The planetary shockwaves of our collective post-election freakout have finally reached the galaxy far, far away. The creative force behind Star Wars is revealing its progressive roots in response -- even as their gatekeepers shy away from those roots.
The writers behind the forthcoming December blockbuster Rogue One: A Star Wars storyare, like many millions of us, very anxious about America giving an ignorant, race-baiting billionaire with global business interests the powers and pulpit of the presidency. Like many millions of us over the past few weeks, they took to Twitter to vent their frustration.
SEE ALSO:If the election happened in a galaxy far, far away"Please note that the Empire is a white supremacist (human) organization," wrote Rogue Onewriter Chris Weitz. It was not a controversial statement, and really, never has been.
From the moment white-clad Stormtroopers hit our screens -- I'll just say their name again, storm troopers-- under the direction of a caped fascist in Star Wars (1977), to the moment General Hux led a Nuremberg-style rally in The Force Awakens(2015), through the prequels' tale of how an actual demagogue destroyed an actual Republic, the Star Wars franchise has always been blatant anti-Nazi propaganda hiding in plain sight. Its earliest drafts were anti-Nixon and anti-Vietnam too.
The Empire's ultimate fate is like the alt-right's worst nightmare: blown to smithereens by a bunch of singing teddy bears, a woman in green tie-dye, and a black man in a souped-up hot rod.
George Lucas was, and remains, a very, veryliberal Northern Californian. Everywhere you look in his films, you find progressive parables. Star Wars celebrates the cultural diversity of the good guys, and showcases the constant struggle against prejudice in everyday life. "We don't serve their kind in here," the bigoted bartender barks at Luke Skywalker about his droids in Mos Eisley. Scum and villainy indeed.
And yet Weitz, hit by an avalanche of Trump trolls, felt the need to delete his tweet. As did Gary Whitta, who wrote the original script and responded to Weitz along the same lines.
Recently, when I tried to interview the author of a Star Wars novel with very clear connections to our current situation, the author's publisher declined, telling me they weren't really permitted to get political.
What is this? The gatekeepers of a political parable don't want to get "political" even as they promote and celebrate the story of a small, dispirited and diverse band -- people who find the courage to resist a white supremacist organization that is about to achieve overwhelming power?
SEE ALSO:Americans are suddenly finding 'Rogue One' a lot more relevantAlthough neither Disney nor Lucasfilm would comment, the opinion that the makers of Rogue Oneshould try to avoid controversy -- no matter what is going on in the wider world -- is widespread in the entertainment business.
"Will anti-Trump tweets hurt Rogue One?" The Hollywood Reporterwondered Monday. The trade publication quoted industry analyst after industry analyst spouting the party line: the Star Wars brand is supposed to appeal to everyone, and you could put a dent in ticket sales if you alienate 60 million Donald Trump voters.
And so we have a situation that George Lucas never expected when he sold Lucasfilm to Disney for $4.06 billion in 2012: his franchise, probably the best-known pro-diversity, anti-Nazi parable on the planet, is staying silent at the exact momentAmerica is crying out for pro-diversity, anti-Nazi parables to remind us who we are.
As a purely business decision, it barely makes sense. The election told us a number of things: that speaking out passionately is successful; that you've got to turn out your base; that there are 2 million (and counting) more Hillary Clinton supporters in the country than Trump supporters.
Throw in the 5 million Johnson and Stein voters, no friends to tyranny either, and you have a diverse audience of 67 million who are desperate to divest themselves of fear with an encouraging tale well told. Not counting their kids, of course. Or the 120 million members of the electorate who didn't vote, many of whom find themselves as terrified as a baby Ewok about our future.
The majority of Star Wars fans are progressives who celebrate diversity
In my experience, the majority of Star Wars fans are progressives who celebrate diversity. They are good friends with the proud and friendly minority of Star Wars conservatives, who are generally of a limited-government, libertarian persuasion. I know of precisely one Star Wars fan who proclaimed his support for Trump, and he runs a parody Twitter account.
Get the majority to turn out in theaters, promote it as a healing and encouraging experience for the majority of us who fear tyranny, and Rogue Onewill easily win the battle of the box office.
And then, finally, there's the moral imperative. The need to take a stand when something really matters.
Back in 1975, when George Lucas was describing the Empire as "Nixonian gangsters," he also had important piece of advice, according to documents in Lucasfilm's own exhaustive book The Making of Star Wars:
If you can't do anything about the Empire, the Empire will eventually crush you ... To not make a decision is a decision.
It happens in all countries where a certain force, which everybody thinks is wrong, begins to take over and nobody decides to stand up against it, or the people who stand up against it can't rally enough support.
What usually happens is a small minority stands up against it, and the major portion are a lot of indifferent people who aren't doing anything one way or the other.
By not accepting the responsibility, those people eventually have to confront the issue in a more painful way -- which is essentially what happened in the United States with the Vietnam War.
It was also what happened in 2003, when George W Bush declared war on Iraq based on flimsy evidence, leading to a decade-long disaster. Lucas wasn't shy about referencing this in Revenge of the Sith(2005), in which Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader -- then utters the line "If you're not with me, you're my enemy." This was a direct quote from Bush.
Lucas was not shy in speaking out against the Iraq War while promoting Revenge of the Sith. It did not hurt ticket sales.
What you warned about is happening again, Mr. Lucas. It may be time for you to speak out once more.
After all, Luke Skywalker already has. Mark Hamill pointedly retweeted this logo -- which Rogue Onescreenwriter Chris Weitz has thankfully not deleted yet.
Tweet may have been deleted
May the Force of principled resistance be with us, always.
Chris Taylor is the author of How Star Wars Conquered the Universe.
TopicsStar WarsPolitics
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