Customer Reviews

Using the Force: Creativity, Community and Star Wars Fans

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Okay, we all know the stereotype - the nerd who is incapable of carrying on a conversation with the opposite sex, but is able to speak fluent Klingonese; the geek who can't shoot a basket to save his life, but who can personally reenact the final lightsaber duel from The Phantom Menace (complete with sound effects); the misfit who owns every Star Wars actionfigure ever produced, displayed on a set of shelves built into the walls of - wait for it - his parent's basement!

I give you the stereotypical science fiction/fantasy fan.

Only, stereotypes are an inch of fact and a mile of embellishment and conjecture. Are there fans that dress up like Mr. Spock and wave the V sign, telling you to "Live Long and Prosper"? Sure there are! Are there people who can do perfect imitations of a wizened, green puppet (and now CGI character) asking the Force to be with you? You bet!

However, such stereotypes are only a small portion of what encompasses fandom, but they are likely all that the non-fan (or "mundanes" as in the Harry Potter series) may envision, because it is upon the more flamboyant fans that the media so loves to shine their questionable spotlight. Yet, in truth, fandom is as varied as - well - "real life!". For every guy dressed as a Jedi and waving a plastic lightsaber at a Star Wars premiere, there is a family in jeans and t-shirts sitting down to share popcorn in the front row of the theater.

Perhaps most unfortunate of all is the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) suggestion of superiority on the part of the media covering fandom - the outsider studying some exotic, and not quite healthy, cultural phenomena and offering it up as an object of amusement if not outright derision for the "normal" masses.

I've heard the jokes and the put downs, repeatedly. I've come to expect it. So it was with some trepidation that I picked up William Brooker's study of Star Wars fandom. "Here we go again," I thought. "Someone who thinks they understand fandom and is going to tell us all about the "unhappy, socially inept fans who use science fiction and fantasy as a form of escapism from their sad, miserable little lives."

I was wrong. The first thing you should know about Will Brooker is that HE is a fan himself, and this gives him a unique perspective - not to mention it makes it more likely fellow fans will trust him enough to allow glimpses into aspects of their lives they have learned to keep secret to avoid ridicule. Brooker walks the walk and talks the talk. He respects his fellow fans and their views, and he presents them in a fair minded and non-judgmental light in his book, which makes for a pleasant change.

Furthermore, he discusses fandom from many angles, including those that are often overlooked or somewhat obscure and may not be familiar even to many that consider themselves Star Wars fans. Do the terms PWP, EU, "gusher" and "Space Wheat" mean anything to you? They will once you have read this book, and some of the insights you discover may surprise you. Brooker covers such topics as women in fandom. How do they view the Star Wars universe, and how do their reactions and expectations differ from those of the men who tend to dominate science fiction? What about creative expression in fandom? When fans use George Lucas' characters and universe to inspire their own flights of fancy, whether it be through short films, writing or art work, is this a form of homage to Lucas or a blatant disregard for legal copyright laws, or both? How did fans react to The Phantom Menace? Was it a disaster or a glorious success, or a little of each?

So who should read this book? Everyone! Non-fans should read it to gain an insight into fandom. Fans are not simply some exotic creatures you only see dressed in Jedi robes on the news coverage of a Star Wars premier. Fans include the teacher in your child's classroom, the vet who takes care of your dog, the guy who programmed your business software, the kid down the street who mows your lawn, and the Air force meteorologist. They are people like you, and, yes, like me - I am a fan and proud of it.

Fans should read to gain a broader view of the myriad aspects of fandom and the response people have to the Star Wars phenomena. As Brooker points out, Star Wars fandom is a dynamic, complex entity. Many fans don't even agree on issues covered in this book. However, for the most part, they do speak a common language that allows for immediate recognition and a sense of inclusion in a world where fans often feel excluded. Even when they disagree, there is a sense of community - a community Brooker knows well.

A great book for appreciating the various outlets of current Star Wars fandom. While offering little serious academic discourse, the book does put into print many issues which to this point have been limited to internet discussion and fan zines, such as LFL's strict licesing enforcement, the culture of message board discussion, fan fiction and films. In the end it stands as an interesting catalog of current happenings in the world of Star Wars fandom, as seen from an insider who respects the devotion of a unique community.

A well written book offering plenty for the dedicated female Star Wars fan, as well as the males of that persuasion - this is not a discussion about military hardware or the handling characteristics of the Falcon. Well researched, but alas not complete. An in-depth review of fan-art, conventions and costuming would enhance any future editions enormously.

The ingenuity of fans in acting out and enjoying their obsession is made public, as they broadcast their interest on the Internet, and this book tells (almost) all in a witty and entertaining style.

