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| | |The well-known space opera series is mostly composed of simple truths about the triumph of good over evil, and in the case of ''Episode VI: Return of the Jedi'', redemption. However, ''Episode VI'' also contained some implied pro-[[Vietcong]] propaganda at George Lucas' behest via the Ewoks, as well as his later claiming that the entirety of the ''Star Wars'' saga from ''Episodes IV''-''VI'' was meant to be his means of protesting Vietnam (which is supported by a memo dating back to 1973 where he claimed the film was about "A large technological empire going after a small group of freedom fighters." It is also to be noted that this was not the first time he voiced support for the Vietcong as well as used film to push an anti-American/anti-War agenda, as he also initially played a role in the filming of ''Apocalypse Now''<ref>http://nypost.com/2014/09/21/how-star-wars-was-secretly-george-lucas-protest-of-vietnam/</ref>), and the re-release for ''Episode IV: A New Hope'' also had an infamous edit where it made it seem as though Greedo shot at Han first, with George Lucas later revealing he did the edit (or rather, falsely claimed it was always that way) as a means to promote gun control. Regarding the pro-Vietcong sentiment being pushed in ''Return of the Jedi'', former president [[Richard Nixon]] in his 1985 book ''No More Vietnams'' cited ''Return of the Jedi'' as ultimately one reason why America, at least by that time, had initially felt so guilty of their strength that they were unwilling to use it even to defend their freedom and that of others.<ref>''No More Vietnams'' by Richard Nixon, 1985<br />Chapter 1:<br />The assertion that our very bigness is badness has infested our culture to a surprising degree. The creator of the phenomenally successful Star Wars series recently explained that the climactic scene in one of his moves - in which the evil “Empire’s” giant war machines are destroyed by fuzzy little good guys with wooden bows and arrows - was inspired by the Vietnam experience. No matter that in Vietnam the Communist “good guys” packed Soviet automatic rifles and, in 1975, rode state-of-the-art Russian tanks across the South Vietnamese border. The propaganda of disproportionate forces in Vietnam, the myth of small/good versus big/bad, did enough damage to help lose the war for the United States and the people of South Vietnam. Today it is one symptom of the Vietnam syndrome to the extent that it makes Americans ashamed of their power, guilty about being strong, and forgetful about the need to be willing to use their power to protect their freedom and the freedom of others.</ref> | | |The well-known space opera series is mostly composed of simple truths about the triumph of good over evil, and in the case of ''Episode VI: Return of the Jedi'', redemption. However, ''Episode VI'' also contained some implied pro-[[Vietcong]] propaganda at George Lucas' behest via the Ewoks, as well as his later claiming that the entirety of the ''Star Wars'' saga from ''Episodes IV''-''VI'' was meant to be his means of protesting Vietnam (which is supported by a memo dating back to 1973 where he claimed the film was about "A large technological empire going after a small group of freedom fighters." It is also to be noted that this was not the first time he voiced support for the Vietcong as well as used film to push an anti-American/anti-War agenda, as he also initially played a role in the filming of ''Apocalypse Now''<ref>http://nypost.com/2014/09/21/how-star-wars-was-secretly-george-lucas-protest-of-vietnam/</ref>), and the re-release for ''Episode IV: A New Hope'' also had an infamous edit where it made it seem as though Greedo shot at Han first, with George Lucas later revealing he did the edit (or rather, falsely claimed it was always that way) as a means to promote gun control. Regarding the pro-Vietcong sentiment being pushed in ''Return of the Jedi'', former president [[Richard Nixon]] in his 1985 book ''No More Vietnams'' cited ''Return of the Jedi'' as ultimately one reason why America, at least by that time, had initially felt so guilty of their strength that they were unwilling to use it even to defend their freedom and that of others.<ref>''No More Vietnams'' by Richard Nixon, 1985<br />Chapter 1:<br />The assertion that our very bigness is badness has infested our culture to a surprising degree. The creator of the phenomenally successful Star Wars series recently explained that the climactic scene in one of his moves - in which the evil “Empire’s” giant war machines are destroyed by fuzzy little good guys with wooden bows and arrows - was inspired by the Vietnam experience. No matter that in Vietnam the Communist “good guys” packed Soviet automatic rifles and, in 1975, rode state-of-the-art Russian tanks across the South Vietnamese border. The propaganda of disproportionate forces in Vietnam, the myth of small/good versus big/bad, did enough damage to help lose the war for the United States and the people of South Vietnam. Today it is one symptom of the Vietnam syndrome to the extent that it makes Americans ashamed of their power, guilty about being strong, and forgetful about the need to be willing to use their power to protect their freedom and the freedom of others.</ref> |
