Turnock talks to The News-Gazette about "Star Wars" and special effects

The new "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" takes a backwards glance to the 1977 original, based on a look at the trailers, and the presence of the film's first stars, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.

A University of Illinois media professor says the early look at a "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" probably reflects nostalgia as well as the fans' reactions to the prequels that came out after the original trilogy.

Julie A. Turnock has written extensively about special effects, and "Star Wars" in particular, in articles and especially in a recent book, "Plastic Reality: Special Effects, Technology and the Emergence of 1970s Blockbuster Aesthetics."

In a recent review, the San Francisco Book Review wrote "'Plastic Reality' makes you look at 'Star Wars' in a new light."

Read the full story here.