Posted on 05/17/2005 8:56:41 AM PDT by missyme
If there's one thing Europeans and U.S. film critics can spot a galaxy away, it's hatred of President Bush's policies.
Actually, some are claiming to see traces of Bush animosity in George Lucas' latest flick, "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith," where Lucas may have stuck in an anti-U.S. military policy message.
When you think about it, it makes sense that somebody at the Cannes Film Festival would step up and toss the Europeans some red meat since Michael Moore wasn't around this year to dish his documentary dog chow.
Apparently, the Cannes audience noticed similarities between Anakin Skywalker's fall to the dark side coupled with the cinematic rise of a warmongering emperor and President Bush's foreign policy approach.
Newsweek's David Ansen saw a resemblance. He wrote: "It's hard not to feel that Lucas's engagement with this story has a contemporary urgency, as line after pointed line invites us to see a parallel with today's wartime climate. As the Senate cedes power to Palpatine under the guise of intergalactic security, Natalie Portman's Princess Padme exclaims bitterly, 'So this is how liberty dies -- with thunderous applause.'"
Before Anakin (played by Hayden Christensen) transforms into Darth Vader, he declares, "If you're not with me, then you're my enemy." The line is reminiscent of Bush's post-Sept. 11 statement, "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists."
And Obi-Wan Kenobi (played by Ewan McGregor) explains that "only a Sith Lord deals in absolutes."
While at a Cannes news conference, Lucas said: "I hope this doesn't come true in our country. Maybe the film will waken people to the situation."
In case there was any confusion as to where Lucas stands, politically speaking, he made his proclivity clear, saying, "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."
Lucas added: "You sort of see these recurring themes where a democracy turns itself into a dictatorship, and it always seems to happen kind of in the same way, with the same kinds of issues, and threats from the outside, needing more control. A democratic body, a senate, not being able to function properly because everybody's squabbling, there's corruption."
The Left Coast Report says that while it's true Lucas is a typical Hollywood lib, Europeans hate us so much these days they see anti-Bush messages in "House of Wax."
Right ........ sure .......... whatever you say Jar Jar
Lucas should shut up, or else he will makes less money in the red states than he would like.
Oh Gawd...They're hitting rock bottom now...
Apparently, the Cannes audience noticed similarities between Anakin Skywalker's fall to the dark side coupled with the cinematic rise of a warmongering emperor and President Bush's foreign policy approach.
George did better when he was dealing with archetypes and Joseph Campbell. His ham-handed political commentary, fed with liberal myths and lies, is not helping make up for the many other deficits of thought and talent evident in the PT.
Thirty years ago, Luke Starkiller's father was alive on Yavin and the Bogan Sith Lord Darth Vader was unrelated to Starkiller. The idea that (spoilers) Vader is Luke's father didn't develop until after ANH.
I heard this movie is going to be controversial. The Death Star was built by illegals Space Aliens and the help desk for the Death Star was outsourced to Tattoine.
Also, there is a forbiden love affair between C3P0 and the Princess that really pushes Anakin to the dark side.
Natalie Portman's character is a cinematic version of Hillary Clinton -- the female Senator who has "the welfare of the universe" as her guiding beacon.
I want to see it, (But I won't) since I truly like the original:
Star Wars, Return of the Jedi and Empire Strikes Back but now they seem to be more than a fun movie to watch..
It sure is a different world now...So sad...
"And Obi-Wan Kenobi (played by Ewan McGregor) explains that "only a Sith Lord deals in absolutes."
Seems like an "absolute" type of statement.
How can Episode 3 have an anti-Bush message? I knew the plot before anyone dreamed of the Iraq war.
It is easy to believe because Lucas is very much a part of the Hollerwood AND San Francisco crowds.
LOL. Right on.
How Funny when ther Original STAR WARS came out it had nothing to do with Politics, what's next a new remake of JAWS with a Bush Policy attached to the shark?
McGregor could parrot such lines without thought. Alec Guiness would have told him to cut it.
My favorite line is when the Emporer says, "I voted FOR the Deathstar before I voted against it."
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