Star Wars in the Public Square: The Clone Wars as Political Dialogue (Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy)
Category: Books,New, Used & Rental Textbooks,Humanities
Star Wars in the Public Square: The Clone Wars as Political Dialogue (Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy) Details
Review "Sweet's book is a significant development in communication and media studies...it tells the story of humanity in an appealing way to mass audiences"--H-Net Reviews. Read more About the Author Derek R. Sweet is an associate professor of communication studies at Luther College and writes, primarily, about the intersection of rhetoric, popular culture, and politics. He lives in Decorah, Iowa. Donald E. Palumbo is a professor of English at East Carolina University. He lives in Greenville, North Carolina. C.W. Sullivan III is Distinguished Professor of arts and sciences at East Carolina University and a full member of the Welsh Academy. He is the author of numerous books and the on-line journal Celtic Cultural Studies. Read more
Reviews
After giving a good introduction to Bakhtinian philosophy, the book dives the intersection of current-day political issues and the intersection with major themes in Star Wars, covering clones and the role of individuality in modern society, the use of torture and how it ties into the dark side, the concept of just wars and the Jedi philosophy, women as guardians of peace (both in history and in the Star Wars), and the use of drones in warfare.There is perhaps a practical argument to be made here that, while viewing Star Wars as a Bakhtinian dialogic establishes a theory of communication for claiming that the Star Wars movies are an important contribution to ongoing political discussion, the reality of it seems more stark: does the average movie goer actually contemplate the issues raised therein and contribute their own Bakhtinian "utterances?" My belief is that, yes, they do; perhaps not immediately, perhaps not always substantively, but popular media can provide reference points / templates for understanding complex ethical and moral issues at a intuitive level, and, as such, serve an important function in our political discourse.Best of all, next time you're at a party and someone sneers at Star Wars and/or science fiction as trite and unimportant, you can lay out some quotes from this book and make them realize the deep moral and ethical themes that are touched upon by the movies -- but remove your Wookie mask first, as it muffles the heteroglossia.The book features liberal references to both the movies and the _Clone Wars_ animated series, so having familiarity with both of those would be helpful (although I commiserate with your pain for anyone watching ep. I - III). It does not reference _Rebels_.
