From its very first frame, the Star Wars series created a compelling universe, with complex characters and engaging storytelling. In advance of the highly anticipated new movie, Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, this essay collection offers a fascinating and unauthorized psychological analysis of every aspect of George Lucas's richly rendered world. A group of expert contributors, edited by Travis Langley, examines such topics as family ties, Jedi qualities, masculi...
This thought-provoking anthology offers a close examination of the psychology behind the intricate narrative and compelling characters in the popular HBO TV series Game of Thrones, based upon author George RR Martin's bestselling work, A Song of Ice and Fire. In Martin's richly detailed world, deceit, manipulation and greed rule the day, and almost everyone is fighting to gain ultimate power over the realm. With no moral boundaries honoured, the psychological games played by ...
The next entry in Sterling's pop-culture psychology series features 20 essays and an exclusive interview with Rod Roddenberry, son of "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry. In a fun and accessible way, "Star Trek Psychology" delves deep into the psyches of the show's well-known and well-loved characters. It uses academic and scientific theories to analyze and answer such questions as "Why do Trek's aliens look so human?" and "How can the starship's holodeck be used for therapy...
The characters of "The Walking Dead" live in a desolate postapocalyptic world, filled with relentless violence and death. In reality, how would such neverending trauma affect the psyche? By understanding the psychological forces that drive the show's action, fans can better grasp this compelling fictional universe. Is the Governor a psychopath, a sociopath, or neither? What does Terror Management Theory tell us about what it means to constantly fight for survival – as Rick mu...
In Michael Crichton's 1973 motion picture Westworld, people playing out fantasies find their lives in danger when robots built to entertain start to kill, creating an opportunity for viewers to examine an array of psychological phenomena. Today, the HBO television series reframes those questions and fears of technology gone awry in terms of twenty-first century concerns about rapidly evolving AI. The essays in this collection, edited by Travis Langley and Wind Goodfriend, exp...
