Sunday, May 15, 2005
Sith Lords At The Levers?
Some Republicans have got a bad feeling about this.
'Star Wars' raises questions on U.S. policy:
"Cannes audiences made blunt comparisons between "Revenge of the Sith" the story of Anakin Skywalker's fall to the dark side and the rise of an emperor through warmongering to President Bush's war on terrorism and the invasion of Iraq."
"[George] Lucas said he patterned his story after historical transformations from freedom to fascism, never figuring when he started his prequel trilogy in the late 1990s that current events might parallel his space fantasy."
""As you go through history, I didn't think it was going to get quite this close. So it's just one of those recurring things," Lucas said at a Cannes news conference. "I hope this doesn't come true in our country."
""Maybe the film will waken people to the situation," Lucas joked."
""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.""
About time, Mr. Lucas. Can't wait until Friday like most of the world.
Umm...maybe not this guy: Free Will blog:
"I warned you about George Lucas converting to the Dark Side, and you didn't believe me? Well, I find your lack of faith disturbing."
(From No Star Wars For Oil) "The dialogue in ROTS is rife with distinctly unsubtle references to the current political situation. "This war represents a failure to listen," Padme laments at one point, before declaring after a vote to give executive power to Chancellor Palpatine: "So this is how liberty dies -- to thunderous applause." The wicked Chancellor, played brilliantly by Ian McDiarmid, talks on and on about "security", giving it an evilly sibilant S, and about "peace". As he lures Anakin over to the dark side, telling him what to say in Jedi Council meetings, you wonder if he's supposed to be Karl Rove. He does, after all, appear to be the smartest man in the movie."
"The ultimate reference comes in the climactic duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi on the planet of Mustafar, which seems to have long ago failed in its struggle against global warming. "If you're not with me, you're my enemy," Anakin shouts to Obi-Wan, who responds: "Only a Sith lord deals in absolutes.""
Today's cover song isn't off topic.
Here's an MP3 of Metallica, backed by an orchestra, covering the Star Wars Imperial March theme: link.
The only thing I can't figure out is whether Donald Rumsfeld wishes he were Darth Vader or the Emperor.
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