Before You Decide to See Star Wars

One of the refreshing traits of the Lord of the Rings trilogy was the unmistakable message that good and evil actually do exist. Although the coincidence of this theme with the U.S. response to terrorism perked our curiosity, Peter Jackson, director of the films, disavowed any intent.

Apparently the political message of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith was not so unintentional.

When the Ottawa Sun asked Christensen if the flick “takes metaphoric shots at the war-mongering politics of U.S. presidents Richard Nixon and the two George Bushes” the star answered: “Absolutely.”

He went on to say that he thinks that some people who weren’t American allies in the Iraq war will love “Revenge of the Sith” because of it.

“I think for that reason the French will be really responsive to it,” Christensen said. “I think they’ll get it. They’ll get the political commentary and the subtext. Anakin says: ‘If you’re not with me, you’re my enemy!’ I think they’ll love it.’”

full text


Today's WSJ editorial isn't so sure about the lead character's opinion, quoting instead director George Lucas' noncomittal hedge:

Asked at Cannes about the meaning of his movie, Mr. Lucas has been rather coy. Perhaps reluctant for commercial reasons to let the Bush-administration analogy be taken too seriously, the director keeps insisting that he wrote the basic "Star Wars" saga decades ago. He was thinking of Hitler, Vietnam, Watergate and Nixon, he has said at various times; and if recent events have proved him prescient, that just shows that history keeps repeating itself. Though he couldn't resist adding in Cannes that "the parallels between what we did in Vietnam and what we're doing in Iraq now are unbelievable."