Episode 49: What's the matter with Star Wars?
The nonology is over. Baby Yoda ate the internet. Fans are screaming about everything. How did Star Wars go from a campy space opera to a trigger for political conflict? We talk to guests Annalise Ophelian, director of the new Syfy documentary series Looking for Leia, and Elena Rose Vera, minister and activist, about the meaning of Star Wars in 2020.
Notes, citations, & etc.!
Looking for Leia, dir. Annalise Ophelian
George Lucas on the political allegories about Nixon in the original Star Wars movies
Morten Bay’s study of how political bots and operatives influenced Star Wars fan campaigns on Twitter after The Last Jedi came out
“Star Wars fans are angry and polarized. Just like all Americans,” by Annalee Newitz in the New York Times
Kelly Marie Tran talks to Vanity Fair about racist attacks against her on Instagram
The darksaber