Jediism is a new religious phenomenon where fictitious material is used as religious source material. The phenomenon is called hyper-real religion because the fictitious source material being used in the real world makes it ‘hyper-real’. This study explored Jediism and its usage of Star Wars as a religious source material.  Semi structured interviews with participants from the two largest Jedi communities were conducted: Temple of the Jedi Order and Force Academy. The informats only answered about the Light Aspect of the community, which means that there is still more to be explored in Jediism as it has sides primarily focused on the Dark and the Shadow Aspects of the ‘Force’. Furthermore the phenomenon of Jediism is put in the context within the theoretical approaches of secularization, sacralization and post secularity by Liselotte Frisk and Peter Åkerbäck. By using this theoretical framework the questions regarding who the people are that are looking for this kind of religion, why they chose to be part of it and how the informants from Temple of the Jedi Order and Force Academy speak of Jediism in terms of religious ideas and praxis were explored.     It is argued that Star Wars is the main source material for the studied communities and that it's part of a larger religious movement in Europe and the U.S through the processes of secularization, sacralization and post secularity. Jediism and hyper-real religion, as is shown by this study, should be included in the larger religious landscape that has been shaped by other forms of New Age religion.

This thesis uses discourse analysis to examine how female characters are portrayed in the Star Wars franchise. It compares the representation of women in three eras aiming to analyze the changes, in views on gender roles. The focus is on Princess Leia, Padme Amidala and Rey and how they reflect these changes. The study explores whether there has been an evolution in the representation of characters over the 40 years. It will delve into their agency, empowerment and identity looking at whether they challenge or reinforce gender stereotypes and how their interactions with characters impact their development and gender dynamics, within the series.

Within the past three decades, Star Wars has become nothing short of a household name. The millions of dollars gained from the films and various products, as well as the enjoyment and enthusiasm generated among fans, shows that Star Wars' value and significance in the realm of entertainment is substantial. In addition to this value, there are also many religious and mythological elements that are embedded within each of the movies. However, these elements do not carry the same prominence or interest that the plotline has with the audience. In an interview, Lucas stated that it was not his intent to use Star Wars to create a new religion or ideology. Nevertheless, the movie series has raised questions regarding its ability to attain such a devoted following. Consequently, the thesis will look into the dynamic between authorial intent and reader response. In addition, this thesis will investigate the religious themes and mythological elements of the Star Wars series and use this analysis to corroborate the position that Star Wars both resembles traditional religion and functions as religion for the fans. This thesis will analyze the religious elements and myths that are embedded in the general story, as well as those that are unique to the individual movies, by highlighting a family resemblance/functionalist approach to religion that focuses on not only the resemblances to traditional religion but also the religious effects that Star Wars has on its fans and society; namely, moral issues and the sense of meaning and belonging it inculcates among the fan base.

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John Williams är att betrakta som en av giganterna inom den amerikanska filmmusikkompositionen. Förutom filmmusik så har han komponerat ett flertal beställda solokonserter för betydande instrumentalister och orkestrar, däribland The Five Sacred Trees för fagott och symfoniorkester som är skriven för New York Philharmonics 150-års jubileum och denna orkesters solofagottist Judith LeClair. I detta examensarbete analyseras de första två satserna från ett motiviskt, strukturellt och i viss mån harmoniskt perspektiv, samt genomgås hur det kan påverka instuderingsprocessen och författarens interpretatoriska val. Referensmaterialet som används är främst en pianoreduktion av stycket, samt en doktorsavhandling gällande styckets pedagogiska användningsområden av John Michael Lopinto från 2004. Slutsatser efter analysen inkluderar bland annat att de två satserna i stora drag kontrasterar varandra, att konserten innehåller så pass många olika klangkaraktärer att det krävs extra arbete från solistens sida för att kunna framföra denna med endast piano, samt att John Williams kontinuerligt utvecklar motiv från tidigare verk och inkorporerar dem i konserten och har fortsatt att arbeta på detta vis även efter tillkomsten av denna konsert. Min förhoppning är att det här arbetet ökar min egen och omvärldens insikter om denna konsert, och ökar sannolikheten för att detta verk framförs i större utsträckning i framtiden. / <p>John Williams fagottkonsert, sats 1-2.</p><p>Medverkande: Gabriella Varga Karlsson, fagott</p><p>Georg Öquist, piano</p><p></p><p></p><p></p>

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The topic of diploma thesis was to analyze the narrative structure and transmedia storytelling of Star Wars processed into a film by director George Lucas. The work is mainly focused on narrative analysis of both the original and more recent films and further analysis of transmedia narrative that makes Star Wars extend mainly into the field of literature and computer games. In addition to narrative analysis subject of the work was also the analysis of the fictional world where the story takes place. Another point of diploma thesis is to analyze transmedia narrative that makes the original Star Wars story transform into a books, computer games and more. The whole concept of Star Wars can be described as a modern narrative, moreover, whose stories are from the genre of science-fiction and take place in a completely fictional environment. During the analysis of narrative structures, author primarily used the classical theoretical literature about the narrative theory. For example the Morphology fairy tales from Vladimir J. Propp, according to which it is possible to extent the analyse of the original and other episodes of Star Wars. For analysis of transmedia storyteling was also used studies of Mary Laure Ryan, who discusses the possibility of altering the basic narrative in transmedia narrative. The aim of...

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / On title page: M.Phil in Ancient Cultures. Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

The aim of the thesis is to explore depictions of sexuality in popular science fiction film and television through a focus on storytelling, narrative, characters and genre. The thesis analyses science fiction as a film and television genre with a focus on the conventions, interpretations, and definitions of genre as part of larger contexts. Central to the argumentation is films and television series, from Star Wars and Star Trek, to Firefly and Torchwood. The approach allows a consideration of how the storytelling conventions of science fiction are, and have been, affected by its contexts. Through a consideration of a historical de-emphasis on narrative complexity and character formation in science fiction, the thesis displays and analyses a salient tendency towards juvenile and heteronormative narratives. This tendency is represented by a concept that I call the Star’verses, through which this dominant idea of science fiction as a juvenile, techno-centred, masculine, and heteronormative genre became firmly established. This generic cluster has remained a dominant influence on science fiction film and television since the 1980s. However, as argued, a major discursive shift took place in science fiction at the turn of the millennium. This adult turn in science fiction film, and television in particular, is attributed to contextual changes, but also to the influence of television dramaturgy. It explains why science fiction in the 21st century is not as unfamiliar with depictions of sexuality as its predecessors were. This turn does not signal a total abandonment of what the Star’verses represent; it instead contributes to a change to this dominant idea of the generic identity of science fiction. While sexuality has been disassociated from much science fiction, it is also argued that the science fiction narrative has extensive queer potential. Generic conventions, such as aliens and time travel, invite both queer readings and queer storytelling; the latter however is seldom used, especially in science fiction film. A majority of the examples of science fiction narrative that use this queer potential can be found in television. In cinema, however, this progression is remarkably slow. Therefore, the thesis analyses whether the storytelling techniques of Hollywood cinema, to which science fiction film owes much of its dramaturgy, could be considered heteronormative. A comparison is made to television dramaturgy in order to display the possibilities for the serialised, character-focused science fiction narrative. Ultimately, the thesis investigate the possibility for subversive storytelling and whether a normative use of dramaturgy needs to be overthrown in order to tell a subversive story.