University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 4-7-2006 Stormtroopers Among Us: Star Wars Costuming, Connection, and Civic Engagement Dava L. Simpson University of South Florida Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the American Studies Commons Scholar Commons Citation Simpson, Dava L., "Stormtroopers Among Us: Star Wars Costuming, Connection, and Civic Engagement" (2006). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/3871 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Stormtroopers Among Us: Star Wars Costuming, Connection, and Civic Engagement by Dava L. Simpson A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Communication College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: Janna Jones, Ph.D. Elizabeth Bell, Ph.D. Marcy Chvasta, Ph.D. Date of Approval: April 7, 2006 Keywords: Fans, Audience, Subculture, Star Wars, Costumes, Popular Culture © Copyright 2006, Dava L. Simpson Dedication This is for my children, Danielle and Scott. Thank you for enduring 20 years of Star Wars and 13 years of higher education. I love you both. Acknowledgements I would like to express my thanks to my major professor, Dr. Janna Jones. Even though she is not a Star Wars fan, she embraced my topic and shared my enthusiasm. Beyond supporting the contents of this thesis, she nurtured my writing and research process. Janna’s dedicated assistance comprises an invaluable contribution to this work and my future as a scholar. I would like to thank my thesis committee members, Dr. Elizabeth Bell and Dr. Marcy Chvasta for agreeing to participate in my thesis. They gave me the support and the freedom to effectively explore this community. I would like to thank the entire committee for recognizing the value of my intentions and conclusions. I would like to thank all the members of the Star Wars Costuming Legions, especially the Florida 501st Garrison, who allowed me to pry into their hobby, asking questions and participating in events even before I became an official member. They were always welcoming, honest, and interested in what I was trying to accomplish. Finally, I would like to thank all Star Wars costumers for acting upon their interests and keeping Star Wars alive. Table of Contents List of Figures ii Abstract iii Chapter One: Introduction 1 Literature Review 4 Method 10 Thesis Overview 13 Chapter Two: Costumes and Personal Choices 18 From Clothing to Costumes 23 Choosing a Particular Costume 28 Dressing the Costumer’s Body 36 Striving for Originality 43 Conclusion 50 Chapter Three: Construction and Transformation 54 Finding Star Wars 60 Constructing Costumes 65 Constructing Connections 71 Conclusion 77 Chapter Four: Performance and Interaction 81 Performing Star Wars 85 Performing Fandom 90 Performing Community 97 Conclusion 109 Chapter Five: Conclusion 113 Decline in Community Involvement 116 Emergence from Spectatorship to Participation 121 References 125 Appendix 128 Appendix A: Star Wars 501st Mission Statement and Legion Charter 129 i List of Figures Figure 1. Stormtrooper (with R2D2) at Necronomicon, October, 2004 20 Figure 2. My Han Solo costume at Dreamcon, June 2004 22 Figure 3. General Grievous 40 Figure 4. Star Wars fan in General Grievous costume at Celebration III, May 2005 41 Figure 5. Elvis Trooper at Dragoncon, September 2005 46 Figure 6. Peace Trooper at Celebration III, May 2005 47 Figure 7. Fem-Trooper at Dragoncon, September 2005 48 Figure 8. My Jedi Costume at Walt Disney World, June 2005 57 Figure 9. Official 501st photo at Celebration III, May 2005 83 Figure 10. Star Wars Costumers at Revenge of the Sith Premiere, May 2005 84 Figure 11. Lord of the Rings Costumers attending Dreamcon, June 2004 93 Figure12. Costumers dressed as Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia, and Stormtrooper play a scene against Celebration III backdrop, May 2005 95 Figure 13. Star Wars Costumers at Toys R Us in Brandon Florida, October 2004 104 Figure 14. Stormtrooper accompany William Shatner in a musical number during the American Film Institute's tribute to George Lucas 105 Figure 15. Clone Troopers on their way to Celebration III, May 2005 107 ii Stormtroopers Among Us: Star Wars Costuming, Connection, and Civic Engagement Dava L. Simpson ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to examine the bonds that form between people as consumers of popular visual media and to discuss the relationship and impact of the resulting subcultures on the larger culture. Star Wars costumers offer a magnified glance at some of the ways in which people engage with images. As reflections of popular culture, costumers display their textual devotions and opinions; they embody spectatorship by reincarnating their favorite characters and contexts from text-bound sources. Moreover, they embrace modes of visual representation by performing the roles of both image consumer and image producer. I strive to understand the activities shared by audiences after the viewing experience is over; they are highly articulate interpreting media texts in a variety of interesting and unexpected ways. Whether they impart opinions or pursue alternative relationships with some aspect of the text, people do form communities and celebrate their connections to visual texts. As fans, individuals appropriate movie materials to fulfill personal goals and build social connections. While not all-encompassing, these smaller communities say a lot about the social impact of movies—the impact of images on individuals. This thesis combines an ethnographic study of Star Wars costumers within a theoretical framework of cultural studies and performance to investigate the ways iii in which media images impact individuals. In documenting events from the perspective of the costumer, I seek to understand the costumer as a member of a visual audience, a reflection of popular culture, and a participant in the dominant culture. iv Chapter One Introduction Based on box office revenues alone, more people around the world have seen some portion of the Star Wars Saga than almost any other movie in history; yet, even with these statistics, there is no way to gauge these films’ audiences as compared to those of any other top-grossing film or any low-grossing film for that matter. Capitalistic representations have permeated our cultural understanding of movies as they are often recognized in terms of gross ticket sales and merchandizing campaigns. Although figures indicate the commercial value of films, the audiences remain shapeless and anonymous. While we can map the financial connections between movies and their audiences, it is not always easy to characterize audience perceptions and their connections to moving images. I turn to fans for my research as they are a definable group of human beings paying homage to particular texts and images. Fan groups participate in a variety of activities inspired by popular culture. Many participate in creative endeavors, generating artistic and interpretive products as a response to visual cultures. Whether they produce a painting, a novel, interpretive remarks, or an appreciative letter, fans’ activities generally center upon individualized forms of personal expression. As my literature review affirms, a great deal of research has been geared toward television audiences investigating the viewing responses of those who habitually watch specific shows. With articles ranging from 1 investigations of fan-written letters and person-to-person interviews to the writing of fan fiction and slash fiction, fans are lauded for actively engaging with media texts, but they are isolated within their own subculture. People struggle each day to find ways to connect to one another, and for nearly a century movies have provided moments of commonality among diverse groups of individuals. While fan activities emphasize the connections between human beings and texts, they also link individuals to one another. My project focuses on the costume-wearing fans of Star Wars Saga. They construct and wear movie-quality costumes fashioned after the galaxy of characters created by George Lucas. Star Wars costumers work primarily within two collaborating collectives based upon costume design as well as the narrative concerns of the Saga with one Legion devoted to the fictional antagonists (Stormtroopers, Darth Vader, Boba Fett) and one devoted to the protagonists (Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Obi-wan Kenobi). The activities of Star Wars costuming clubs differ from those of other fan groups because they include a strictly social aspect where they perform in public spaces. They share their pleasurable viewing experiences and resulting admiration for the text not only with other members in the fan group but with the larger public. It does not really matter what aspects of these particular films inspire members, but rather that these people choose to form collectivities that serve their interests, as well as their communities. Costumes provide a cohesive element to form bonds around individual performances and interaction. Costumes, along with other methods of fan appropriation, represent the sense of fulfillment that individuals take away 2 from movie watching. In this context, fandom is a mode of