Posted on 12/17/2015 12:43:33 PM PST by Zhang Fei
George Lucas’ original intent was that his original trilogy be remembered as a striking blow against American imperialism.
In the run up to the “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,†the latest addition to the franchise, there has been a flurry of blog activity making comparisons between current national security issues and a “galaxy far, far away.†Star Wars is a fruitful topic for writers everywhere, as it has a broad appeal and is general knowledge for most people because of its status in popular culture. What many people may not know, however, is that Star Wars creator George Lucas had national security issues in mind as he wrote and produced the first three movies in the series.
“Star Wars: A New Hope†was released in 1977, just two years after the fall of Saigon, Vietnam, and four years after the end of direct U.S. military involvement in Vietnam. These memories were fresh in movie audience’s minds as they viewed the on-screen struggle of poorly trained and equipped Rebels against the technological juggernaut that was the Empire. The analogy lay on the surface, and it was not unintentional. Lucas has since suggested that his work was meant as an allegorical protest of the Vietnam War.
(Excerpt) Read more at taskandpurpose.com ...
Striking blow? And...how'd that work out Georgie? I'm thinking far less of an effect than a fart in a wind storm.
In which case it massively failed. It had exactly the opposite impact. It totally destroyed the 60s era “anti hero” motif and restored the marketability of the “hero” story line.
I heard years ago that it was based on the Rise and Fall of the 3rd Reich. Which would seem to make much more sense than on America. But I wouldn’t put it past a lefty. Making sense is not their strong point.
Lucas is way out on the left, and I wondered what possessed him to make a movie like Star Wars where a wholesome American kid like Mark Hamill played the hero. Now I know. He intended the polar opposite of what audiences perceived.
He made billions of dollars. I’d like to fail like that.
It’s like Bruce Springsteen and “Born in the USA.” Leftists just have zero understanding of the political right. They think in terms of simple stereotypes because simple stereotypes are all they know.
Really? The average age of the movie audience for that film was well below 20 years old. They had no friggin' clue about Vietnam. Maybe years later, yes. But sitting in a dark theatre watching that huge Imperial Correlian Class Star Destroyer chase down that rebel ship? Oh yeah...they got all of that subtle allegory right off, I'm sure.
This author needs to switch brands of crack.
So would I. But the jist of all this is ideology.
No, the jist of all this is business. George and Francis had some ideas, but in the end George saw those ideas getting in the way of a marketable story, so he dropped most of them and made Star Wars, and Francis kept most of them and made Apocalypse Now. Both got famous, both got rich, neither really changed society, but that’s because movies don’t change society.
http://nypost.com/2014/09/21/how-star-wars-was-secretly-george-lucas-protest-of-vietnam/
Back in a 1973 note on “Star Wars,†Lucas made clear which side he was rooting for in the Vietnam War: “A large technological empire going after a small group of freedom fighters.â€
Doesn't work.
The Rebels ARE America. Reagan was Luke. The Evil Emperor WAS Brezhnev---look at pics of the guy. I think he even auditioned for the part.
Gorby is Darth, without his helmet with his white head & red birthmark. I know they try to spin the series as anti-American, but even if that's what Lucas intended, it's like "Hunger Games." EVERONE knows that "Capitol District" is District of Columbia. EVERYONE KNOWS that "Snow=Obama."
My first impression after watching both the original and :Empire” was that it was using ancient Rome as sort of a model.
Then I saw “Return of the Jedi”. It only took a few minutes after the ewoks appeared that I knew it was a political device.
Lucas had a great idea and it has paid him well. Unfortunate that he is a turd. I guess he just is one of the guys in Hollywood tho.
I stood in line with my father to see it first run.
I can honestly say that, despite years of hearing about body counts and other crap on Walter Cronkite and Huntley/Brinkley, Vietnam never crossed my mind.
I saw the original as a teen in 1977, and I didn’t get that out of it at all.
If that was Lucas’ intent he did a p*ss poor job with the execution.
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If anything most people came out of the original feeling it conveyed a vaguely Christian message.
Good triumphs over even supreme evil. If you strike me down I will become more powerful than you can ever imagine. Etc.
Probably had to do with casting Americans in rebel roles and Brits in the bad guy roles. If the casting had been reversed, the intent would have been more obvious, and the US box office a bust.
*But sitting in a dark theatre watching that huge Imperial Correlian Class Star Destroyer chase down that rebel ship? Oh yeah...they got all of that subtle allegory right off, I’m sure.*
Saw the first one in the theater and that exact scene prompted the thought *holy sh_t! that is so cool!*
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