The Politics Behind the Phantom Menace

The idea that Star Wars politics weren't about "contemporary" problems before is kind of ridiculous and today we're going to be talking about only the most on-the-nose politics of the movie, moving throughout the prequels in the future.
Edited by MarMarBunBun
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#starwars #lore

[@Arauto_Kagnos]

Politics? In my Star Wars? It's more likely than you think. Seriously, Star Wars has always been political it amazes me how many people miss George's personal politics on the movies.

[@seeleunit2000]

That would be because some people are idiots and some people are being dishonest... And you get a mix of dishonest idiots who are talking out of the other other side of their mouths.

[@dertyp1769]

Its even more surprising because the opinions are just the most basic thing ever. Like no shit destroying the planet and anarcho capitalism are bad

[@mikebane2866]

@@dertyp1769 Sadly some nerds didn’t get the memo

[@Cappuccino_Rabbit]

The Empire itself was based around multiple irl nations, mostly WW2 era, the colonialism and accent of UK, fashion of Germany, the power/influence of U.S and even the whole militarism of Japan You could argue the bad relationship between the Imperial Navy and Army is directly inspired by the same relations of the Imperial Japanese Navy and Army

[@casp512]

​@@Cappuccino_Rabbit Another historical country that the Empire (and the Republic) is heavily inspired by, especially in the Prequels, is Rome. Palpatine's rise to power and the transition from the Galactic Republic to the Galactic Empire is very reminiscent of Julius Casar's and Octavian's rise to power and the transition from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire. A very flawed democracy lead by a very corrupt senate gets taken over by one person who uses an assassination to reorganize this democracy into essentially an autocracy with the senate really only being symbolic after that.

[@HotDogTimeMachine385]

People watched SW as children and it went over their head. Now they grew up and say "i didn't change, the movies changed! the movies are political now!" And these people also watched things like Avatar TLA and X-men, some of the most blatant political cartoons. And still deny they had politics.

[@seeleunit2000]

Well for those of us who do watch Star Wars, Avatar The last Airbender,and so on and so forth, some of us understood that those shows were very political. For those who didn't, were either: denying it or they were lying or they were idiots or some combination

[@phoenixr6811]

@@seeleunit2000 😆😅 be nice now

[@michaelandreipalon359]

I would have picked Batman and Superman: The Animated Series rather than X-Men and even Spider-Man: The Animated Series.

[@silverprimus321boi9]

​@seeleunit2000 I wouldn't call those shows political in the modern day sense. They're kids shows, first and foremost. They were written excellently by a team of talented writers that wanted to tell a story that espoused the universal values that anyone could get behind. These values were then executed with superb writing, and fit perfectly into their stories, adding nuance and encouraging people to be thoughtful. What happens nowadays is divisive propaganda, that espouses black and white reasoning and encourages people to be more dogmatic and tribalistic. This is done by poor writing, which is then defended by accusing anyone who ppints this out as an ist or a phobe, ie Disney for past 10 years. Progressive posturing.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

@@silverprimus321boi9 Good points. Still, would love to see content that demonizes Communists and possibly the Chinese. Am sure such content will age just as well as the anti-Hitler propaganda back in the day, like The Great Dictator.

[@IUJacob]

‘I like my movies without any politics… so I’ve never watched a movie’ -Nick Mason, The Weekly Planet

[@VinluvAntonHandesbukia]

There’s a difference from political themes and the author’s personal politics taking over the media.

[@mikkosimonen]

@@VinluvAntonHandesbukia Nothing inherently wrong with the latter, though.

[@VinluvAntonHandesbukia]

@@mikkosimonen yeah,but it has to be a good piece of media.

[@LilacSreya]

@@VinluvAntonHandesbukiaNo. There’s no law they some author’s thoughts HAVE to pass a threshold to justify its existence. They have the right to put in anywhere. Freedom of expression, baby.

[@VinluvAntonHandesbukia]

@@LilacSreya When don't express it badly.

[@genedaniel6884]

This may sound like a vast generalization but I feel like one of the biggest problems with modern star wars isn’t politics but a lack there of. Much of its criticism lacks any substance and feels much to general to mean anything today.

[@sergioruiz733]

I honestly agree, SW to me actually needs more politics in it.

[@Nihoolious]

Thats more due to the skill of the people writing these new stories more than anything. Having already mediocre writers trying to weave in more explicit political messages would only result in more bad media.

[@MatthewOstergren]

@@Nihoolious Disney's corporate control has taken most of the actual partisan, specific politics out of Star Wars and opted for the most milquetoast, banal politics it can muster, and that's a big part of why that stuff kind of sucks now. The more niche animated shows have the most direct political messaging, and that, in my opinion, is part of the reason why the animated stuff isn't as bland as a lot of the live action shows and movies, other than Andor which was far more directly political and interesting because of it.

[@MLPGamer44]

Exactly! Could you imagine how the sequels would have looked like if they embraced the political landscape of the 2012-2020 years. They could have said so much, but lacked that backbone Lucas had as a king maker and not a corporate executive

[@tjdaniels9128]

@@Nihooliousmediocre writers? Force Awakens was written by Lawrence Kasden who did rewrites for ESB, wrote Jedi and The Indy movies, TLJ was written by Rain Johnson who wrote Brick, Looper and the Knives Out Movies and Rise of Skywalker was written by Chris Terrio who wrote Argo. Then you have JJ Abrams who wrote Fringe, Super 8, Regarding Henry, Mission Impossible III. I wouldn’t consider any of these mediocre scripts.

