The trailers for Star Wars: The Force Awakens made a strong impression on fans. Many were excited by what they saw as a return to the spirit of George Lucas’s 1977 creation. Others—including several white supremacy groups—were upset and offended by key differences, most notably the shift away from a blond, blue-eyed, male protagonist. When the film was finally released, reactions similarly seemed to hinge on whether or not The Force Awakens renewed the “mythic” aspects of the original trilogy in ways that fans approved of. The Myth Awakens examines the religious implications of this phenomenon, considering the ways in which myth can function to reinforce “traditional” social and political values. In their analyses the authors of this book reflect on fan responses in relation to various elements of (and changes to) the Star Wars canon—including toys, video games, and novels, as well as several of the films. They do so using a variety of critical tools, drawing from studies of gender, race, psychology, politics, authority, music, ritual, and memory.

The trailers for Star Wars: The Force Awakens made a strong impression on fans. Many were excited by what they saw as a return to the spirit of George Lucas's 1977 creation. Others--including several white supremacy groups--were upset and offended by key differences, most notably the shift away from a blond, blue-eyed, male protagonist. When the film was finally released, reactions similarly seemed to hinge on whether or not The Force Awakens renewed the "mythic" aspects of the original trilogy in ways that fans approved of. The Myth Awakens examines the religious implications of this phenomenon, considering the ways in which myth can function to reinforce "traditional" social and political values. In their analyses the authors of this book reflect on fan responses in relation to various elements of (and changes to) the Star Wars canon--including toys, video games, and novels, as well as several of the films. They do so using a variety of critical tools, drawing from studies of gender, race, psychology, politics, authority, music, ritual, and memory.

With the first STAR WARS trilogy, George Lucas successfully translated the classic hero's journey from ancient myth into the mainstream understanding of modern popular culture. We witness young Luke Skywalker, a humble farm boy, receive a Heaven-sent message with a call to adventure which leads him to a kindly old wizard who gives him a magic sword and takes him beyond the limits of the world as he has always known it. From there he storms a fortress, saves a beautiful princess, travels through the belly of the beast to discover his true nature in a celestial temple, and comes into contact with a spiritual power that allows him to face off against a black knight and destroy a near-indestructible monstrosity capable of devouring entire worlds. It is a story resonant with the classic mythological motifs that Joseph Campbell identified in the first part of his book, THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES. George Lucas followed up on Luke's adventure by outlining the history of Luke's father Anakin Skywalker, the hero fated to doom the galaxy to the evils Luke would later be tasked with undoing. In Anakin we find a more primordial archetype of the hero. His fate is not defined by moral pretext, but rather by a mandate to uncreate the world he is born into and recreate it in his own image. This echoes the second part of THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES, where the young hero does not assume the role of the World Redeemer, but instead becomes the pitiless embodiment of the Cosmogonic Cycle. He is the inevitable dissolution of one generation and its ideals as it is being succeeded by the next.So we have two trilogies of films covering the spectrum of classic hero stories and archetypes. This also represents George Lucas' complete contribution to the STAR WARS saga in film. Is there anything left to say? When Lucas sold the franchise to Disney in 2012, it certainly seemed that the core story was over. Even when Disney announced that they were planning a third trilogy of films that would continue the story in EPISODE VII, the question remained as to whether there was anything new that could be introduced to the overall mythology of STAR WARS.In order to address that question, it's worthwhile to analyze the latest addition to the saga as its own story, as a continuation of the original films, and as a return to the mythic themes the movies have always so successfully explored.This book contains a number of theories crafted during the interim between EPISODE VII and EPISODE VIII. This edition has been annotated to score just how poorly I did with those predictions. Considering that EPISODE VIII is largely an indictment of the rampant form of free association that fandom has developed such a fondness for indulging, the new film offers very little vindication for those efforts. Regardless, the apocryphal embellishments we ascribe to the stories we love are themselves a product of the myth-building process and that process is a self-serving sort of creative exercise all its own. The questions are more fun than their answers, as long we aren't overly invested in seeing our personal version of the story represented in someone else's telling. Benchmarking the output of my own creative process against the actual story will require comparing my ideas with information revealed in STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI, so be forewarned that this edition of the book will contain EPISODE VIII spoilers. But for the most part, we'll be talking about EPISODE VII.

One of the most influential works of this century, The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays is a crucial exposition of existentialist thought. Influenced by works such as Don Juan and the novels of Kafka, these essays begin with a meditation on suicide; the question of living or not living in a universe devoid of order or meaning. With lyric eloquence, Albert Camus brilliantly posits a way out of despair, reaffirming the value of personal existence, and the possibility of life lived with dignity and authenticity.

AcknowledgementsIntroductionPart I: "e;I'm making this up as I go"e;: Lawrence Kasdan and Raiders of the Lost ArkChapter 1. Smith and Jones: Discourse Analysis of the Raiders of the Lost Ark Story ConferenceChapter 2. Visual Language in the Raiders of the Lost Ark ScreenplayPart II: Kasdan the Director: Developing Style(s)Chapter 3. Body Heat: Heightened Style in the Neo-NoirChapter 4. Classical Structure in the "e;Perfect Ensemble"e; of The Big ChillPart III: Voice of the Largest GenerationChapter 5. Altruism and Otherness in The Big Chill, The Accidental Tourist, and Grand CanyonChapter 6. Cowboys, Aliens, and Sixtysomethings: Age and Nostalgia in Kasdan's Later FilmsPart IV: Influences, Without and WithinChapter 7. From Noir to Kurosawa: Allusion and Homage in Lawrence Kasdan's FilmsChapter 8. Kasdan's Collaborations: Creation and PerformancePart V: A Long Time in a Galaxy Far, Far AwayChapter 9. From Star Wars to Saga: Lawrence Kasdan and The Empire Strikes BackChapter 10. Revenge of the Monomyth: Reclaiming the Hero's Journey in Return of the JediChapter 11. A New Hope in The Force AwakensChapter 12. A Changed Man: Solo and BeyondChapter 13. An Interview with Lawrence KasdanLawrence Kasdan: Writing and Directing CreditsFilmographyBibliography

This volume seeks to show how the philosophy of Plato relates to the literary form of his discourse. Myth is one aspect of this relation whose importance for the study of Plato is only now beginning to be recognized. Reflection on this topic is essential not only for understanding Plato’s conception of philosophy and its methods, but also for understanding more broadly the relation between philosophy and literature. The twenty chapters of this volume, contributed by scholars of diverse backgrounds and approaches, elucidate the various uses and statuses of Platonic myths in the first place by reflecting on myth per se and in the second place by focusing on a specific myth in the Platonic corpus.