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| − | The prequel trilogy also had some implied pot-shots at then-president George W. Bush and his War on Terror, and there was also an implied promotion of moral relativity in ''Revenge of the Sith'' (where Obi-Wan, when confronting Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader in the climax, stated in reply to Anakin's declaration that Obi-Wan is his enemy if he's not with him that "only a Sith deals in absolutes."). A similar promotion of moral relativity and postmodernism was shown in ''Return of the Jedi'' where Obi-Wan admitted that his claim that Vader killed Anakin Skywalker was "true from a certain point of view," as well as further elaborating his claim by stating that "[[Subjectivism|a great many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our point of view.]]" In addition, the Trade Federation and its motives in ''The Phantom Menace'' was crafted by George Lucas to be a negative response to the Republican Revolution of 1994, and in particular Newt Gingrich's Contract with America (with Gingrich himself being a partial namesake of the main villain, Viceroy Nute Gunray). ''Attack of the Clones'' and to a lesser extent ''Revenge of the Sith'' also had very blatant anti-war themes and a very negative portrayal of the military, as a large part of the plot involved creating a military for the republic (and in the case of ''Revenge of the Sith'', the near end of the Clone Wars), with the narrative strongly implying that even forming a military at all was somehow a threat to freedom. To a lesser extent, the Prequel trilogy also has a negative depiction of family values, since it's implied that even holding attachments to family or trying to start a family leads directly to turning to the Dark Side, with Yoda even stating that such acted as "the shadow of greed." Lucas, in an interview with Time Magazine, also made similar jabs on family when explaining Anakin's character arc and his eventually becoming Darth Vader, where he said "Because he [Anakin Skywalker] gets attached to things...He can't let go of his mother...his girlfriend...things. It makes you greedy. And when you're greedy, you are on the path to the dark side because you fear that you're going to lose things. You fear you're not going to have the power you need."<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20020923140712/http://cgi.theforce.net/theforce/tfn.cgi?storyID=15712</ref> | + | The prequel trilogy also had some implied pot-shots at then-president George W. Bush and his War on Terror, and there was also an implied promotion of moral relativity in ''Revenge of the Sith'' (where Obi-Wan, when confronting Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader in the climax, stated in reply to Anakin's declaration that Obi-Wan is his enemy if he's not with him that "only a Sith deals in absolutes."). A similar promotion of moral relativity and postmodernism was shown in ''Return of the Jedi'' where Obi-Wan admitted that his claim that Vader killed Anakin Skywalker was "true from a certain point of view," as well as further elaborating his claim by stating that "[[Subjectivism|a great many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our point of view.]]" The same movie's ending also carries an implicit promotion of cannibalism. In addition, the Trade Federation and its motives in ''The Phantom Menace'' was crafted by George Lucas to be a negative response to the Republican Revolution of 1994, and in particular Newt Gingrich's Contract with America (with Gingrich himself being a partial namesake of the main villain, Viceroy Nute Gunray). ''Attack of the Clones'' and to a lesser extent ''Revenge of the Sith'' also had very blatant anti-war themes and a very negative portrayal of the military, as a large part of the plot involved creating a military for the republic (and in the case of ''Revenge of the Sith'', the near end of the Clone Wars), with the narrative strongly implying that even forming a military at all was somehow a threat to freedom. To a lesser extent, the Prequel trilogy also has a negative depiction of family values, since it's implied that even holding attachments to family or trying to start a family leads directly to turning to the Dark Side, with Yoda even stating that such acted as "the shadow of greed." Lucas, in an interview with Time Magazine, also made similar jabs on family when explaining Anakin's character arc and his eventually becoming Darth Vader, where he said "Because he [Anakin Skywalker] gets attached to things...He can't let go of his mother...his girlfriend...things. It makes you greedy. And when you're greedy, you are on the path to the dark side because you fear that you're going to lose things. You fear you're not going to have the power you need."<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20020923140712/http://cgi.theforce.net/theforce/tfn.cgi?storyID=15712</ref> |
