has rendered such authorial control impossible and new entries to the canon present new twists on old hopes.
Author: John C. McDowell
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786474882
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 231
Get Book
Book Description
Bringing critical attention to a particular set of science fiction and fantasy films--Larry and Andy Wachowski's The Matrix, George Lucas' Star Wars saga, and Joss Whedon's Avengers--this book utilizes a wide-ranging set of critical tools to illuminate their political ideologies, while also examining any resistant and complicating turns or byways the films may provide. What they all have in common ideologically is that they--or at least the genres they belong to--tend to be regarded as belonging to politically conservative frames of sociocultural reference. With the Star Wars saga, however, this idea is shown to be superficial and weak.
Author: William Proctor
Publisher: University of Iowa Press
ISBN: 1609386442
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 409
Get Book
Book Description
In 2012, Disney purchased Lucasfilm, which meant it also inherited the beloved Star Wars franchise. This corporate marriage sent media critics and fans into a frenzy of speculation about what would happen next with the hugely popular series. Disney’s Star Wars gathers twenty-one noted fan and media studies scholars from around the world to examine Disney’s revival of the franchise. Covering the period from Disney’s purchase through the release of The Force Awakens, the book reveals how fans anticipated, interpreted, and responded to the steady stream of production stories, gossip, marketing materials, merchandise, and other sources in the build-up to the movie’s release. From fears that Princess Leia would be turned into a “Disney princess” to collaborative brand management, the authors explore the shifting relationship between fans, texts, and media industries in the context of a crucial rebranding campaign. The result is a fascinating examination of a critical moment in the iconic series’ history.
Author: Valerie Estelle Frankel
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1498583873
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 364
Get Book
Book Description
This book traces the changing representation of female characters in the Star Wars franchise through the lens of the four feminist waves, arguing that while the original trilogy reflects the second wave of feminism, the prequels mirror the girl power era that followed, and the sequels are helping define a new fourth wave of inclusion and diversity.
Author: John C. McDowell
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
ISBN: 1611648149
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 224
Get Book
Book Description
In a new and updated version of this best-selling book, John McDowell explores the many spiritual themes that weave throughout the Star Wars films. From the Force to the dark side, the issues discussed in the films have a moral and spiritual complexity that, if paid attention to, can help us better understand our place in the world and our relation to others and to God. George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, did not intend for his films to be mere entertainment, McDowell argues. Rather, he hoped his films would be used as a vehicle for moral education. This new version has been thoroughly revised to include discussion of The Force Awakens and other new developments in the Star Wars universe.
Author: Terry Ray Clark
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0415781043
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 242
Get Book
Book Description
This introductory text provides students with an extremely useful 'toolbox' of approaches for analyzing religion and popular culture.
