Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith premieres tomorrow. According to reports, it contains some political themes that may seem quite contemporary to viewers.
Cannes audiences made blunt comparisons between "Revenge of the Sith" — the story of Anakin Skywalker's fall to the dark side and the rise of an emperor through warmongering — to President Bush's war on terrorism and the invasion of Iraq.
Two lines from the movie especially resonated:
"This is how liberty dies. With thunderous applause," bemoans Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman) as the galactic Senate cheers dictator-in-waiting Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) while he announces a crusade against the Jedi.
"If you're not with me, then you're my enemy," Hayden Christensen's Anakin — soon to become villain Darth Vader — tells former mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor). The line echoes Bush's international ultimatum after the Sept. 11 attacks, "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists."
posted by Scott @ 1:03 PM
1 Comments:
This is a story which is repeated through history. People get scared of something and to address their fear, rashly and willingly assign too much power to individual leaders, and then realize what they've done after it's too late. It's the story of the rise of Palpatine in the movies, but also of the rise of the Caesars in Rome, and of Hitler in Germany. Liberty often dies to applause and celebration.
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