A Galaxy of Things
explores the ways in which all puppets, masks, makeup-prosthetic
figures are "material characters," using iconic Star Wars
characters like Yoda and R2-D2 to illustrate what makes them so
compelling.
As
an epic franchise, Star Wars
has been defined by creatures, droids, and masked figures since the
original 1977 movie. Author Colette Searls, a theatre director and
expert in puppetry studies, uncovers how non-humans like Chewbacca,
semi-humans like Darth Maul, and even concealed humans like Boba Fett
tell meaningful stories that conventional human characters cannot.
Searls defines three powers that puppets, masked figures, and other
material characters wield—distance, distillation, and duality—and
analyzes Star Wars’
most iconic robots and aliens to demonstrate how they work across
nearly a half-century of live-action films. Yoda and "Baby
Yoda"—two of popular culture’s greatest puppets—use these
qualities to transform their human companions. Similarly, Darth
Vader’s mask functions as a performing object driving mystery and
suspense across three film trilogies. The power of material
characters has also been wielded in problematic ways, such as
stereotypes in the representation of service droids and controversial
creatures like Jar Jar Binks. Bringing readers forward into the first
Star Wars live-action streaming series, the book also explores how
the early 2020s stories centered material characters in particularly
meaningful, often redemptive ways.
A
Galaxy of Things is an
accessible guide to puppets, masks, and other material characters for
students and scholars of theatre, film, puppetry, and popular culture
studies. It also offers useful perspectives on non-human
representation for researchers in object-oriented ontology,
posthumanism, ethnic studies, and material culture.