Using the Force: Creativity, Community and "Star Wars" Fans - Softcover

Brooker, Will

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0826414664 ISBN 13: 9780826414663

Publisher: Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd., 2003

Synopsis

In this study of fandom at its most intense, Will Brooker examines the "Star Wars" phenomenon from the audience's perspective, and discovers that the saga exerts a powerful influence over the social, cultural and spiritual lives of those drawn into its myth. From a Boba Fett-loving police officer in Indiana to the webmistress of the "Star Wars chicks" site; from an 11-year-old boy in south London to a Baptist Church in South Carolina; from the director of "George Lucas in Love" to the custodians of the Jedi Hurtaholics Archive - Brooker unearths a seemingly endless array of fans who use and interpret the saga in a number of creative ways. This book explores what it means to be a fan, examining the role of gender and generation in creating sub-communities within the larger group of Star Wars devotees. It discusses the films and stories created by thousands of fans around the world, and asks whether this apparently unstoppable creativity can be controlled by an organization that has - completely unintentionally - positioned itself in the role of the Empire and turned loyal fans into Rebels. Ultimately, the book serves as a testament to the extraordinary power of the "Star Wars" films and the expanded universe that surrounds them. The book features a lengthy interview with Simon Pegg, co-creator of the sitcom "Spaced".

About this title

Review

"Star Wars is not just a film, or a trilogy, or a trilogy and two prequels. For many people, myself included, it is the single most important cultural text of their lives; it has meshed with their memories of childhood, with their home-made tributes - from the amateurish childhood comics to the professional product of an adult fan - with their choice of career or education, with their everyday experiences. Even in 1977, Star Wars was a phenomenon. For many people now, it is a culture: a sprawling, detailed mythos which they can pick through with their eyes closed, a group of characters who may have been more important role models than friends and family, and a set of codes - quotes, in-jokes, obscure references - which provide instant common ground for fellow fans meeting for the first time, and bind established communities together. (from the Introduction) - Will Brooker This is a wonderful book. Will Brooker provides a wealth of badly needed evidence, which will be of great use to anyone interested in ongoing debates about the relation between cultural production and consumption, the place of media in identity formation, and the ways in which meanings are produced from texts. The book is intelligent and informed, and is supremely careful only to make claims which are supported by the evidence it presents. It shows that it is not only possible, but vitally important, for academics to have a detailed knowledge of the texts and communities they are writing about, if they are to provide reasonable analyses of the ways in which they function. Above all, this book is beautifully written, and extremely readable. Alan McKee, Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies Timely and provocative....enthusiastically written....In 10 well-crafted chapters, Brooker manages to capture the original excitement surrounding the film's 1977 premiere while dissecting how and why the enthusiasm endures....Brooker's clear prose sings....[his] obvious dedication to his project makes Using the Force a must for fans and a necessary read for students of pop culture. The Austin Chronicle

About the Author

Will Brooker is Assistant Professor of Communications at Richmond, the American International University in London

Edition details

• Publisher: Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd.
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0826414664
• ISBN 13: 9780826414663
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 288