LogFAQs > #974425714

Blightzkrieg posted...

The Empire is largely inspired by colonial Britain, Nazi Germany and cold war America along with a smattering of other influences (Shogunate Japan, Imperial Rome, Bush Jr).

The prevailing aesthetic of the Empire in the films is the dominance of military culture. It's a state ruled by the military and whose only representatives on screen are members of the military, who are devoid of humanity or mercy. The creation of the Empire is tied to the creation of a standing army, in a war between two forces largely lacking humanity in a morally ambiguous war (at least in the films).

Lucas's politics in Star Wars can largely be characterized as "pro war, anti military". The Empire does not use its military to enforce its evil agenda. The Empire is evil because its military exists at all. The Empire is a critique of military propaganda and hero worship. You can't ask "what if the Empire used it's power for good" because it is so evil on its face and its power is tied to that.

Star Wars argues that nations like this can only be evil. The only good militaries are the purely defensive versions created by necessity.

You just spent more time writing this post than Lucas ever spent thinking about those things.

He used Nazi imagery and style (as lifted from things like Triumph of the Will) because it was short hand for "bad guys", and he isn't even remotely subtle. He wasn't trying to convey complex political messages, he was trying to homage Flash Gordon serials from the 30s (just like Indiana Jones is homaging pulp adventure serials from the 30s, and American Grafitti is Lucas getting nostalgic about being a teenager).

People have spent years writing books and articles about the underlying philosophy of Star Wars, but it's almost always a case of reading far more into something than was ever really there. And then Lucas agreeing with other people's interpretations after the fact because it makes him look like the genius people keep telling him he is.

The original Star Wars is what you get when you throw a samurai film, WWII dogfighting footage, and Flash Gordon into a pot and stir.

The prequel trilogy is what you get after a crazy old man spends 30 years being told how much of a genius he is, and then tries to write a more complex and symbolic narrative. But half-assed because he's not actually a genius, and was too lazy to spend more than a week or so writing the script.