One of the key things that marks the Disney era of Star Wars out from what came before is its willingness to put everyday heroes front and centre: a shuttle pilot, a stormtrooper, an engineer etc. Compared with the Jedi, senators and royalty that dominate so much of […]
The names given to Star Wars characters, like the names we give to our own children, are often heavy with meaning. The tender shoots of their creators’ plans for them, and beyond that the role they are destined to play in the galaxy. In this, Padmé Amidala’s name […]
It’s difficult to deny our innate call to storytelling, exercised each time we interact with character and plot. Certain tropes and archetypes have resonated down through the ages and myths and poems thousands of years old can feel as fresh, vibrant and subversive today as they were when […]
If, as Churchill proclaimed, “history is written by the victors” then any account accepted by a cultural majority is a prescribed and biased narrative. Individual accounts of the same events rarely align, but on the national scale this becomes much more sinister. Taking charge of an information stream […]
Recently watching Rogue One, I was struck by its style and storytelling chops as if it was the first time, but then its deeper themes and devices become more apparent to me than they ever had before. I tweeted as much at the time and while the replies […]
For over a decade, animation has formed one of the key pillars of the Star Wars franchise. The success and popularity of The Clone Wars kept the franchise alive long enough for Disney to swoop in and turn out new movies. But before the series that introduced Ahsoka […]
Literature’s most famous balcony scene belongs, of course, to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Centuries of scholars and school students have pored over its meanings, readings and implications, loading the scene with a depth and power that still resonates today. Among these many interpretations, the one that stands out […]
Since Dominic’s paternity leave ended and I’ve been home alone with Lorelei, I’ve had varying levels of luck getting used to the new routine (or lack thereof). My days were once devoted to my writing, but now they’re sporadic, lethargic, time-stretched and more beautiful than I could imagine. […]
By his own admission, the happiest day of Anakin’s life is finding out that Padmé is pregnant with his first child. Imagine his elation had he known she was carrying twins. In a life punctuated by pain, loss and longing, a moment of pure and perfect happiness is […]
Re-watching The Clone Wars as a father has provided new context for character relationships and the omnipresent threat to the galactic status quo. As well as presenting the eponymous conflict on screen, the animated series also served as prelude to Anakin’s fall to the dark side. In […]
