Langley - Star Wars psychology: dark side of the mind

To my grandfathers

Vernie Langley, Jr. and (in memory)

William Bill Mills

Science fiction was never their big thing, but that first Star Wars movie is a cowboy story, from a certain point of view, as Ben Kenobi might say.

Special Thanks

to George Lucas for giving us heroes a long time ago and far far away, and to the designers, actors, film crew, game developers, and many others who helped populate his galaxy in the beginning and keep things going today.

I never stopped expecting an Episode VII. Admittedly, I did start to wonder if it would happen during George Lucass lifetime. Long before Lucasfilm announced that the Star Wars cinematic series would finally resume, I started planning the book that would become Star Wars Psychology: Dark Side of the Mind. Its time has come, thanks to Lucasfilm, Disney, and New York Comic Con. Minutes after I mentioned my previous books editor, Connie Santisteban, to illustrator Marc Nadel, we crossed paths with her in the hallway at NYCC. Connie had just added popular culture to her repertoire at Sterling Publishing, I had just prepared a popular culture psychology series proposal, and we immediately agreed that we wanted to work together again. Remember that Star Wars book I wanted to do? I asked Connie. Its time!

Thanks to Connie Santisteban, Lauren Tambini, Sari Lampert, and so many other fine folks at Sterling Publishing, Star Wars Psychology and The Walking Dead Psychology are here, with more titles on the way. Such an ambitious series would never be possible without the chapter authors, a group of professionals who know how to bring psychology and popular culture together in informative and entertaining ways. Because I met most of them at conventions or through our Psychology Today blogs, I must thank The People versus George Lucas interviewee Matt Smith, whose research led me to my first Comic-Con, and Kaja Perina, my editor at PsychologyToday.com. Different fan conventions organizers have created opportunities for me to meet fascinating people and develop my ideas on the psychology of popular culture: Randy Duncan, Peter Coogan, and Kate McClancy, my fellow Comics Arts Conference organizers; Eddie Ibrahim, Sue Lord, Adam Neese, Gary Sassaman, and more who run Comic-Con International; Lance Fensterman (New York Comic Con); Mark Walters and Ben Stevens (Dallas Comic Con); Jimmy and Kara Dyer (ComiCon-Way); and the most excellent Christopher Jansen, Peter Katz, Donna Chin, Mo Lightning, Madeleine McManus, Jerry Milani, Victoria Schmidt, Brittany Walloch, and others who have organized the Wizard World conventions.

Of the hundreds of speakers who have appeared on convention panels with me, noteworthy for this book are those who presented OuterPlaces.coms first Science of Star Wars panel: Kieran Dickson, Jenna Busch, Steve Huff, Emily Manor-Chapman, and Eliot Sirota. Thats when Eliot and I figured out how to make lightsabers work. (Just wait until we crowdsource their production!) I finally met Carrie Goldman, who wrote this books foreword, in person after Chase Masterson (Star Trek: Deep Space 9) invited me to join the two of them, Joe Gatto, Matt Langdon, Ashley Eckstein (Star Wars: The Clone Wars), and others on their End Bullying Now! panel at New York Comic Con. Noteworthy friends who also played important parts in that eventful NYCC trip include Athena Finger, Danny Fingeroth, Irwin Hasen, Chelle Mayer, Michael Uslan, and Nicky Wheeler-Nicholson. Adam Savage deserves a shout-out for throwing the Comic-Con after-party (as does Grant Imahara for telling us to go) where Matt Munson made sure everyone made friends and I met great people like Fon Davis, who worked on visual effects for the Star Wars Special Editions and prequels.

Teaching at Henderson State University, I am truly fortunate to enjoy the support of administrators like President Glen Jones, Provost Steve Adkison, and Dean John Hardee, who welcome creative ways to teach. Its a good thing librarian Lea Ann Alexander similarly welcomes my weird acquisition requests. Eric Bailey made sure I got to rewatch Episodes IVVI in their original theatrical versions. Active, enthusiastic students in our Comics Arts Club, the Legion of Nerds, and related classes keep the educational experience exciting. Legion founders Ashley Bles, Dillon Hall, Coley Henson, and Bobby Rutledge created their campus club where more than a hundred students meet, read, trade, game, LARP, laugh, and share all kinds of nerdy passions. Our faculty writers group (Angela Boswell, Martin Halpern, Vernon Miles, Suzanne Tartamella, David Sesser, Michael Taylor) reviewed proposals and portions of this manuscript. My fellow psychology faculty members offer endless encouragement, and its a genuine pleasure to work with people I both like and respect: Aneeq Ahmad, Paul Williamson, Rafael Bejarano, Emilie Beltzer, and Rebecca Langley. Rebecca gets additional credit as my sounding board, proofreader, best friend, and the person who keeps up with all kinds of things when I must immerse myself in exploring these fictional worlds.