Sunday, May 15, 2005

Star Wars, the anti-Bush movie

I actually thought about this a little while ago, this is a movie where a democracy (The Republic) turns into a dictatorship (The Empire) and with all the shit going on.... the whole filibuster debate... gay marrige.... if you buy pot you're supporting terrorism... if you voted for Kerry leave our church.... Guantanemo Bay..... an entire war based on false information.... and people are cool with it.

"If you're not with me, then you're my enemy," Hayden Christensen's Anakin soon to become villain Darth Vader tells former mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor). The line echoes Bush's international ultimatum after the Sept. 11 attacks, "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.

Lucas began researching how democracies can turn into dictatorships with full consent of the electorate.

In ancient Rome, "why did the senate after killing Caesar turn around and give the government to his nephew?" Lucas said. "Why did France after they got rid of the king and that whole system turn around and give it to Napoleon? It's the same thing with Germany and Hitler.

"You sort of see these recurring themes where a democracy turns itself into a dictatorship, and it always seems to happen kind of in the same way, with the same kinds of issues, and threats from the outside, needing more control. A democratic body, a senate, not being able to function properly because everybody's squabbling, there's corruption."


I think it's obvious Lucas isn't a Bush guy (he liked F-911) but I would rather people not try to politicize Star Wars (which is what I just did). Look into it all you want (and some people do) but at the end of the day it's a space movie filled with people you have magic powers and weild deadly flashlights.

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