A Galaxy Here and Now: Historical and Cultural Readings of Star Wars

Synopsis

Star Wars Begins With Its Famous Title Sequence, Setting The Story In The Ancient Past Of A Remote Galaxy. Yet The Phenomenal Success Of The Film, The Franchise And Its Expanded Universe Is Based Upon Its Reflection Of Historical And Cultural Milieus Here On Modern-day Earth-- Hearing The Force : Manifestations And Transformations Of Music From Far, Far Away / Tom Zlabinger -- The Space Community And The Princess : Reworking The American Space Program's Public Image From Miss Masa To Princess Leia / Karin Hilck -- Feminist Icons Wanted : Damsels In Distress Need Not Apply / Mara Wood -- Jedi Knights, Dark Lords And Space Cowboys : George Lucas's Re-imagined And Redefined Masculine Identities / Erin C. Callahan -- Deconstructing The Desert : The Bedouin Ideal And The True Children Of Tatooine / Paul Charbel -- Periodizing A Civil War : Reaffirming An American Empire Of Dreams / Peter W. Lee -- An Elegant Weapon For A More Civilized Age : Star Wars, Public Radio And Middlebrow Cold War Culture / Jessica K. Brandt -- Part Of Our Cultural History : Fan-creator Relationships, Restoration And Appropriation / Michael Fuchs, Michael Phillips. Edited By Peter W. Lee. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.