STUDIES AND RESEARCH

Pulp Fantasy: Alternative Approaches to the Critical Reception of ’Star Wars’

The international film community is gearing up for the release of the much-publicised fourth ’Star Wars’ film. The author feels that the media saturation with ’The Phantom Menace’-related articles is in no small part precluding film critics from approaching the film using a theoretical approach that could be deemed relevant to the specific qualities of George Lucas’s cinema.

To this end, the article makes a case for dispelling the common misconceptions regarding ’Star Wars’ — from its creator’s perceived over-reliance on technology, to the marketing and merchandising aspects of the film series. Main points are made on Lucas’ unique status within the American moviemaking establishment, especially concerning his independence from the studio system, and the role of fans in the series’ perception.

Instead of often misleading application of widespread strains of film theory to ’Star Wars’, the author argues that Lucas’s achievement should be derived from the extent to which the author meets its mythmaking objectives. Thus, after a brief introduction to Lucas’s main influence, the work of Joseph Campbell — largely unknown in Croatia — a sample interpretation of ’The Phantom Menace’ is given from a Jungian viewpoint.

The article presupposes previous exposure to the film series and its media coverage on the part of the reader.

Vladimir C. Sever