[@Robocopnik]

I think the mental gymnastics required to formulate a NON-political reading of SW would be so elaborate that I'm almost morbidly curious about what that would look like. Almost, but not actually, because I'm sure IRL it would just be foolishness, but an unamusing kind of foolishness.

[@panamajack5972]

It's pretty easy. Strip it down to drama and myth, which is what it is. Everything is Star Wars is an old archetype that has been around for thousands of years, long before Nixon.

[@EbonyManta]

@@panamajack5972 Drama and myth are perfectly capable of being political too, it's just that in a lot of cases they're so old that the political context of the times they were made in has been lost, or at least is the kind of thing most people wouldn't know about. The ones that we still like, of course, are good even without that context. But also... drama, and especially myth, often tries to communicate to the viewer the way things should be, the way people should behave, just like political shows do. In that regard they aren't so different.

[@empirednw6624]

I unironically like all of the senate scenes. Plus you see all of those cool aliens.

[@strangerthanfiction4014]

The senate was a gleaming gigantic visual triumph in the 25th anniversary reissue 4 days ago. You had to really concentrate to register what was going on, it looked so overwhelming.

[@noahlonaker2668]

I would unironically watch Star Wars “c-span” if it was a thing. It would be fascinating.

[@philipchurch8772]

I read the novelization of A New Hope which has an abbreviated summary description of the fall of the Old Republic. It was obvious that politics were a bigger part of that era of the story because the Republic fell from within.

[@justsomedude5727]

Also in a deleted scene Biggs Darklighter says "You know they're nationalizing commerce in the central systems" or something like that.

[@Tadicuslegion78]

Rewatching the Phantom Menace in Theaters and what happens in Coruscant, things suddenly clicked as to why George Lucas added all that political dialogue in the Senate cause it was Palpatine moving the pieces to become Chancellor using the system against itself by using a financial crisis to star a war.

[@elliottwatt5297]

My personal problem with the Sequels is that they *arent* political. They blow up the politics as a reaction to the (misguided) hate the Prequels got, the sequels don’t tell us anything about how the Galaxy regressed, how the political systems work, they don’t have anything to say about our world, unlike the original 6, they’re just empty.

[@LordJudgement1818]

That's why I dug it. The politics were what I enjoyed the most. And the podracing

[@physetermacrocephalus2209]

Agreed. It had depth especially if you were younger.

[@s7robin105]

Same. I really hated how scared the sequels were of going into the politics of the setting and it made the films a lot weaker for it. The New Republic just gets destroyed and we had no context for it until later lore was added. It felt very lazy as a means to avoid what some fans hated in the prequels.

[@mr.o6240]

"YIPPPEEE!!!!"

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Granted, most of Legends' nuanced politics is in the side material outside the films.

[@NiiRubra]

3:01 lmao, I love watching Corey's composure just fall apart instantly. To be honest, I think the conclusion to draw from all this, is that George Lucas _was not on the nose enough,_ and he needed to be even more blatant.

[@LexYeen]

"I know writers who use subtlety, and I think they're cowards" just keeps being better and better sci-fi writing advice...

[@HYDRAdude]

The problem is Lucas doesn't understand politics and so his criticism of it in the films just comes across as uninformed and amateurish.

[@MatthewOstergren]

@@HYDRAdude Oh c'mon, lol. Lucas is more politically literate than like 95% of Americans, which isn't saying a lot, but he's still ahead of the curve.

[@sambridgers9543]

@@MatthewOstergren Ouch. I felt that.

[@MatthewOstergren]

@@sambridgers9543 I'm sorry. I'm an American myself. I majored in political science and economics in college, and even a lot of the stuff I learned there was just empty fluff where we watch election polling as if it were horse races.

[@LukeSkydragon]

"The Empire is America..." -George Lucus

[@thundermite1241]

A series on the politics in the clonewars would be cool

[@Yabuturtle]

Not too many wars that don't involve politics. xD Especially when it comes to orchestrated ones like the Clone Wars. I don't know why fans were surprised. Of course there's going to be politics behind it.

[@mattmorehouse9685]

Yeah, this is why I think conservatives need to take a humility class. They think that, if they can't spot a theme with five minutes thought, then it obviously doesn't exist. That and their constant bitching that whatever they think is "apolitical".

[@Nihoolious]

I think it more or less boils down to the quality of the film/show in question. If someone dislikes a film they're going to try and find reasons why they didnt enjoy it and zeroing in on less than subtle politics is an easy target. The older star wars fans said this about the prequels back then, and the people who grew up on the prequels are saying it about the sequels.

