Page - 115 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 06/02

Book Review: The Myth Awakens | 115www.jrfm.eu 2020, 6/2, 114–118 viewer and by extension is innately subjective. Lyden concludes that the myth- ic structure of Star Wars can be understood “as an important site of cultural self-reflection or as a reflection of who we are, and who we might become” (31). The ambiguity in the hero/villain dichotomy is further explored in chapter two, where Lindsay Macumber employs a Jungian model of the shadow arche- type to follow Darth Vader’s transition from ambiguity (as Anakin) to embrac- ing and becoming part of the dark side. Episodes IV–VI exemplify Darth Vader as the shadow archetype who is dichotomously contrasted with the hero Luke Skywalker, but the Prequel films provide a window onto that (internal) trans- formation of the character. Interestingly, Macumber also argues that Darth Vader acts as shadow for Luke throughout his own journey to hero in the Original Trilogy, where Vader is an external shadow. Macumber then contrasts her understanding of Darth Vader as shadow archetype with the character Kylo Ren in Episode VII: The Force Awakens (J. J. Abrams, US 2015). In this case, she concludes that Kylo Ren is either a disappointing shadow or perhaps not the shadow at all, because his struggle is internal, which may provide an equivocation for that hero/villain dichotomy. Macumber uses this analysis to conclude that comics are now generally characterized by this type of ambigu- ity, which has resulted in “the loss of identifiable shadows and heroes” (44). Chris Klassen challenges previous uses of Joseph Campbell’s concept of the hero’s journey through her analysis of Leia and Rey in chapter three. Klassen argues that Rey’s journey is predicated on an internal transformation to find power within (similar to the traditional masculine hero journey), whereas Leia can be classified as a hero with political power who wants to free her community from oppression. Neither role is gendered, according to Klassen, but both characters “speak to a culture that has struggled with gender divi- sion and discrimination and make possible what was once unthinkable” (49). A strong case is made that both Rey and Leia qualify as heroes and one key point is Klassen’s use of the term “hero” and her dispensing with the less sig- nificant “heroine”. This nomenclature immediately changes the reader’s per- ception of the inherent masculinity associated with the term “hero” and plac- es both Rey and Leia in a category typically reserved for the male (super)-hero. In one of the most interesting sections for me, in chapter four Kutter Cal- laway explores the role of music in the creation and perpetuation of a myth- ological narrative. He also examines the way in which music influences or dictates the nature of the fan reception of the Star Wars films. Callaway makes important claims here about the functionality of music and proposes that John Williams’s score is not just a typical leitmotif deployed for semiot-