Posted on 05/15/2005 8:24:10 AM PDT by gopwinsin04
'The Force' ins't with President George W. Bush, as least as far as George Lucas is concerned.
The blogosphere has been abuzz for days with reports that Episode III contains several barely concealed digs at the Bush Administration.
In a much cited scene, Ewan McGregors Obi Wan Kenobi decares, 'Only a Sith Lord deals in absolutes,' after Hayden Chirstensen's Ankin Skywalker/Darth Vader character says, 'If you're not with me, you're my enemy,' an obvious reference to President Bush's statements regarding the war on terror.
As the Senate cedes power to Palpatine under the guise of 'intergalatic security,' Natalie Portman's Princess Padme Amidala exclaims bitterly, 'So this is how liberty dies-to thunderous applause.'
No surprisingly, right wing leaning cineaste critic Michael Medved says George Lucas' script shows just how liberal Hollywood political sensibilities can infect a mass market fantasy like 'Revenge of the Sith'.
'What's striking about the Bush digs is not that they are that important to the film, but that they are so unimportant to it.'
None of this stuff is probably worth getting worked up over, but it's just another indication of the obvious and underlying partisanship of the entertainment industry coming out in places where you would least expect it.'
In an interview with the Associated Press last week, Lucas claimed has was less insipred by the current political climate than by the Nixon and Vietnam era, how the French turned their backs on democracy to support Napoleon and how the Romans did the same thing with Caesar.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
I'm a self professed "nerd." I really don't care what other people think about me.
"You don't suppose you've oversimplified the solution just a tad?"
Not at all. Again, and I said this before, Conservative money is obviously out there to finance Conservative Politicians and Conservative causes.
Yes, it's a HUGE undertaking. No doubt about that. The movie Biz at it's best is a gamble, at it's worst, a heart wrenching experience. As is most Artistic endeavors.
BTW, those obstacles you mentioned for getting a Conservative Movie made, don't kid yourself, they are there for EVERYONE who wants to make movies, Liberals, Conservatives, Green Buddist Monks, etc. Movie Production is an equal opportunity destroyer.
What I'm saying is this. Folks like Medved have made a career out of sitting in the cheap seats and whining about how movies which reflect their particular political slant aren't getting made. They talk a lot, but they leave a good deal of the action thing left untouched.
Bottom line, if Conservatives want to see Conservative slanted movies, then they should be approaching Conservatives with money and REALLY fighting for financing for their movies. Conservative Writers should be writing scripts that can draw in not just Conservatives, but mainstream movie goers as well.
Can those things be accomplished? Well, if Passion is any example, then the answer may be yes.
All this brings to mind a movie that was released years ago called "The Hiding Place" Hardly what one would call a mainstream Hollywood film. It was well produced, excellent Production Values, as well as what anyone would describe as a Christian story.
It had name actors, and was well recieved by audiences, Christian and well as mainstream.
All in all, it was a good movie.
Bottom line Jack, if Folks want Conservative/Christian Movies, then someone has to make them. Medved and others would better serve working to accomplish that goal, rather than twiddling away their time worrying about that in Scene 46B of Star Wars Episode 3 someone say's something that might be a swipe at Bush.
I've posted it before and will keep posting it: Liberal writers have used science fiction to bash conservatives since the Mcarthy era!
"Medved obviously hasn't seen any of the SW movies."
But that's demonstrably untrue. So why say such a thing? Because you don't like his assessment?
"Politics plays a huge part in all of them."
I don't think Medved has said otherwise. And if politics does indeed play a "huge part in all of them" then Medved's observations are all the more relevant.
GL's created a fantasy world. Its a stretch to link GL's politics in SW with real world politics.
Good point ... I was just proposing some beautiful African-American actresses, without thinking about exactly how it would work out in the plot.
But on the other hand, many men seem to find "intergenerational intimacy" perfectly acceptable, as long as the woman is attractive.
Even worse, that dork Hayden Christiansen (who I expect to once again be the weakest actor in the new installment) has a sinister leer on his face in that final scene. While Yoda and Ben Kenobi look on lovingly, Young Anakin looks like he wants to rape you with his lightsaber.
Why is it a stretch? He has in fact admitted as much. He either does it or doesn't. In this case he does and it is so obvious that a blind man could see it.
Chicago movie critic, Roger Ebert, gave his review on "Revenge of the Sith" during his tv show. He gave Star Wars III 2 thumbs up. He said the movie was non-stop action, but slammed Hayden Christiansen's acting performance.
You know his daughter's picked out his photo from the pile on GL's table right?
Oy.
The entire trilogy should have begun with a dashing and force-sensitive young man(or even Han Solo's age--29) and his discovery by Obi-Wan and how a man truly can fall to evil and believe in the ideology of a brutal empire that values Order over Freedom.
Instead the first movie is essentially a waste and much of what occurred in the OT is contradicted by the prequels.
No, no, 'they' are all out to get 'us'. Never mind that the movies do bring up some vital issues as it relates to the dangers of absolute power within a Republic and the possible evils of centralization of powers, two things conservatives supposedly used to care about
That's true. You can tell it really is a mythology because of how discrepancies are defended(just like many religious people tend to behave)
But the excuse-making on the part of some is a joke.
And who said we weren't complaining about the other changes. The special editions should JUST have been about improved and polished effects, nothing more.
The early critics have praised the fight scenes, they should since Speilburg had a hand in making them!
Are you kidding?
Hayden Christiansen is a huge liability in these movies. I really liked Episode II, but watching Hayden try to deliver his lines kept pulling me out of the fantasy of the Star Wars universe and back into the reality of it only being a movie where not everyone can act.
The problem was is that young/old Anakin couldn't act his way out of a paper bag in first two films!
Not kidding, but then Lucas pretty much changed his story all the damn time. "I don't care what fans think...here's Boba Fett's son for the fans...here's C3PO and R2, Threepio is MADE BY VADER..Revenge of the Sith is PG-13 with lots of dark moments...Jar Jar doesn't appear but for a couple seconds in this one.."
It's clear that once he was surrounded by yes men and not determined and strong-willed artists, that the quality of the films fell. You can see, even with Lawrence Kasdan writing for RotJ, it was starting to go south. The space battle and the Luke/Vader and Luke/Vader/Emperor scenes were fantastic, the Ewoks and such not so much. The Jabba scenes were actually pretty good.
Can you imagine if they had picked a competent actor(and he received skillful direction) for Anakin. Again, someone closer to 29 than 9 would have been great to start the prequels with...Not some teen angst-ridden whiner. I know Luke whined, but other than being on a boring, barren planet, his life was kind of easy.
And Lucas said he felt he had to keep Jar Jar alive to keep kids going through the story, I can understand that.
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