[@VGLounge]

I think the real issue is that the newer movies aren't "political" they are "contemporary social trend." Recently, social and political issues are becoming more mixed then in decades past

[@impcit5717]

I believe that George Lucas initially wanted the Emperor to be a weak, sniveling politician. A puppet for the real villains behind the throne. I am glad he changed Palpatine to be the Dark Lord because it means that Palpatine can represent your classic supreme evil villain and a political commentary. He is not tied to being Lucas’s perception of Nixon. He’s the bad guy for when you need a villain to fight. He can represent the corrupt politician, the authoritarian tyrant, or the power-hungry manipulator. Those roles can be applied to political figures across all ideologies, demonstrating the universal appeal of Star Wars.

[@LocalCryptidGhostdoll]

"Disney made star wars political" Fuck dude, Disney made star wars LESS political

[@danieltobin4498]

Wait…you’re right!

[@LexYeen]

Andor) Am I a joke to you?

[@LocalCryptidGhostdoll]

@@LexYeen with the exception of andor

[@LocalCryptidGhostdoll]

@@LexYeen which also fucking rules

[@LexYeen]

​@@LocalCryptidGhostdollfinally, common ground with another person on the internet - and I was told it couldn't exist

[@bossman4799]

Good video. I personally feel like the prequels implemented their politics much better than the sequels. A big part of the prequels is just politics. You don’t have to agree with Lucas’ politics or disneys politics but I do think it can be more agreed upon which trilogy showed what they wanted better.

[@SarastistheSerpent]

I mean, the sequels had no politics in them whatsoever (other than the vaguest first order allusion to not-see Germany), so quite literally _any_ implementation of politics in the sequels would have been better than what we got.

[@bossman4799]

@@SarastistheSerpent That is true. I meant it more like how it was examined in the video, considering any references and parallels to modern politics and talking points. Something like Canto Bight in the TLJ feels poorly done compared to The Trade Federation in The Phantom Menace. the trade federation fits into the movie and it’s plot fairly well while Canto Bight feels jammed in there for its message. Removing it from the movie doesn’t change anything really, Finn and Rose could go to any other planet.

[@s7robin105]

People who say Star Wars didn't have politics both general and current issue related are the same as the people who say Star Trek isn't lol

[@loganwendigo937]

Great video! Glad there’s a few Star Wars channels out there with common sense and does research before talking. I’ll have to get the SW Archives for myself, never thought about the global warming analogy before. With that in mind I can definitely see what Lucas might’ve wanted to do in the sequels with the microbiotic world and New republic fighting corrupt within

[@phoenixr6811]

Particularly the prequels it was always there and let’s talk about the Clone Wars 😂🤣 depending on how versus you are in historical or current politics you will see it right away. Most science fiction shows have a political and some what religious base in them🙃

[@akramirez]

I distinctly remember one of the biggest complaints against this movie up to right before Episode VII was even announced was that it was too political. What the fuck are people smoking and where can I get some?

[@prototime]

Great video, Corey! Would love to see more videos like this talking more about politics in Episodes II, III, and the OT!

[@ryandude3]

Hear hear!

[@redfive8486]

One of the central political messages from the prequels is to be wary of giant corporations and political figures who claim to have your best interests in mind… they might just start a clone war and turn your democracy into an empire.

[@gups4963]

That Lucas so believed he sold SW to one

[@SarastistheSerpent]

@@gups4963well George was retiring and while he was definitely opposed to entertainment conglomerates (he ever referred to Disney as “white slavers” lol), Disney also has a fairly good track record with keeping franchises alive. There’s a reason that movies the company made nearly a century ago are still immensely popular and are being remade every few decades, and their mascots are among the most recognizable in the world. Theyre really good at branding. If I was divorcing my creation and retiring, I too would sell it to Disney, knowing at the very least they will keep my creations legacy alive. I mean, I hate most of Disney Star Wars, but it also can’t be denied that the franchise is as popular as ever, due in no small part to Disney marketing.

[@Ikcatcher]

Star Wars fans prove that viewers just conveniently ignore points of movies they don’t like to fuel their hate

[@TheYargonaut]

Reminds me of when CinemaWins said "pretend that it's what you wanted and see how you feel" while reviewing TROS kzbin.info/www/bejne/l4a3aqeVmcyCqtkfeature=shared&t=356

[@dboygamer8184]

The problems with the Sequels: 1. Rip off of the Original Trilogy 2. Incoeherent story 3. Treated the legacy heroes as Trash 4. Rubbed too much identidy politics in the face of the audience while the original 6 films all they talked about where military political matters

[@mania4270]

​@@dboygamer8184no they didn't. Remember when the robots weren't allowed in the bar? That was about racism. "you're kind ain't allowed in here" is something blacks were used to hearing. The empire targeting non humans was blatantly racist. And what identity politics? You act like Finn wears a black power medallion or Rey is LGBT. You show how star wars fans are racist idiots by complaining about identity politics. You idiots hated Finn as soon as he popped up in the trailer for force awakens when that meme came out about how stormtroopers can't be black. So no, Disney didn't start the identity politics, you losers did. And again, can you please explain to me how these movies had identity politics without sounding like a conservative white chauvinist?

[@SeasideDetective2]

There have been attempts to label STAR WARS as right-wing because of its clearly defined "Light Side"/"Dark Side" morality. And the Rebels are seen as the "traditional" type of revolutionaries.