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| | In addition, the director for ''Episode VII: The Force Awakens'', [[J.J. Abrams]], admitted in a press release that he deliberately made Finn black in order to ensure diversity among the characters, hinting at it pushing the leftist [[diversity]] agenda.<ref>https://www.cnet.com/news/director-j-j-abrams-weighs-in-on-diversity-in-the-star-wars-universe/?_escaped_fragment_=#!<br />Two audience members jointly asked Abrams whether -- given his track record of helping build a diverse cast as director of the "Star Trek" reboot films -- he could confirm if there will be more Asian characters in the Star Wars universe. Asian characters are few and far between in the Star Wars franchise -- one appears in the original trilogy's last film, ''Return of the Jedi'', but for only four seconds before dying in a fiery explosion. Abrams said that while he won't be casting future films in the franchise, because he's directing only ''Episode VII'', he did include Asian characters in ''The Force Awakens'', which opened December 18. "I think it's important people see themselves represented in film," Abrams said. "I think it's not a small thing."</ref> Also, the film also hints at a militant [[feminist]] agenda by having Leia act as general and Rey not allowing anyone to save her, something that conservative commentator John Nolte mentioned was a detraction for the film.<ref>https://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2015/12/17/star-wars-the-force-awakens-review-j-j-abrams-repents-for-the-sins-of-george-lucas/</ref> In addition, the ending award ceremony in ''A New Hope'' was deliberately modeled after the stadium scene from the infamous Nazi movie propaganda ''The Triumph of the Will''. Ian McDiarmid, the actor who played the saga's main villain [[Emperor Palpatine]], had also implied in an interview with ''The Guardian'' around the time ''Revenge of the Sith'' was released that George Lucas had deliberately made the films for primarily eight-year olds specifically to indoctrinate them into Lucas' leftist view of the world.<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2005/nov/07/theatre1<br />He [McDiarmid] also bristles at the notion that the Star Wars films are totally hollow entertainments. "I remember when I sat there in the Evil Emperor's swivel chair and George [Lucas] said things like 'does it remind you of the Oval office?' And I realised that at that time Richard Nixon was in his mind.<br /> | | In addition, the director for ''Episode VII: The Force Awakens'', [[J.J. Abrams]], admitted in a press release that he deliberately made Finn black in order to ensure diversity among the characters, hinting at it pushing the leftist [[diversity]] agenda.<ref>https://www.cnet.com/news/director-j-j-abrams-weighs-in-on-diversity-in-the-star-wars-universe/?_escaped_fragment_=#!<br />Two audience members jointly asked Abrams whether -- given his track record of helping build a diverse cast as director of the "Star Trek" reboot films -- he could confirm if there will be more Asian characters in the Star Wars universe. Asian characters are few and far between in the Star Wars franchise -- one appears in the original trilogy's last film, ''Return of the Jedi'', but for only four seconds before dying in a fiery explosion. Abrams said that while he won't be casting future films in the franchise, because he's directing only ''Episode VII'', he did include Asian characters in ''The Force Awakens'', which opened December 18. "I think it's important people see themselves represented in film," Abrams said. "I think it's not a small thing."</ref> Also, the film also hints at a militant [[feminist]] agenda by having Leia act as general and Rey not allowing anyone to save her, something that conservative commentator John Nolte mentioned was a detraction for the film.<ref>https://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2015/12/17/star-wars-the-force-awakens-review-j-j-abrams-repents-for-the-sins-of-george-lucas/</ref> In addition, the ending award ceremony in ''A New Hope'' was deliberately modeled after the stadium scene from the infamous Nazi movie propaganda ''The Triumph of the Will''. Ian McDiarmid, the actor who played the saga's main villain [[Emperor Palpatine]], had also implied in an interview with ''The Guardian'' around the time ''Revenge of the Sith'' was released that George Lucas had deliberately made the films for primarily eight-year olds specifically to indoctrinate them into Lucas' leftist view of the world.<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2005/nov/07/theatre1<br />He [McDiarmid] also bristles at the notion that the Star Wars films are totally hollow entertainments. "I remember when I sat there in the Evil Emperor's swivel chair and George [Lucas] said things like 'does it remind you of the Oval office?' And I realised that at that time Richard Nixon was in his mind.<br /> |