Context of Practice 3: Idea 5 - Merchandising

I have struggled settling on a topic for my dissertation. Perhaps it is the finality of the project that worries me. I decided not to focus on historical topics such as the Old West or Space Race, as they are such vast areas of study. It is through contextualisation that the writer/artist may narrow the topic and lead to synthesis with illustration and drawing.

I have enjoyed studying the historical development of products and how modern tech has either threatened design or forced them to evolve...

One of the topics I have wanted to study is the merchandising of large franchises such as Star Wars or Disney.

Now that Disney owns Star Wars, it is interesting to view the transition of attitudes.

The older attitude was prone to exploiting nostalgia to the extent that even the most obscure characters were adapted into products:

Medical droid, on screen for a few seconds as Luke recovers from a Wampa attack

I reckon this subject completely plays into my hand, as I have an obsessive knowledge of Star Wars.

A few potential questions that come to mind are:


How has Star Wars merchandising endured in the increasingly digital entertainment-based industry?

How has nostalgia influenced Star Wars merchandising?

Collectors... hoarding mentality?


Visual work could catalogue the change over time/archive products?
Illustrated archive[?]