[@mania4270]

@@SeasideDetective2 yeah I've seen that. Which is idiotic. But those ppl are just mad that their worldview isn't supported in the stuff they loved. So they try to only see the qualities they like while blatantly ignoring others

[@HazmanFTW]

As someone who isn't American I never knew the real life connections. I understand the bigger world political stuff but this stuff with senators in the USA I'd never have got without a video explaining it

[@RevanX77]

I think the reasoning behind the anti-politics viewpoint is multifaceted. For one thing, you do have the nostalgia element that people often bring up. But on a broader level, the overall quality of "political writing" in genre fiction seems to have been trending downhill for years. You could say this is the case for writing overall, actually. Attendant to this, overall social cohesion has decreased massively, even as partisanship and political awareness has shot up. So even though Lucas' writing was incredibly on-the-nose and even childish, the overall higher quality of storytelling and lower social frictions means that the hot-button issues didn't actually burn anybody when the buttons were pressed. The stresses just weren't as intense then, and it was all handled better. This goes for the overall social climate, and the franchise itself.

[@Vidiocity92]

"very subtle" 🤣 great video Corey

[@crusader2112]

Interesting video. 8:38 "A good man, but beleaguered, a bit like President Clinton". Ooof. That didn't age well George. Lol! P.S. I think the problem with Disney/Lucasfilm and politics is that they just made a crappy mess of a Sequel Trilogy. If you have a good story, most people probably won't even notice the political references.

[@goldenfiberwheat238]

5:05 JOE BIDEN JUMPSCARE

[@dreadelectric7745]

Good video!

[@Frizzleman]

Fantastic video! Can’t wait for more!

[@metroidnerd9001]

I definitely hadn't picked up on all of these references before, but they make a lot of sense, especially with how you mentioned the political messaging changed over time. Recently, I've noticed that a lot of The Bad Batch's political messaging is focused on political polarization and deradicalization, especially with Crosshair, but even to a lesser extent with the cooperation of Senators Chuchi and Singh. The increasing gap between the two sides of the political spectrum and their refusal to find common ground has been at the forefront from American politics for the past several years, and it's nice to see the show recognizing that and trying to fight against it.

[@tracytron7162]

Right-wingers refusal to find common ground* Left-wingers have been trying for decades, it's just that in the last few years most of us have finally realised how pointless it is with right-wingers and given up

[@JJJBunney001]

Yeah but they're both just long standing tropes, especially in star wars. Hell the clone wars had what felt like several episodes per season dealing with those exact issues

[@LexYeen]

​@@tracytron7162Almost like trying to negotiate a middle ground between "can we get rid of people who don't look like us" and "we just want to live" is an impossible task that will only end in tragedy...

[@tracytron7162]

@@LexYeen Exactly

[@kingofcards9516]

​@@tracytron7162leftists literally call everyone and everything slightly right of Karl Marx fascist, racist, and throwing around every other ist, ism and phobe all the time. The last thing you people are doing is trying to find common ground.

[@Canoby]

Thank. You. I don't care why a person enjoys Star Wars or how they want to interpret it, Lucas has been crystal clear about his authorial intent.

[@generalj216]

True. Just as Tolkein for example wrote lord of the rings in a specific way with definitive political and religious themes but people still insist on things like Frodo and Sam being gay for example

[@Mr_Waffle.]

Great video, thank you for providing context that is lost on those who weren’t around then. Some people get weirdly hostile about “inserting politics” when they aren’t aware that it was there since the beginning. Education, as always, is the key

[@ultratankie]

Something that’s always seemed strange to me is that this series - which clearly has political influences, was based initially on the Vietnam War, and has examples of both liberal democracy and fascism that get criticized from a generally left-leaning position - lacks any clear representation of socialism, even as a thing to be criticized. I don’t know if that’s because socialism gets wrapped into the authoritarianism of things like the Empire and (in the old EU) the Sith empires of the past, or if maybe George meant to invoke it with things like Naboo’s “democratic monarchy” - a system that seems strange and undemocratic to viewers but that should ultimately be left to the local populace to decide. There’s also of course Saw Gerrera, but the actual beliefs of the Partisans and most rebels aren’t really elaborated on so I don’t feel like that counts.

[@impcit5717]

I think it has to do with the fact that the conflicts in Star Wars tend to result from universal political issues. A politician promising peace and security and transforms a republic into an empire. Am I talking about Caesar or Hitler? A band of resistance fighters overthrowing a government that attacks their religion. Is this the Jewish Maccabees revolting against the Seleucids or Iranian fundamentalists staging a revolution against the Shah? Star Wars draws parallels from history to make political points. The good guys can range from officials of a liberal democracy, a benevolent king, or indigenous partisans. Villains often take the form of sinister masterminds, greedy businessmen or crime lords, and tyrannical lords who slaughter their subjects. The circumstances of the historical references are removed to focus on the core messages of freedom and peace.