Not a dry academic treatise, but interesting and uptodate coverage of that enduring phenomenon, Star Wars, and the fans celebration of it. Enough to interest me in Will Brooker's other books.

I'm admittedly biased, as my web site is mentioned in this book, and I'm mentioned by name a few times in the chapter on "Slash and Other Stories," but this is a really good book. It's a respectful, honest, and entertaining look at Star Wars fandom today. It covers everything from group viewings, to arguments over what constitutes canon, to fanfic, to fan films, and more. I had to skip the "Speculation" chapter because after only two paragraphs, I'd gotten some pretty huge honking spoilers on Ep 2, but I'll go back and read it on May 17th. The author himself is a fan, so that most likely contributes to the respectful, fun tone of this book. It's not complete by any means, and there are some major omissions that caused me to only give this a four star rating instead of a five, but still, Star Wars fans looking to read a good analysis of our culture should definitely check this out.

If you're a fan of the Star Wars mythoi, get this book, no question. Parts of it are a lot of fun, but it gets too bogged down in its own pseudo-academic style sometimes. There were points in the book where I got a bit impatient with the belaboring of the point at hand, but that's a niggling point at best.

Bottom line: I'm a fan, and I'm glad to have this book in my Star Wars collection of reading. You will be too.

Anyone who frequents theforce.net message board will find everything in here to be old news. There isnt anything unique or any revelations of any kind on the state of fandom. Many of the editorial decisions are downright headscratching, such as devoting the most pages and the largest chapter to the most obscure and least appetizing (and interesting) of SW fan activites, slash fan fiction, and then giving mere lipservice to the fan film subculture despite its overwhelming popularity and overabundance of ancedotes. There was nothing in the fanfilm section at all that could not be gleened by even a superficial examination of a handful of fanfilm websites. Very shallow.

The author's research as a sum total is highly suspect. He says that the bulk of his personal correspondance consists of merely the first 100 members of theforce.net to answer his email. Whereas he can hide behind that process being allegely random, the results obivously indicate that he got caught with a string of egomaniacs and malcontents.
The author lets these "fans" (used loosely) go off on the most inane and undefendable rants on how Lucas is an idiot, the movies suck, and how much better everything would be if they were in charge, and the author never follows through to get them to justify these positions. Every wild eyed gut spew is taking as God's Holy Fact. That would be acceptable if the author was writing a book about people who hate the Phantom Menace, but he isnt. He pretends to write a book about ALL Star Wars fans, and pretends that these anti-Phantom views speak for the majority of all fans, a position which is completely unjustified. He gives pro-phantom fans only brief soundbites to rebut the furious raving of the bashers, and never even tries to gives both sides an equal shake. This ought not happen.
(There was not a single complaint given by the bashers that was not completely refutable if not outright ridiculous paranoia. They dont review TPM, they engage in character assassination, the maturity of which is nonexistant and juvenile. I could cut any one of these yo yos into metaphorical ribbons on a moderated message board in 30 seconds or less).

My impression is that the author has an unreasonable hatred of Phantom Menace, and is using this book to get back at Lucas, for Lucas "owes" him in some etherial manner known only to the TPM bashers who spend far too much time and spend far too much anger to be taken seriously about anything. This book is not Star Wars friendly, yet it tries to fool you into thinking it is a fair assessment.

It is not.
Stick to the message boards.

I won't critize the author for writing this book, as his heart is clearly in it and he definitely knows a lot about what he's writing. But I don't think many Star Wars fans will find this book terribly interesting. It's like reading a book written about visiting a webpage... kinda pointless.

Anyone who's in the target demo for this book (hardcore SW fans and the fan fiction community) will probably already know everything in this book. And anyone else (casual SW fans, non-Sw fans) should go nowhere near this.

If you like reading copy and paste jobs of e-mails and posts sent to the author by SW fans, than you'll like the book. But then again, you can save your money and just do that for free on the Internet, can't you?

This is, fundamentally, a smart and funny book about being in love with Star Wars. But Brooker walks a difficult line between being a fan (which he most assuredly is) and being a scholar. Some of the time this works, some of the time his analysis seems slightly skimpy to me. Ultimately, I think the book would have worked better if Brooker had cast aside his academic pretensions (and that's not supposed to sound mean) and concentrated on writing a clever, witty, well-researched fanbook. Because, damn, he can write so well! Parts of this book had me doubled over with laughter - although he's very careful not to laugh at any of the fans he's in contact with. In fact, you probably have to be a fan to find this amusing, it's all about laughing at yourself. I didn't come away from this book with any huge insights, I'll admit. But I did get a very warm sense that this level of fandom is a positive thing, and that a life of following Star Wars is just as valid as a life of sports-watching, novel-reading or religious devotion. Definitely worth reading!