Green milk: The environmental eatymologies of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge

Abstract

Recent scholarship in media studies has explored the physical experiences of popular culture such as theme parks and fan food. Although these studies emphasize the materiality of media, they have not adequately addressed the environmental implications. Analyzing Galaxy's Edge food in conjunction with food scenes from the Skywalker Saga films makes the alimentary symbolism of the Star Wars franchise more apparent, with food revealing how characters are embedded in their environments. Galaxy's Edge food recreations exemplify how fans imbibe, ingest, and incorporate elements of Star Wars narratives in diverse ways. By foregrounding the individual body of the fan, Galaxy's Edge food demonstrates how material fan practices can creatively transform corporatized popular culture. Expanding textuality within transmedia studies allows for the narrative potential of things (such as bodies, food, and places), paving a path toward more ecocritical approaches in fan studies.