[@ultratankie]

@impcit5717 That's all certainly part of the intention, but there's nothing inherent about socialism as a political system that makes things feel dated or historical as opposed to different systems. The Republic (old and new) can be an allegory for the Roman or French republics even though its form of government is clearly a liberal democracy and, specifically, modeled on the United States. Similarly, the Empire can be any tyrannical or authoritarian power from ancient Rome to Persia to the Aztec Empire, despite being clearly modeled on the Nazis and being canonically called a "fascist" government. Based on that, I suppose my thought is that a contemporary and complimentary ideology to those two that offers a lot to the actual inspiration for Star Wars can also be present in some form, even if those who espouse it or rule by its principles don't use that exact word very often or if their politics stay vague to allow other interpretations and stay "timeless." By that criteria, some aspects of the Rebellion in the Andor series might fit, but not much else -- and certainly not the New Republic they end up creating or any rival to it that we know of.

[@impcit5717]

@@ultratankie The Rebellion fits the kinds of core values underneath socialism. Even with all its focus on workers and economic redistribution, the core is freedom from undue oppression. Freedom is different to an American Revolutionary, a Basque Separatist, or a member of the Russian Red Army, but they all fight for the concept of freedom.

[@SarastistheSerpent]

The idea of a kind of Stalinist socialism gets criticized a bit in the Darth Bane trilogy, as the Banite Sith’s preceding order is called the Brotherhood of Darkness, which is an egalitarian dark side Sith cult where all members are of equal standing. But the criticism of that concept comes in the form of a “true Sith”, ie Darth Bane, who is an _extreme_ social Darwinist and believes that equality is a lie, and that the strong have not only the right, but the _obligation_ to murder, enslave and torture all those who are weaker than themselves. Darth Bane establishes the Rule of Two, which dictates that there can only ever be 2 Sith at any given time: one master to embody ultimate power, and an apprentice to crave it and eventually steal it. When a Sith apprentice becomes more powerful than their master, they have to kill them. That way each generation of Sith becomes stronger than the last. The One Sith (Kraytian Sith) from the Legacy comics also kinda mimic Stalinism, in that there are dozens if not hundreds of Sith Lords (many of whom are very popular with the Star Wars fanbase, in particular Darth Talon, Darth Maladi, Darth Nihl and Darth Wyyrlok) who are all essentially equal in rank and follow the “Rule of One”, meaning they are mindlessly and fanatically loyal to a single Sith master (Darth Krayt) in a cult of personality. The One Sith order also seeks to destroy all governments in the galaxy, including the Galactic Empire (which still exists almost 2 centuries after Darth Sidious dies). Theyre pretty zealous anarchists, but most members of the One Sith are also clinically insane and delight in rampant torture and genocide for no real reason at all.

[@SarastistheSerpent]

@@impcit5717George said the Rebels were primarily based on the Viet Cong, who were communists.

[@beadymore]

This is a fun idea for a series!! After you do the prequels, it would be awesome to go back and examine the originals as well.

[@markthompson1400]

Good one 😊 thanks Corey

[@Hartzilla2007]

Wait if Palpatine is Nixon should we be worried about him rising from the dead to try to be president again?

[@LexYeen]

Yes.

[@chancellorpalpatine4035]

“Somehow, Nixon has returned.”

[@KitchenSinkSoup]

I mean, we've all see Futurama right?

[@sevenofzach]

As@@KitchenSinkSoup mentions, we have a documentary on it actually happening called Futurama *aaahoooooo*

[@bottombarrelbudgetfilms1854]

I may strongly dislike the sequel trilogy but anyone who dislikes it for being "too political" just proves how little they understand Star Wars

[@DeusExDraconian]

When people say they don't like politics in their stories they don't mean intrigue or even references or allegories to current events. The root of all politics is the friend vs. enemy distinction. You help your friends and hurt your enemies. Most of the writers for Star Wars today would place themselves solidly on the left end of the spectrum and they write in such a way that they are going out of their way to 'hurt' those on the other end of the isle. That's what gets people mad.

[@Lentil-Soup]

But after what right-wingers have done and stand for, why should we care that they get "hurt" by modern movies?

[@generalj216]

@@Lentil-SoupAnd what’s that exactly?

[@Lennis01]

@@Lentil-Soup Two wrongs do not make a right.

[@Tuskin38]

I'm sure the comments will be very civil.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

You can be surprised.

[@conrad4852]

This was great. I knew about the political references with respect to the original trilogy, but I didn't know all of the stuff about the prequel. Thank you for this.

[@burnedbread4691]

It's little videos like these that make your channel stand out from all the other Star Wars channels out there. Well, the EAW for sure as well, but I really appreciate your way of doing this

[@karambiatos]

"Clinton is a good man" riiiighhh....

[@jon6309]

I was in the second grade when I watched Star Wars Episode 1 the Phantom Menace, it was through this movie that sparked my interest in politics when I was in elementary school learning what senators actually did! I remember I was selected to be taken a picture with our governor at the time for an ad for the airport. I recall being in the state capitol and it reminded me of Coruscant! Now as an adult I appreciate the diverse cultural and economies of the various planets that make up the galaxy!

[@RayOfTruth]

This is going into my Essential Star Wars Analysis playlist.

[@Taylor-vz4ot]

war is itself an inherently political concept. the mere fact the movies are call Star WARS tells you you are going to be seeing some politics. even if we remove Lucas' political intentions from the films, they're still inherently political because of the very nature of the story. a rebel faction fighting against a colonialist empire. pretty much learn this in the first 5 min of A New Hope

[@keyboardwarrior4994]

Star *War*s War always is tied to politics.

