Interrupting Empire: Playing with Concealment and Pedagogy in the Meme 'For the Better, Right?': Star Wars: A New Hope for Visual Pedagogies in a Galaxy Far, Far Away.

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Title: Interrupting Empire: Playing with Concealment and Pedagogy in the Meme 'For the Better, Right?': Star Wars: A New Hope for Visual Pedagogies in a Galaxy Far, Far Away.
Authors: Sojot, Amy N.1 (AUTHOR) amysojot@depauw.edu
Source: Video Journal of Education & Pedagogy. 2026, Vol. 10 Issue 2, p1-17. 17p.
Subject Terms: *Visual education, Memes, Memetics, Resistance (Philosophy), Poststructuralism, Power (Social sciences)
Abstract: 'For the better, right?' is a Star Wars meme that depicts a scene from Episode II—Attack of the Clones. Although the scene and dialogue never occur in the actual film, the meme provides a concise fourteen-word analysis of how Empire conceals itself. Using postfoundational inquiry, this article examines the meme's pedagogy through Brian Massumi's work on play in relation to politics and affect. Concealment and interruption are identified as two characteristics of these relations. Author-created iterations of the meme demonstrate how play, as theorized by Massumi, can rework these tactics of concealment and interruption, enabling them to imagine alternative approaches to resisting Empire: a visual pedagogy that does not replicate its systems or foundational logics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database: Education Research Complete
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Abstract:'For the better, right?' is a Star Wars meme that depicts a scene from Episode II—Attack of the Clones. Although the scene and dialogue never occur in the actual film, the meme provides a concise fourteen-word analysis of how Empire conceals itself. Using postfoundational inquiry, this article examines the meme's pedagogy through Brian Massumi's work on play in relation to politics and affect. Concealment and interruption are identified as two characteristics of these relations. Author-created iterations of the meme demonstrate how play, as theorized by Massumi, can rework these tactics of concealment and interruption, enabling them to imagine alternative approaches to resisting Empire: a visual pedagogy that does not replicate its systems or foundational logics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:23644583
DOI:10.1163/23644583-bja10069