Luna's third Call for Papers, A Shadow Within: Evil in Fantasy and Science Fiction will be released on Wednesday the 14th of August, at Dublin Worldcon. Explore the 21 brilliant papers you will find in the book.
Today, we would like to introduce you to Rostislav Kůrka (Czech Republic/Finland).
MA Theology. PhD, Writer. Presenting the paper: From Dark Side to Grey Politics: The Portrayal of Evil in the Star Wars saga.
Rostislav says:
"In 1977, Star Wars introduced us to one of cinema’s most iconic evil characters: Darth Vader. Clad in black and using the “Dark Side of the Force”, he is easily identified as a villain. However, since then, the Star Wars saga has grown, and its story has moved beyond spaceship corridors into senate halls. How has the portrayal of evil in the saga changed over time? Are such changes only superficial, or have the values that evil represents shifted? Has the border between good and evil become less clear in the recent films?
To answer these questions, I examine the portrayal of evil in the Star Wars film saga on several levels. I mainly focus on the interaction between two dimensions of evil: metaphysical and political. I trace the depiction of evil in the Star Wars saga chronologically, starting from the original trilogy (1977-1983), through the prequels (1999- 2005), finishing with the sequel trilogy and the stand-alone “Star Wars story” films (2015-present). "
Rostislav Kůrka is a Prague-born theologian with lifetime interest in fantasy, sci-fi, writing and world-building. His greatest success among wide public came unexpectedly in the form of LotR musical which spread among the Czech fan community after TolkienCon 2004.
In the academic field, his chief interest has been the Hebrew Bible and its historical background. While focusing on the importance of story in Judeo-Christian tradition, his interest in fantasy storytelling has managed to seep into his research, as it occasionally still does.
He currently lives in Finland, trying to find future balance between his academic interests and hobbies. He also contributes to ScififantasyNetwork.com as a Star Wars editor.
For Luna Press Publishing: Gender identity and sexuality in Current Fantasy and Science Fiction (2017); A Shadow Within: Evil in Fantasy and Science Fiction (Release date 14/8/19).
Luna Awards: British Fantasy Award Winner 2018 for Gender identity and sexuality in Current Fantasy and Science Fiction.
A Shadow Within: Evil in Fantasy and Science Fiction
is now in pre-order!