Was Lucas trying to tell us something about Bush and Bin Laden?

[genius]

Did you notice that all the enemies of the Republic were really working for Palpatine? Was this Lucas's way of saying that Bin Ladin, Zarkawi (if he even exists apart from Bush) and even the Iraqi rebels are really doing Bush's bidding?

[Pacifist Patriot]

1. Man I cannot wait to see that movie.

[cheezus]

21. haha, i'm going to ruin the ending for you

anakin skywalker becomes darth vader

[Pacifist Patriot]

26. Aw shit, how could you do that to a fellow Dem?

Oh wait, I think I knew that already.

[theboss]

2. I want this story to die

I don't want Star Wars politicized. It's a legend. If you turn it into an allegory, it loses all of its romance.

And frankly, if Lucas was spending his time trying to stick it to Bush instead of writing better dialogue, I'm going to be pissed.

[Orrex]

5. Two points

1. Lucas crippled the "myth" when he forcibly inserted "midichlorians" into the Star Wars canon, turning the story from cool space fantasy to half-assed science fiction.

2. Lucas can't write good dialogue, regardless of *

[genius]

9. It is political. Didn't you see Lucas's comments about Bush and Nixon?

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/Today/2005/05/16/1041465-sun.html

Star Wars is a wakeup call to Americans about the erosion of democratic freedoms under George W. Bush, George Lucas said yesterday.

Lucas, at a Cannes film festival press conference yesterday, said he first wrote the framework of Star Wars in 1971 when reacting to then-U.S. president Richard Nixon and the events of the Vietnam War. But the story still has relevance today, he said, and is part of a pattern he has noticed in history.

"I didn't think it was going to get quite this close," he said of the parallels between the Nixon era and the Bush presidency, which has been sacrificing freedoms in the interests of national security.

...

[rkc3]

3. Have you seen the Weekly Standard article saying Lucas got it all

wrong about Star Wars? It was written in 2002 and put forth the idea that the rebellion were terrorists and the Empire was only trying to keep the peace and keep trade routes open.

For a rag like that to go to such lengths to criticize movie, there might be some truth to your rumor.

[ComerPerro]

11. Here's that article

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/001/248ipzbt.asp?pg=1

I found it so amusing that I posted it on my blog.

[rkc3]

14. Thanks for the link - what a great spin on things.

[ComerPerro]

18. That's what I love about DU

someone mentions some source, and then before you know it somebody posts a link to it almost right away.

[rkc3]

20. Yup, I just wonder how much lost productivity this site causes.

I think I'm addicted.

[Placebo]

4. The film is blatantly Anti-Bush, and Anti-War...

and for that, I will love it even more.

[theboss]

7. I doubt it is either

And if it is, I will be really pissed. I don't want modern politics to invade the Star Wars universe.

Apparently, Lucas had some half-assed notion that Star Wars reflected the Vietnam War when he made it. But Lucas generally is the worst critic of his work. It's kind of amusing; he created this unbelievably rich and vibrant universe. Gave it a political class. A spiritual realm. A look. A feel. Yet, he himself doesn't seem to get what it all means.

It's cute, in a way.

[Vincardog]

6. Remember the Radical Islamic Radicals were created in response

to the Russian attack in Afghanistan. It was St. Ronnie and daddy Shrub who called on Saudi Arabia and the Middle East to recruit and train these freedom fighters to oppose the Russian invasion. It was the CIA that trained Osama Ben Forgotten. The BFEE did not just allow 9/11 they planned and executed it.

Jet fuel does not melt steel.
Fires do not collapse steel frame buildings especially
into their own footprints it was a controlled demolition.

It is Crime to remove evidence from the seen of a crime but the steel supports from the WTC were on a boat to China as scrap within a month of 9/11.

Washington is surrounded by a ring of anti-aircraft missiles that automatically shoot down any plane that violates the airspace unless that plane carries a US military Transponder. How does a plane then fly into the Pentagon?

Wake up people the Emperor not only has no cloths he is riding our asses with a riding crop and laughing like the mad man he is.

[illbill]

22. BFEE???

?

[Raiden]

30. Bush Family Evil Empire

;-)

[ieoeja]

23. Military Transponder

Since when has the White House been surrounded by SAMs that automatically shoot down planes lacking US military transponders? They certainly didn't have them at the beginning of the Clinton presidency since some RW idiot DID successfully ram a plane into the White House.

[Vincardog]

32. The Beginning of the Clinton presidency was a Decade ago.

They have upgraded.

[NYCGirl]

8. Lucas has stated he wrote the film BEFORE the Iraq war started. NT

[genius]

10. That's not quite accurate. He wrote the first trilogy before it started

and clearly the movies that came out first. But currently these are the explanation films and he has really worked Bush into them.

