Is Star Wars a Political Myth for Today
With a recent article in the La Times, Star Wars has gone
political. George Lucas has attended a Capital Hill meeting for
Democrats. "Star Wars" filmmaker George Lucas joined House
Democratic leaders at a town hall meeting on Capitol Hill to
roll out an "innovation agenda" that aims to prepare the next
generation of technological entrepreneurs.
Star wars has always been in our collective unconsciousness
since its inception after Lucas read Campbell's Hero with a
Thousand Faces. But has this movie entered the political arena?
Students asked Lucas what he meant by the line from "Star Wars:
Episode III Revenge of the Sith": "So this is how liberty dies,
with thunderous applause." Lucas answered that when Rome, Nazi
Germany, and after the French Revolution, "In all of those
countries, a democracy fell through nefarious manipulations
behind the scenes, and the people didn't seem to mind." Is he
pointing the finger at us, the american public with our crossed
messages. Support the troops automatically means you are for
war, in this mixed up country it is not sure. Also strikes the
cord is Anakin's line to Obi Won, :"If you are not for the
Empire, you are against it!"
Further more Anakin is persuaded by the Emperor, vaguely
disguised as a rising Senator much like the younger Bush Senior,
to bring in a reign of terror and death to bring safety to the
Republic. Another one nudge for the French Revolution and our
modern Freedom Fry eaters on Capital Hill. For true Patriots
like Samuel Adams, Thomas Paine, and Thomas jefferson; today
would be called terrorists. For indeed if they lost the war,
history would of gone to the victors and they would of been
called so.
In olden days we might walk away from a Myth like Star Wars or
the Matrix, and know that some how it pertained to our real
lives. But for too long now, media such as TV and the movies
have been art for art sake. No longer do we hear the words of
Pinnochio or Plato's Cave and find our lives informed on a
better way of life. Or do the papers offer a voice to the
workers and the people. This has been replaced by the tabloids
on cable and the check out line. Maybe we should go back to
believing in our myths handed down for thousand of years
throughout the world, and give incredulous glances to the tv
news and newspapers. For Myths worked for us since we crawled
out of the ocean, of our minds!
So what is this latest episode of the famous trilogy trying to
tell us. Or how does Lucas emphasize this by going to Capital
Hill. Watch the movie again and see what springs to mind!