Darth W. Bush?
The final installment of the Star Wars epic hits theaters today. In Revenge of the Sith, the Republic collapses when an elected leader consolidates power under threat of war, becoming the Evil Empire of the original three films.
Quite a number of reviewers, particularly those abroad, have pointed out the similarities between the rise of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader to the efforts to consolidate power by George W. Bush.
From the South African Daily News:
Much of the dialogue revolves around the transformation of a democracy into a dictatorship, and a politician's use of a fabricated war to increase his hold on power. At one point in the film, Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi who becomes Darth Vader, even warns: "You're either with me, or you're my enemy." The phrase echoed Bush's ultimatum made in 2001, in which he said "Either you're with us or you're against us in the fight on terror".
In Newsday, conservative columnist James Pinkerton hates it, arguing:
Lucas has outed himself, ideologically: He compares George W. Bush to Darth Vader. In a line that the critics are raving about, Anakin/Vader says, "If you're not with me, you're my enemy." That's a clear play on President Bush's famous line from his speech to Congress on Sept. 20, 2001: "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists." So there you have it: In Lucas' imagination, America is the evil empire.
In an interview with the Canada's Daily Post, Lucas defends his choices:
"When I wrote this 30 years ago George Bush didn't exist," maintains Lucas. And in case we've forgotten, Lucas reminds that he penned the original "in the period of Nixon and Vietnam ... I'm a history buff, and that sent me to a historical point of view in Star Wars on how democracy ends."And how mostly it ends is when the senate or the people bring in a dictator. And it's usually because there's some kind of threat." Lucas considers that for a moment, then concedes that his Star Wars take on power-gone-mad "is more about Caesar, Napoleon and Hitler than it is about anything here."
Discuss.
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May 19, 2005
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May 19, '05
Dubya was being biblical, playing to his base.
It's so annoying when a leader quotes someone else and we attribute the quote to that leader as though they said it first rather then it's original source. I used to believe my grandmother made up the phrase, "Rich or poor, it's good to have money" She got it from Fiddler on the Roof. Where they got it I don't know, but I guess no one had the copyright.
10:23 a.m.
May 19, '05
Lucas claims that these lines were written during the Nixon administration.
Authoritarians always say that you're either for them or against them. Limiting debate, discussion, and thought to a flat two dimensional model puts all opponents necessarily in the "evil" camp.
As for the Bushies, Well, the shoe apparently fits well enough for them to worry.......It just goes to show that really bad film directors can have no skills writing dialogue but still have a useful impact in society.....
May 19, '05
"When I wrote this 30 years ago George Bush didn't exist," maintains Lucas. And in case we've forgotten, Lucas reminds that he penned the original "in the period of Nixon and Vietnam ... I'm a history buff, and that sent me to a historical point of view in Star Wars on how democracy ends. I'm a HUGE Star Wars fan, but even I have a hard time that Lucas didn't modify the script in the past 30 years. Its been rumored for a long time in the Sci-Fi underground that Tom Stoppard was brought on board to do some rewrites.
May 19, '05
Shrub as Darth? The analogy doesn't fit well. Vader was originally a highly trained defender of truth, justice, and all that is good. Shrub was originally a mediocre student and businessman, drunkard, smart-ass, and cheerleader.
May 19, '05
how ridiculous is this? comparing the president to a ficticious villain from star wars? seriously, you UNprogressives need to wise up and realize there are more important things to rant about. how about the fact that youre backwards state doesnt have sales tax, yet gives everything away for free to people not willing to put anything back into the economy. hmm, now why are you so broke you have to cut all the educational funding? pull your heads out and quit crying foul at everything a republican breathes.
you call yourselves progressive, but you are only willing to progress if its the words of a democrat, and usually only an extremist. you guys are as bad as the crossfire guys. john stewart needs to come call you all on your negative impact on the country. has no one ever heard of a middle man? something balanced? crimany sakes!
sincerely, tim (registered independent, not that thats any of your business anyway)
May 19, '05
Does anyone hear a gnat buzzing around in here?
May 19, '05
WOW - the extent liberals will go defame a person or a country! Leave Darth alone!
May 19, '05
Not a gnat, but someone who can't think for himself, calls others extremists, yet has no problem repeating the neocon dogma of such shills as Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity.
How anyone takes people like this seriously AND lets them get to them is beyond me.
Yawn.
May 19, '05
tim you idiot, no sales tax is not backwards, it's progressive. we give everything away for free? please lay off the meth.
the school crisis has more to do with an economic downturn and reduced federal funding (gee, who did that?) and is affecting all states everywhere. before you bring up the PERS issue it has been resolved; no more dragging old 2002 news into recent debate please.
and yes, this analogy sucks. darth vader had skills, while bush is simple minded and inept. the only similarity is how they utilize fear and war to cement their grip on power.