[NYCGirl]

12. Link:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1116183291157_41

Unlike Moore, whose Cannes visit came off like an anybody-but-Bush campaign stop, Lucas never mentioned the president by name but was eager to speak his mind on U.S. policy in Iraq, careful again to note that he created the story long before the Bush-led occupation there.

"When I wrote it, Iraq didn't exist," Lucas said, laughing.

"We were just funding Saddam Hussein and giving him weapons of mass destruction. We didn't think of him as an enemy at that time. We were going after Iran and using him as our surrogate, just as we were doing in Vietnam. ... The parallels between what we did in Vietnam and what we're doing in Iraq now are unbelievable."

The prequel trilogy is based on a back-story outline Lucas created in the mid-1970s for the original three "Star Wars" movies, so the themes percolated out of the Vietnam War and the Nixon-Watergate era, he said.

[FreedomAngel82]

13. On another board

someone mentioned they saw some guy named Mark Hammil interviewing Lucas and according to him Lucas was thinking of the Vietnam days so it's actually anti-Nixon. :shrug: Frank Luetenberg just used the Star Wars film in his speech. ;)

[NYCGirl]

15. Some guy named Mark Hamill? How old are you?

Did you see the first SW trilogy?

[IChing]

17. I think it was 1982 or a joke

Lucas studied under Joseph Campbell for three years before he wrote the first script and understands the use of myths and the collective unconsciousness.

The story was there a long time ago if you have ever looked and read any of the novels, comic books and games that followed the first three movies.

Some novels won sci-fi book awards.

It is called synchronicity vs a coincidence in the following of Carl Jung.

[SheepyMcSheepster]

24. hehe

who ever the hell mark hamill is............wasn't he that ice skater?

:silly:

[genius]

31. Read this

Lucas didn't like Nixon and doesn't like Bush.
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/Today/2005/05/16/1041465-sun.html
...
"I didn't think it was going to get quite this close," he said of the parallels between the Nixon era and the Bush presidency, which has been sacrificing freedoms in the interests of national security.

"It is just one of those re-occuring things. I hope this doesn't come true in our country. Maybe the film will awaken people to the situation of how dangerous it is . . . The parallels between what we did in Vietnam and what we are doing now in Iraq are unbelievable."

In the latest film, the Palpatine character takes over as ruler of the universe with the co-operation of the other politicians.

...

[woodsprite]

16. I'd be willing to bet a quarter on it...

And for me, I only bet quarters I *know* I can win ;) My family HATES it when I say that and people have stopped taking me up on it. After all, Daddy probably got it all set up when he was running the CIA.

Bummer though - I just passed on 2 tickets for the 7:45 show tonight because I have a rehearsal. :(

[ticapnews]

19. There is a reason Star Wars and this Administration fit together...

but it is a coincidence. When Lucas dreamed up this entire story George Bush was a draft-dodging cocaine-addicted law school wannabe who picked drunken fights with Poppy at 2AM. The story is an allegory for the Republics that turned into Fascists states in the 1930's. The reason the story resonates and feels familiar is because this Administration is following the same path. It can, in fact, serve as a warning for what is possible, and yes, it CAN happen here.

Anyone who still believes it can't happen here needs to look at footage from NYC on 9/11. Anything can happen here now, even a gradual flip from Republic to Empire. Some of us see it, most don't and won't until it is too late. The only reason I believe George W. Bush will leave office in 2008 is because enough GOP Senators and Governors believe it is "their turn" and they aren't going to shelve their White House dreams so the Bush family can get a fifth term.

[Nothing Without Hope]

25. Check "Example 3" in this thread and please add your comments

The anti-Bush politics in the movie is so obvious that the NYT devoted a long paragraph in its review to it. It's just one example - Example #3 in the thread I cite below - of how anti-Bush political satire and criticism is turning up in the mass media.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1792922
Thread title: “Funny but important - Ridicule/criticism of Bush Admin in MOVIES and TV”

[Chicago Democrat]

27. maybe....

very good point.

Most of the references are so blatant....



I actually don't believe Bush and Bin Laden are in league literally. Both use each other, indeed could not exist without one and other.

Bush of course was criminally negligent, ignor gobs of warning and missing opportunities, but I'm not convinced at all of any actual cooperation.

[slaveplanet]

28. most of the premise was devolped 30 years ago

any coincidence is purely that...

http://infowars.com/articles/ps/darth_nwo.htm

[bvar22]

29. Most ARE political:

Star Wars: (Guess who the aggressors and the Security State people and lock steppers are.)

Lord of the Rings: (guess who the evil aggressors and industrialists are)

The Matrix: you remember in II when the people were having their party underground before the invasion? That wasn't the Young Republicans.

The Terminator: Recall the scenes of robotic military aircraft flying over the rubble and zapping the insurgents with lasers while the dirty, ragtag insurgents fought back with AKs and RPGs. Remind you of anyone?

Star Trek: Does the authoritarianism of The BORG remind you of anything?