[@HolyknightVader999]

ANH once had a cut scene which preached libertarian politics through Biggs Darklighter. Vader's men are wary of him holding a senator hostage.

[@pepperedash4424]

I think the whole "Disney made Star Wars political" narrative stemmed from the backlash of Kathleen Kennedy's attempts to "appeal to modern audiences (the force is female). While that narrative is misplaced it is not without merit, as George Lucas seemed to genuinely believe in the political aspects his films depicted, regardless of how well executed those themes were. The politics under Kathleen Kennedy's tenure of the brand often comes off as an executive checking off a list to appease investment companies like Blackrock or foreign markets like the PRC. I would glady take authentic hit or miss political takes over artificial ones of similar quality any day.

[@SarastistheSerpent]

While I don’t disagree, I don’t think it’s really realistic these days for a large company to actually believe in social egalitarian values, particularly now when extreme social conservatism is going through a renaissance, and when a huge portion of said company’s profits come from socially conservative markets like China and the Middle East. Without China’s box office, Disney would lose at least a quarter of any potential profit on a film, and the Chinese Communist Party will censor or outright ban any movies with Black or LGBTI characters. For George Lucas, Star Wars was a passion project, so he could get away with putting his own values in his films without having to answer to anyone else. But Disney is beholden to shareholders and to their bottom line. So that means ridding their films of any actual politics, while pandering to both social conservatives (especially abroad) and western liberal audiences simultaneously, throwing bare bones to the latter with minimum representation, while censoring even that minimal representation for foreign conservatives. Bottom line is money poisons everything.

[@blam320]

What makes you say the politics are forced checkboxes via investors?

[@pepperedash4424]

@@blam320 A. Lucasfilm/Disney is a corporation of the entertainment industry whose sole concern is profits, not politics. B. Lucasfilm/Disney would not be so two-faced in their promotion of say diversity if they genuinely cared: demoting the main black character to the annoying friend of the white lead, shrinking said black character's presence on international posters, having Lando inexplicably disappear until he was the only surviving OT cast member left, because two major black characters would have been too much, then editing out the lesbian kiss scene in TRoS, all to appeal to the PRC market. This is virtually the same that occurred with Black Panther and the live-action Mulan remake. C. Blackrock alone is worth ~10 trillion USD; Disney failing to recoup what they paid for Lucasfilm in 12 years is an acceptable loss when their backers are worth half the highest national GDP on Earth. D. Blackrock and other investor companies are the ones that are pushing "identity" politics onto smaller entertainment companies. What would a corporation be without investors anyway?

[@chrisstahl2653]

"checking off a list to appease investment companies like Blackrock or foreign markets like the PRC" On Blackrock, I agree. But PRC? I think you are just trying to throw in everyone's favorite scapegoat. Star Wars is practically unknown in China, even the OT. And the politics of KK would not find any agreement with the Chinese.

[@pepperedash4424]

@@chrisstahl2653 Why else would Fin's image shrink on the PRC poster if not to appease the PRC market? Corporations as a whole have been attempting to appeal to their growing market; it would be foolish of Disney/LucasFilm not to try the same.

[@WatchVidsMakeLists]

This is an absolutely fascinating dive in Lucas' politics, I can't wait for the videos on Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith

[@Boneworm852]

Liked and subscribed for having a sane take on politics in SW.

[@engine4403]

Wed prolly have to wait 20 years for the contemporary politics to be just as distant before the dust settles...

[@michaelandreipalon359]

30 years, at best.

[@rundc896]

"We all must make amendments to our Constitution to preserve democracy" Chancellor Palpatine

[@Kip450]

An interesting companion piece would be the historical comparisons for _Star Wars._ Take Palpatine for example; his attempted arrest by the Jedi bears a resemblance to the assassination of Julius Caesar, only he survives and uses it to justify increasing his power, rather than his protege doing so. His elaborate schemes, as well as his fashion sense, come straight from _l’universelle aragne_ Louis XI of France. He even appropriates a few quotes from Louis XIV like _”c’est légal parce que je le souhaite”_ and _”l’état, c’est moi.”_ As for his rise to power, you can very well guess who, with him pretending to be an upstanding adviser opposite the trusting Valorum’s Paul von Hindenburg. Comparisons to the Iron Chancellor Otto von Bismarck could also work, but are not as strong. This is an untapped goldmine for content that I am shocked no one has tried!

[@ArcBing]

Great video! Love the research and explanations you do 🙂

[@dzillz3249]

Amazing! Please do the other Star Wars films too!!!!!

[@MeLlamo410]

I always thought Nute Gunray's name was weird, but now I know where it comes from. Thank you.

[@wa-bu3ke]

CIS were the good guys

[@LexYeen]

But I thought it was a slur! That's what [insert yelling man here] keeps saying! /s

[@wa-bu3ke]

@@LexYeen lol

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Not a fan of secessionists. Even I wasn't too keen on supporting the NSF in Deus Ex.

[@wa-bu3ke]

@@michaelandreipalon359 freedom

[@michaelandreipalon359]

@@wa-bu3ke What's that mean? A on overrated lie to ease people's minds like a futile bandaid?

[@Jon_FM]

A lot of people complained about the politics in Phantom Menace at the time it was released. So it makes me laugh when people say it is too political today.