11:14 a.m.
May 19, '05
First, George Bush existed 30 years ago.
Second, the Bush/Vader thing is not the only parallel -- the huge power grab in the Senate, changing rules to give more power to the ruler, the nuclear option fight between yoda and the emperor... there are lots of parallels reminding us that the dark side of the force must be checked.
But, of course, most people who flock to the film this week, see not the connects will they.
May 19, '05
According to Roger Ebert, the romance aspects in the film are handled about as well as Dubya handles romance too.
The giveaway was when Anakin called Princess Amidala a lump and went to bed at 9 pm.
By the way, Anakin didn't try to milk any wookies, did he?
May 19, '05
It's a story that's as old as the hills. It happened in Europe and Japan in the 1930s. It happened in ancient Rome. It even goes back to Biblical times (I Samuel 8:10-19). However, it is hubris to assume that the lessons of history do not apply to America.
12:12 p.m.
May 19, '05
While I think this is an amusing thread, I'm afraid as time goes on we're going to start getting movie spoilers. And nobody wants to do that, do they? It probably goes without saying, but just in case - an advance request - if you find it impossible to resist telling juicy details from Episode III, could you please make sure you mark it as a spoiler in big bold asterisked letters to warn those of us who won't get a chance to see it right away not to read your comment. Spoilers are going to be hard enough to dodge from mainstream media. So...Please? :-) Thanks!
May 19, '05
What a bunch of trash. Get a life. Fight for something worthwhile. How about against Randy Leonard's proposed cell phone tax. It will only move more calls to the internet via Voice over IP.
May 19, '05
Art is life. Life is art. Too bad Republican bloggers want to boycott the newest Star Wars movie because it makes them sad. Boo hoo.
What's the acid test of a true Republican? No sense of humor.
May 19, '05
cc: Spoilers... on a prequel?
Then I guess I'm about to ruin the movie for you bigtime...
The ending of the Revenge of the Jedi is...
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
STAR WARS
Episode 4 A New Hope (text scrolling back into screen)
May 19, '05
(typo) Not "Revenge of the Jedi"..."Revenge of the Sith"... duh
May 19, '05
you are all jjjedi junk
May 19, '05
Senator Reid for Yoda. Barbara Boxer for Princess Leia [Did I spell that write?] We're gonna win this thing and may the Froce be with all of us.
PS - Would schools teach my children the concepts of the Force and the battle between Good and Evil or is it just Christians take on the world, spin at 11 on FOX?
Tim, you're from another State. What makes you think you have any idea about what makes going on here? We're oppressed by the No Funds Left Behind policy. You must be very proud to be an Independent, sitting on the side lines taking cheap shots divorced from any commitment either way.
Join the Reich already. Your Anger is power. Let it use you to destroy any humor we might enjoy at the expense of the imBushile now playing President while Cheney, Rove and a party of lunatics destroy democracy before our very eyes.
Blair is a goner but few others besides us is even mildly perturbed by the lies to the country and the misprepresentations made at the UN. So grasp at movies to enable us to laugh for a moment.
4:10 p.m.
May 19, '05
cc: Spoilers... on a prequel?
Then I guess I'm about to ruin the movie for you bigtime...
LOL. You know what I mean. Smartass. ;-)
May 19, '05
Come on people... How many times do you think some one has said "either you are with me or against me?". Everytime a military has gone to war, those words have been said. Everytime a person has had to chose between two different sides, some one has probably said something similar to that. Star Wars is not about America, not about Bush. If you pay some attention to what Lucas has been saying since he wrote these movies, it is about history.
On a side note, I want to make the point that one of the reasons people love science fiction, and star wars in general, is because it lets us get away from all the crap going on in this country. Don't ruin that by attempting to spin everything to make it political, not because of my words, but out of respect for other peoples escape. We all need an escape, and star wars may be some peoples last.
May 19, '05
Nice reprint of the original text at the beginning of the original movie.
The orig. Jedi posters said "Revenge of the Jedi" but they were not used (and those posters not reclaimed may have become collectors items) because it was determined, as I understand it, that revenge is not a Jedi emotion but a Dark Side emotion. Thus Return of the Jedi and Revenge of the Sith.
We could use more Jedi and fewer Sith in the real world.
But the person most in tune with the Star Wars spirit, it seems to me, is Evan for this quote:
But, of course, most people who flock to the film this week, see not the connects will they.
Sounds like a true Yoda.
May 22, '05
spoilers? the torrent is already on the net [look for sw3.scr - starwars screener iso in rar encoding].
sure, the counters at the top of the DVD are annoying, but not as annoying as 5 hours in line ;)
What's the acid test of a true Republican? No sense of humor.
hahahaha, too right