Discourse from a Galaxy Far Far Away 1

Discourse from a Galaxy Far Far Away

Kaden Jewett

North Central Michigan College

English 111

Professor Seymour

November 23, 2021

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Being a part of a Discourse means engaging with others and sharing ideas. Being able to

communicate with one another about a specific topic can be enjoyable for that group of people.

Discourses surround us on a daily basis, and many people don’t even know. From being a

member of a country club, to being in the naval academy, there are so many examples of what a

Discourse really is. Gee (2020) gives a nice description of what it should be like within a

Discourse, “you’re either recognized by others as a full member of it or you’re not.” (Gee pg 5).

One Discourse that I am a member of is Star Wars. This may come with some questions, like

“how is Star Wars considered a Discourse?” If you enjoy binge-watching Star Wars episodes like

I do, welcome to the Star Wars crew! Join me as I take you through the Discourse community

from a galaxy far far away.

Contributing to a Discourse community is all about achieving common goals through

member connectivity (Swales 220).One common goal that every member can agree on is

watching the Star Wars movies. It is not possible to be considered a “Star Wars fan” if you

haven’t watched the cinematic masterpieces. By watching the movies, you gain knowledge about

the Star Wars universe and are able to share your thoughts and ideas with others. Something that

is special about the movies, is that each one has hidden clues that can be traced back to other

movies and certain timelines in the galaxy. Learning about the Star Wars timeline should also be

a necessary goal for the fanbase. Knowing which order the books, movies, and TV series go will

help you to understand the flow of the stories that are told.

There is great popularity in the use of social media in relation to Star Wars. I follow

several different accounts that either elaborate on characters, go into depth on the movies,

highlight quotes that stand out from certain people, or even give recipes for Star Wars related

foods. I just discovered how to make Yoda-themed cookies!－ they look delicious. Another thing
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that goes hand in hand with communication is actually participating in the conversations. An

example of participating would be playing Star Wars: Battlefront, an online video game that

allows fans to play and interact with other Star Wars lovers. I for one love this game. The

producers of the game have made fans very satisfied with the details that are within the

animations. Many fans post updates or facts about the video games on Youtube, which is another

way of communicating.

Throughout the Discourse, there are several genres that help to explain what Star Wars is

all about. The most generic genre is the movie collection. Each movie adds to the never ending

story that is told from the first episode to the most recent. Now, there is an ever going

controversy on which order to watch the movies in. The questions are, do you watch the movies

based on when they were released? － or do you watch them based on how the Star Wars

timeline is set? This has been argued since the second trilogy was released (1999-2005). Another

genre that fans are crazy about is Lego: Star Wars. The toy company, Lego, has been making Star

Wars themed lego sets since 1999. This genre has been a part of me for many years. Every year

from when I was five years old to about thirteen, my grandpa would give me a Lego: Star Wars

lego set for Christmas. They are memories that I cherish because of how passionate and excited I

was about Star Wars.

Defining a lexis can be tricky when thinking about Star Wars, but if you dig deep and

truly understand the knowledge of “a galaxy far far away,” then you should have an assortment

of terms that can be used to relate to Star Wars. One quote that is glued to my brain is from the

famous Obi-Wan-Kenobi, “Hello there.” I say this line almost everyday when greeting someone.

It is a nice, simple way of introduction especially when the other person knows what you are

referring to. Another term that every member of the Discourse should know is, “may the force be
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with you.” This line is so famous that they made it into a holiday. Okay, maybe not an actual

holiday but it is celebrated on “May the 4th” every year.

Having a basic understanding of the Star Wars universe can go a long way. One of the

most important things to know are the characters. Being able to describe and understand what

each character brings to the story helps when communicating with others. Knowing the timeline

in which the movies take place is also an important thing to know. It is very confusing when you

are unsure of the time period in which the movie or TV show takes place. This happened to me

when I was watching The Mandalorian series on Disney+. Knowing the ever-so-small details

makes the storyline flow so much better.

This Discourse is “strong with the force,” a line that is used very often within the

community. The Star Wars community is filled with controversies such as, Darth Vader is the

face of Star Wars (Feldman). This fanbase is a special group of people that share the same sense

of entertainment. A Discourse community is a group of people that enjoy the same topic of

interest. This definition alone can be used to determine whether Star Wars is or is not considered

a Discourse. I am happy to be part of such a strong, and enjoyable group.

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Works Cited

Feldman, A “Galaxy-Wide Writing Strategies Used by Official Star Wars Bloggers” (Eds.) Writing

About Writing (Fourth ed., pp. 656-661). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins , 2020.

Gee, J. “Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics” .Writing About Writing (Fourth ed., pp. pp. 508-521).

Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins , 2020.

Swales, J. "Reflections on the Concept of Discourse Community", (Eds.) Writing About Writing (Fourth

ed., pp. 544-559). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins , 2020.