"Carrie Fisher Sent Me"

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Forced Creatures

Non-sentient animals have appeared in the Star Wars universe in roles both integral and decorative since A New Hope premiered in 1977. From beasts of burden like the dewbacks and banthas of Tatooine and the Gungans’ kaadu, to monsters like the wampa, rathtar, and dianoga; to the myriad of critters large and small that inhabit interstellar environments, animals are as much a part of the fabric of the Star Wars tapestry as the various non-human sentient species. In some cases, these creatures are mainly exotic window dressing, but in other instances, these animals are used instrumentally to advance larger narratives. To frame my examination of the use of animals in Star Wars, I borrow performance studies scholar Una Chaudhuri’s useful neologism “zooësis.” Coined by Chaudhuri to articulate “the way culture makes art and meaning with the figure and body of the animal,” encompasses the feelings that animals inspire, and so the affect of animals is an important part of understanding the place of the animal in the Star Wars universe (1). Ezra Bridger’s interaction with animals to explore the Force and to aid the Rebellion in Star Wars Rebels offers one example of how animals are instrumentalized, and Ezra’s affective response to “the figure and body” of these creatures – affection, awe, revulsion, or horror – are fairly straightforward. But the lowly porg from The Last Jedi inspires different feelings: the complex affect of cuteness, combined with the desire to consume and devour the bodies of these animals. In what follows I invite my reader to consider the use of animals in Star Wars, and to question how agency is granted and denied to non-human animals in these narratives.

“Enemies, but complicated enemies”

The Last Jedi has been criticised by some feminist fans for Rey and Kylo Ren’s storyline. Through Rey, the film asks us to sympathize with Kylo, and some fans argue that the film is telling us to excuse Kylo’s actions, in the same way we are told domestic abusers and mass shooters are actually good people. If The Last Jedi tells us to have the same response to a fictionalized neo-Nazi, it perpetuates real harms. However, The Last Jedi is actually critical of this phenomenon. It’s true that we are often asked to sympathize with young, violent white men, but what we are really being told is that being sympathetic excuses wrongdoing. The Last Jedi, by contrast, fleshes out Kylo Ren’s sympathetic character, but refuses to excuse his actions because of these qualities. In this paper, I track Rey and Kylo’s relationship, looking at how Kylo is an unreliable narrator, how Rey responds to what she learns from Kylo and Luke, and how the lessons Rey learns parallel the lessons learned by the other protagonists. Like The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi positions Kylo as being like violent men in real life. Rey’s response to him is important, therefore, because she is teaching young women how to respond to their friends, family, or boyfriends. Like them, Kylo Ren may have good qualities, but he shows no signs of moral improvement. Rey may affirm Kylo Ren’s humanity, but she does not fail to see him as an enemy to be fought.

Using the Force of Representation

This paper explores how the most recent Star Wars films released after Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm, Episode VII: The Force Awakens and Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, serve as a fertile discursive space for the growing anxieties over the rise of the white nationalist movement in the United States over the last decade. Unlike previous Star Wars trilogies, Episodes VII and VIII foreground the "Other" in juxtaposition to the whiteness that the Empire and First Order represent both figuratively and literally. By incorporating a more diverse array of characters, such as people of color, women, and immigrants, the Resistance is juxtaposed against the mostly white, mostly male First Order in these films. This has led to the First Order being read by many as a symbol of the white nationalism movement, as it strives to maintain its own perceived superiority over the resistance of "Others."

Realizing Resistance Through Scholarship and Beyond

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"Rebellions are built on hope"

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Conference Abstracts

Abstracts in PDF.

"We're not marauders, we're allies"

No abstract.

From Dark Helmet to Kylo Ren

This essay examines the culture circulating around late twentieth century and early twenty-first century media franchising with special emphasis on the Star Wars film canon. It charts the emergence of fan studies as one way in which scholars may assess, investigate, and theorize about audience responses to film franchises like Star Wars. It places special emphasis on anti-fan behaviors, introducing the dualistic terms fascistic fandom and franchise fascism as ways to denote the increased intensity of industry practices and fan resistance. Ultimately, I contend that parodic entertainments like Mel Brooks's satirical sci-fi features Spaceballs use the lens of comedy to accurately predict the zealous movement of large Hollywood studios toward a franchise-based distribution model. Furthermore, Disney's acquisition and subsequent mass distribution of Star Wars as an inclusive and ongoing transmedia global franchise presents a twenty-first century case study in understanding franchise fascism as an important primer to anti-fan behaviors.

A Rogue By Any Other Name

No abstract