![]() ![]() On the face of things, movies and video games are similar mediums. Academics with an interest in video game studies, narratology or new media will find here a novel perspective on a well-researched subject, while like-minded students and amateur, professional and prospective game developers will also appreciate the quick, efficient and readable introduction to these hot topics. The resulting theoretical approach finds that narration, as a process, is intrinsic to video game playing, independently of the “cut-scenes” usually much touted by the proponents of interactive storytelling. Like a Starcraft Zerg Drone, he extracts ideas from the rich veins of new media and video game studies, along with the latest developments of narratology and French film theory, and morphs them in with his own personal historical insights and gameplay experience with video games and pen-and-paper role-playing games. This typological construction aims to effectively interpret the politics of Star Wars beyond the macro-political backdrop, as to incorporate the material conditions of the people left behind by the Star Wars metanarrative.ĭo video games tell stories? And if they do, how and why do they do so? In this study, Dominic Arsenault takes the reader through the battlefield of ludology and narratology in video game studies, and argues for a radically new narratological conception of the video game. This dissertation engages with the representation of class in Star Wars through a transmedial and transtextual analysis, as it is argued that a typology of economic classifications can be constructed by considering texts beyond the cinematic series. The critical discourse around Star Wars has not approached socio-economic representation in a substantial way. This dissertation investigates the representation of socio-economic class within Star Wars media, focusing on three key Star Wars video games and the commercial film series, through the application of concepts drawn from the political philosophy of G.W.F Hegel, science fiction criticism, architectural discourse, and human geography. While the backdrop of the film series is macro-political, it can be argued that the films do not focus on representing a crucial socio-political category: socio-economic class. ![]() The contextual backdrop of the films is macro-political: a political republic (the Galactic Republic) is corrupted and subverted by a powerful maniacal tyrant (Sheev Palpatine), and through a ‘state of emergency’ he transforms the Republic into an authoritarian Galactic Empire. Star Wars is an epic space opera franchise oriented around the film series created by George Lucas. The reactivation or the ‘rebooting’ of the Star Wars franchise, following its purchase by the Walt Disney Corporation, has opened a new space for critical engagement with the franchise. ![]()
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