Episode 068: This Music Makes Me Feel... The Psychology of Star Wars (1977) Music with Jim Davies & Joe Kraemer

CinemaPsych Podcast

Join Alex and guest hosts Dr. Jim Davies and Hollywood composer Joe Kraemer as they discuss the powerful music of composer John Williams' immaculate score of Star Wars (1977) and its subsequent film franchise. In 2015, the two guests hosts wrote a chapter — after decades of friendship and a shared love of nerd culture and music — on the psychology of the music from the famous sci-fi/fantasy film from George Lucas. The trio chat about how the music makes the viewer feel and how Williams uses the concept of leitmotifs to signal how characters interact and why certain sounds within music theory are associated with deeply subconscious processing. For the listener of the episode, we have s special treat of the music underscoring their chat, with a little bit of Joe's riffing and ad-libbing with his piano!

To read the chapter in our discussion, from the unauthorized book Star Wars Psychology: The Dark Side of the Mind (Volume 2), head here: The Symphony of Psychology: The Music of Star Wars

Find all of Jim's work: jimdavies.org

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Legal stuff:
1. All film clips are used under Section 107 of Title 17 U.S.C. (fair use; no copyright infringement is intended).
2. Intro and outro music by half.cool ("Gemini"). Used under license.