This week in "Star Wars Appreciation 101," Julia and Fern tackle The Empire Strikes Back from a certain point of view (sorry, we had to!). This episode covers narration and POV in literature and film, including how we identify a scene's point-of-view character or characters and what that can teach us. Other points of interest: What is narration, and how does it work in movies compared to literature? What is a work of fiction asking us to consider by taking certain points of view?

Read Fern's short story, "Fox Finds the Fairies" in Fruitslice Magazine!

On the Syllabus this Week:

• Kershner, Irving, director. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Twentieth Century Fox, 1980.
• Mays, Kelly J. The Norton Introduction to Literature: Shorter 14th Edition. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc, 2022.
• Proferes, Nicholas J. Film Directing Fundamentals, 4th Edition. Taylor and Francis, 2017.

Next Class:

• Character (Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi)

Social Media:
@swenglishclass on Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram
Julia is (not) on TikTok @juliachristine77
Fern is on TikTok @alwaysfern

Business inquiries: starwarsenglishclass@gmail.com

Logo by Jacob David Earl (@jacobdavidearl)
Music by ZapSplat.com

Social Media:
@swenglishclass on Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram
Julia is on TikTok @juliachristine77
Fern is on TikTok @alwaysfern

Business inquiries: starwarsenglishclass@gmail.com

Logo by Jacob David Earl (@jacobdavidearl)
Music by ZapSplat.com

This week in "Star Wars Appreciation 101," Julia and Fern try not to lose the plot while watching Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Analyzing the film’s structure, conflicts, and (weird) pacing, they make some surprising discoveries about the story we think we know. Spoiler Alert: However long you think the Death Star sequence is, no it’s not.

On the Syllabus this Week:

• Lucas, George, director. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Twentieth Century Fox, 1977.
• Mays, Kelly J. The Norton Introduction to Literature: Shorter 14th Edition. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc, 2022.

Additional Sources:

• Campbell, Joseph. The Hero With a Thousand Faces (The Collected Works of Jospeh Campbell). New World Library, 3rd ed., 2008.

Next Class:

• Narration and POV (Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back)

Social Media:
@swenglishclass on Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram
Julia is on TikTok @juliachristine77
Fern is on TikTok @alwaysfern

Business inquiries: starwarsenglishclass@gmail.com

Logo by Jacob David Earl (@jacobdavidearl)
Music by ZapSplat.com

Welcome to Star Wars Appreciation 101! (#SWA101). In this episode, Fern and Julia explore "What We Do With Star Wars" by reading "The Force Provides" by Justina Ireland (Tales of Light and Life YA High Republic Anthology) through three main "principles" that challenge how we engage with stories.

On the Syllabus Today:

• "The Force Provides" by Justina Ireland. Tales of Light and Life. Disney Lucasfilm Press, 2023, pp. 181-214.
• Mays, Kelly J. The Norton Introduction to Literature: Shorter 14th Edition. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc, 2022.

Additional Sources:

• Bernheimer, Kate. “Fairy Tale is Form, Form is Fairy Tale.” The Writer's Notebook: Craft Essays from Tin House. Tin House Books, 2009.
• Madden, T Kira. “Against Catharsis: Writing Is Not Therapy.” Literary Hub, 1 Apr. 2019, lithub.com/against-catharsis-writing-is-not-therapy/.

Social Media:
@swenglishclass on Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram
Julia is on TikTok @juliachristine77
Fern is on TikTok @alwaysfern

Business inquiries: starwarsenglishclass@gmail.com

Logo by Jacob David Earl (@jacobdavidearl)
Music by ZapSplat.com