[@GeneralTantor]

yeah I don't think there is anything wrong with putting in politics as long as the story works... I think the biggest problem with the new movies is not that they added politics it is that they did not make a cohesive story that actually made since...

[@blam320]

Trying to have multiple directors with different visions, as well as that punishing every-two-years release schedule were the big culprits IMO. Disney took a “quantity” approach to Star Wars which is frankly exhausting.

[@GeneralTantor]

@blam320 quantity is not the problem... it's was the quality... I feel like people who actually understand star wars could make all kinds of awesome shows and movies in no time... problem is diversity hires... and the lack of vision for an overall story and direction they are going.... story is key without a good narrative its just doesn't hit like it should... but yeah who knows... all we know is Disney is doing a terrible job...

[@neasper]

@@GeneralTantorThe quantity was the problem they didn’t give the writers and directors enough time to make a good script it’s the reason TroS came out the way it did it was very rushed after the director left and they needed to find a new one. Lucasfilm even asked Disney to delay the release but where given no as a answer.

[@thomasspangenberg5328]

Which politician was the concept of sand a reference to?

[@CoreysDatapad]

Alexsander Hamilton

[@CoreysDatapad]

Sandra Day O'Connor

[@goldenfiberwheat238]

@@CoreysDatapadshe’s that Hispanic Supreme Court justice right? Wait no I think that’s condeleza rice

[@ironinquisitor3656]

@@CoreysDatapad Based lol.

[@jamesarnold7253]

Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss and Sunak. Tories in general I don't like Tory ministers. They're coarse and rough and irritating and they get everywhere

[@asomelord]

I was really hoping this would be a video on the taxation of intergalactic trade routes, what led to the crisis, and the immediate aftermath for the Trade Federation... but this is cool too

[@Reverenz88-14]

3:06 COREY FINALLY BROKE None can withstand the sheer "in your face!" value of "Richard M. Nixon - he was very evil!"😅😅

[@rileymosman2808]

Wow the subtleties of George Lucas never fail to surprise me 😂

[@anno-fw7xn]

i mean if peopel think starwars is not poltical they have majore difrent problems. like how to breath....

[@GangstaJ0e__]

The "I hate how all movies have politics now" crowd was just too little to pick it up before or just too dumb to understand. Theres a good 95% chance any movie you like is very political.

[@HotDogTimeMachine385]

Nailed it! They think shows have changed, but in reality THEY grew up and just notice it now. Or cartoons for example. (Avatar The Last Airbender, X-Men, Static Shock, many others. I'm rewatching some shows and they have episodes that these people would hate lmao)

[@josephraffurty9293]

Same crowd has gone after modern Star Trek as well saying that Star Trek “didn’t used to be political.” Sounds like they didn’t see episodes like “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield” where two characters are painted half black and half white and cannot reconcile their differences because one is black on the left side while the other was black on the right side. And that aired during the civil rights movement of the late 60s. It’s so on-the-nose and not-subtle that it was probably viewed as being ridiculous when it aired as well as now on streaming.

[@ChrisVillagomez]

​@HotDogTimeMachine385 To add to the point, I've also noticed how often war shows up in shows that I never noticed as a kid, like Avatar: The Last Airbender. Obviously Star Wars, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Lord of the Rings are all about wars, but even series like Pokemon have war spread throughout them in snippets like the major war in the Kalos games that AZ basically built a nuclear cannon to stop, the scenes of medieval warfare in the Lucario movie, and military men like Lt. Surge showing up who have actually seen combat

[@BoliveiraNTPW]

Even Avengers Infinity War is polítical, since Thanos ideas kinda happened in real life. ( or is still happening)

[@enisra_bowman]

@@ChrisVillagomez well, what many irgnored with Lord of the Rings and Rings of Power is: Tolkien never stated the skin pigmentation of elves, only that they had Fair skin and well, that the guy that not even liked to travel by train because it was to modern build the shire around the nostalgic "Deep england" and that the destruction or tainting at the end of the book by Saruman was quite a statement against the heavy industrialisation. Quite inspired by "Jerusalem" and the "dark Satanic Mills" ... besides the point on how isn't Galadriel allowed some tricks without getting called a "Mary Sue" when we had Legolas in the Movies? but well, Episode 4 and 7 showed us that People that uses certain Key phrases have no Idea what they are meaning

[@boromirofgondor1856]

If you’re not with me, then you’re my enemy! I got it right the first time I heared it in the theater

[@George_M_]

And now we have the highly political name of Admiral Rampart (can't stop laughing derisively when his name was mentioned)

[@SarastistheSerpent]

Who’s he named after?

[@azliaheaven]

when i see people identify themselves with the good guys while supporting what george was criticizing specially the clone wars all i can think is that that's how the message died, with thunderous applause.

[@tadeuferreira4059]

Altough the orginial 70's and 80's trilogy didn't have much political throwed on our faces as the prequels, there IS some of this matter in all of the SW movies, htere's no way Geroge Lucas could even avoid to do that!

[@Sir_Gugharde_Wuglis]

Lucas had originally imagined palpatine as space Nixon, but he ended up as a old creepy evil lizard.

