NYT: Latest 'Star Wars' Movie Is Quickly Politicized (Moveon to run ads)

[DeepModem Mom]

Latest 'Star Wars' Movie Is Quickly Politicized
By DAVID M. HALBFINGER
Published: May 19, 2005


LOS ANGELES, May 18 - For sheer lack of subtlety, the light-saber-wielding forces of good and evil in George Lucas's "Star Wars" movies can't hold a candle to the blogging, advertising and boycotting forces of the right and left. (Or left and right.)

More a measure of the nation's apparently permanent political warfare than of a filmmaker's intent, the heroes and antiheroes of Mr. Lucas's final entry, "Episode III - Revenge of the Sith," were on their way to becoming the stock characters of partisan debate by mid-Wednesday, hours before the film's opening just after midnight:

¶The liberal advocacy group Moveon.org was preparing to spend $150,000 to run advertisements on CNN over the next few days - and to spread leaflets among audiences in line at multiplexes - comparing Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, the majority leader, to the movie's power-grabbing, evil Chancellor Palpatine, for Dr. Frist's role in the Senate's showdown over the confirmation of federal judges.

¶Conservative Web logs were lacerating Mr. Lucas over the film's perceived jabs at President Bush - as when Anakin Skywalker, on his way to becoming the evil Darth Vader, warns, "If you're not with me, you're my enemy," in an echo of Mr. Bush's post-9/11 ultimatum, "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists."

¶A little-trafficked conservative Web site about film, Pabaah.com - for "Patriotic Americans Boycotting Anti-American Hollywood" - added Mr. Lucas to its list of boycotted entertainers, along with more than 200 others, including Jane Fonda, Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn and the Dixie Chicks....


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/19/movies/19star.html?hp&ex=1116475200&en=a059a5bc6c21178f&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[SpiralHawk]

1. The Force is with us

We shall transcend uber alles, or whatever.

[autorank]

2. I was going to avoid this one but now I'M BUYING TICKETS. Thanks

[DanCa]

3. *sigh*

This is not directed at anyone here but I got to mini vent. Does everything have to be red and blue these days? I mean the movie isn't even out yet. I mean wasn't it Sigmund Fraud who said sometimes a cigar is just a cigar?

[inthebrain]

5. Sometimes and sometimes not

Intentional or not most movies and literature have a theme to it that is political.

Tom Sawyer

Huck Finn

To Kill a Mockingbird

Fight Club

Star Wars

Star Trek

Million Dollar Baby

A beautiful Mind

Meet The Parents (Gender Roles)

YOu can list thousands of them.

[DanCa]

8. Oh I agree

Maybe I am just too intune as too whats going on in the world but I would really like to go back to the days of just watching movies for the sheer fun of them. Then again Superman one and Billy Jack are probably the movies that turned me into a liberal in the first place. Ah if only I could indulge in the innocence of youth again eh?

[IChing]

9. Boycott Star Wars And George Lucas

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=1791812&mesg_id=1791812

no art is political

[jojo54]

7. I understand what you're saying but now it's personal

Why? If we let these Republican travesties of justice go by without saying or doing anything, then pretty soon NONE of us will even be able to afford the tickets to go see the few, religion based movies that Hollywood will be allowed to put out.

Unfortunately, you can't use Freud's quote here 'cause in Commander Cuckoo Bananas' case, a liar ISN'T just a liar.

[Fozzledick]

18. Whether its intentional or not

Any general but detailed description of a tyrant is going to sound a lot like b*sh!

[inthebrain]

4. Republicans are dumber than I thought

30 years later and they've finally caught on to what the gist of this film is about!!!

It's main theme is anti fascist and anti totalitarianism. Its very core is about the power of disobedience.

The new series is clearly about how good people can have good intention yet still be evil to the core. Fact is, every dictator throughout history believed they were doing the right thing.

Star Wars, although suffering from some bad acting at times, has always had those themes running it.

Boy, those Republcans are dumber than I thought. Took em thirty years to catch on to that.


YEEEESH!!!!!

[iamjoy]

19. No, They Aren't Dumb, Times Have Changed

see, 30 years ago, the Republicans were in the minority.
They have spent 30 years acting like an oppressed minority under the liberals and everything they did was a "rebellion" against liberal elitists. They were good.

Now, the current film has some elements that contradict their nice little frame, and for some reason, they can't ignore it, so they just chalk it up to Hollywood liberals hating America.

[Hissyspit]

6. The Dark Side is authoritarian. n/t

[Enraged_Ape]

10. HA! A boycott. What a joke that is.

The freaking midnight showing of this tonight at our big theater was sold out. Everyone and their dog is going to see this.

[shadowknows69]

14. they filled 3 theatres here in Watertown NY n/t

[Stargleamer]

11. Lucas: "The parallels between Iraq and Vietnam are unbelievable."

I'm find the similarities striking as well.

[LightningFlash]

12. I think it's pretty clear what's going on here.....

And now more than ever people need to wake up, to hold their represenatives in the Senate accountable.

[shadowknows69]

13. Just watched it

My best friend (formerly democrat now fox watching koolaid drinker) saw it with me and the irony of that line was not lost on him although he took an adversarial tone towards it.

[DeepModem Mom]

15. Interesting, shadow. Any other observations on the movie? NT

[shadowknows69]

21. Yeah

Overall I think it was worth the wait. I think it's clear, despite the fact he denies it, Lucas peppered it with very similar situations politically to what's going on now. I shudder to think of the staements the man could make if he were a more adept writer of dialogue.

[Bridget Burke]

16. Certain patterns & characters recur again & again.

In myth, literature & history. Stock characters or archetypes? Well, the latter sounds more intellectual. And I was reading Joseph Campbell before I the original Star Wars movies were ever made!

I may have to go & see this one. Perhaps at a matinee...

[Merlin]

17. Move-On's move is brilliant!

It's pure genius.

The flick is being blasted by the right as lampooning and demonizing Bush--which is a fair an accurate characterization apparently.

Move-On, by arguing the film actually portrays evil genius Bill Frist, both draws attention to Frist's unconscionable nuke option plan and clouds or confounds the criticism that it ridicules Bush.

For that, I will make a contribution today to Move-On. Bravo!

[NJmaverick]

20. I think it could back fire

Pushing politics where it doesn't belong, like on a movie line, will piss people off more then convert anyone.

[Merlin]

22. Maybe against Move-On. But the purpose is to defuse the right wing attack

on the movie itself.

The right is in the middle of trying to create a media controversy claiming the movie is anti-Bush. That may prevent a lot of parents from taking their kids and a lot of others from seeing it.

This is a great way to confuse and therefore defuse that claim.

Typical chatter at home: "I don't know, dear, somebody said it's political. It's against Bush or against some Senator or something..."

This is a subversive movie. The message is very important. It's an opportunity to wake up many sleeping fools out there in apathyland. If it were to be cleanly demonized as anti-Bush that would be a shame.

[iamjoy]

23. Things To Think About

I mean, Lucas had the basic plot idea years ago, before Dubya came to power, so whether the story is an allegory in itself, I doubt it. However, some of the lines are just too precious. Two, in particular (not said in same scene)


Padme: So this is how liberty* dies

Anakin/Vader: You are with me or you are my enemy

*corrected on edit, from democracy