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 Campbells 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 Anakins 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 Platos 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 This has been replaced by the tabloids on cable and the check out line.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! |
