Return to search

Stormtroopers Among Us: Star Wars Costuming, Connection, and Civic Engagement

The purpose of this study is to examine the bonds that form between people as consumers of popular visual media and to discuss the relationship and impact of the resulting subcultures on the larger culture. Star Wars costumers offer a magnified glance at some of the ways in which people engage with images. As reflections of popular culture, costumers display their textual devotions and opinions; they embody spectatorship by reincarnating their favorite characters and contexts from text-bound sources. Moreover, they embrace modes of visual representation by performing the roles of both image consumer and image producer. I strive to understand the activities shared by audiences after the viewing experience is over; they are highly articulate interpreting media texts in a variety of interesting and unexpected ways. Whether they impart opinions or pursue alternative relationships with some aspect of the text, people do form communities and celebrate their connections to visual texts. As fans, individuals appropriate movie materials to fulfill personal goals and build social connections. While not all-encompassing, these smaller communities say a lot about the social impact of movies---the impact of images on individuals. This thesis combines an ethnographic study of Star Wars costumers within a theoretical framework of cultural studies and performance to investigate the ways in which media images impact individuals. In documenting events from the perspective of the costumer, I seek to understand the costumer as a member of a visual audience, a reflection of popular culture, and a participant in the dominant culture.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:USF/oai:scholarcommons.usf.edu:etd-5067
Date07 April 2006
CreatorsSimpson, Dava L.
PublisherScholar Commons
Source SetsUniversity of South Flordia
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
SourceGraduate Theses and Dissertations
Rightsdefault

Page generated in 0.0017 seconds