[@ssyn6626]

I remember the commentarys in episode 3 Lucas talked about Bush form the way seemed wanting the Iraq war to stay in power, tho really I think this is more accurate for a couple of recent politicians. I really never thought of Bush at this time really showing any disre to be president forever anything but who knows.

[@impcit5717]

I would suggest that it is a result of Lucas’s political perceptions. The Vietnam War was started because the government claimed the American military was attacked at the Gulf of Tokin. So there was fear of the government using war as a justification to increase their own power. The assumption was that the politicians were just stooges to ensure more corporate power. George W. Bush had the conflict along with an increased push for deregulation of the economy. Lucas probably saw Bush as an extension of the problems he saw in Nixon.

[@Hello-bi1pm]

Is this a response to Literature Devil's X-men video?

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Eh?

[@gaflene]

This is such a good reminder that Star Wars was always political. The guys complaining about forced diversity and politics in movies actively refuse to acknowledge that reactionary conservatism is also politics they're bringing into the zeitgeist.

[@lucanicolasstefan4788]

The prequels were great at integrating politics smoothly into the plot and showing, not telling the audience what the creator thinks about a certain topic. In the sequels, you get Holdo forced in, refusing to act as a competent leader, not briefing her XO on the plan, so you get to see "toxic masculinity". That's not really the same, is it?

[@AshanBhatoa]

@@lucanicolasstefan4788 What are you even talking about? Poe was being levied with more layers as a character - being provided flaws, such as being conveyed with arrogance and being presumptuous. Poe was demoted and was not a part of Resistance High Command. If you were to conduct yourself akin to Poe in a military context, you would be put into your place.

[@CoreysDatapad]

What does it mean to have a character "forced in"?

[@thomasbardoux1692]

You're making the very co fusion that is criticized. There's a world between "this universe has inner politics" and "this setting is full of modern day political takes"

[@thomasbardoux1692]

​@@AshanBhatoa that's the thing, everything you've said is wrong. Poe wasn't arrogant or presumptuous, in any military, he would have been commanded for his actions in the movie.

[@TheYargonaut]

Interesting allusions! Wonder if there's a Tolkienesqe "allegory vs applicability" thing going on, with the better-crafted world of the prequels contextualizing things so the politics makes sense in-universe (e.g. regardless of your thoughts on the real-life US Military-Industrial complex, the Republic's made sense in its causes and consequences). Contrast TLJ's anything associated with Canto Bight (e.g. why would slave children like the New Republic under which they'd been slaves until 5 minutes ago? why 'free' the space horses instead, where they could easily be recaptured mind you?). Separately, seems like a lot of the politicization was in the meta. Were political labels used to attack or defend the Prequels like they were for the Sequels, e.g. critics of Rose's character choices were called bigoted, racist, sexist, etc.; any similar labeling at the time for people who didn't like Jar Jar?

[@CoreysDatapad]

Very specific critics of Rose's character (ie, people who went after KMT on social media) were called bigoted, resulting in things like Rian Johnson calling those specific people toxic man babies, which a lot of people went through a lot of effort to make sure their communities took as broadly as possible to claim Johnson was calling everyone who didn't like TLJ a toxic man baby. The prequels had Anakin running off to join the Republic and Jedi after those orgs did nothing to help slaves. Canto Bight/Cantonica was not a New Republic world, it was in the Corporate Sector in the Outer Rim. The criticism of Ep 1 related to characters like Jar Jar was that the character's portrayal itself was the racist caricature, along with others like Watto. Lucas then did in fact say the people criticizing it were the racists.

[@89playstation65]

Funny enough growing up on star wars is how i got interested into politics. So i picked up on the political side of star wars from a fairly young age. Was it boring to me? Not in the least. The politics of star wars actually has a big impact with what happens in the films.

[@caucasoidape8838]

but why was Jarjar the key to all of it?

[@goldenfiberwheat238]

Dudes be like “ugh I hate modern media it’s so political!” >their favorite games are bioshock and fallout new vegas

[@mb9484]

chess

[@LexYeen]

​@@mb9484chess is a game "about" war between monarchies, therefore it's political by definition - checkmate.

[@goldenfiberwheat238]

@@ironinquisitor3656 no they hate politics that don’t agree with theirs

[@goldenfiberwheat238]

@@mb9484 what

[@mb9484]

@@goldenfiberwheat238 favorite game

[@generalj216]

Honestly as someone who leans much more right wing (more culturally than economically) than left I’ve got zero problems with how political the prequels are. I have no more love for the conservative establishment than the democrats. Some people forget in their obsession with “media literacy” that you are free to read into these works your own interpretations and beliefs while still appreciating the authors intended vision. There is more to it than just the politics for example such as the spiritual and religious themes regarding the jedi and the sith as well as the messages of now matter how low you fall there’s always a way out but it won’t be the quick and easy path. I much prefer focusing on these broader themes than “see chud! George named this bad guy after someone I assume you like so you’re clearly the bad guy here!”

[@tenderman5588]

Based

[@dragoonseye76]

Yes. It’s in the name. War means politics.

[@wolfsoldner9029]

How many videos do we keep getting which point out that Geaorge Lucas had a problem with LibCon's from the US ?

[@griffindenomme706]

I never minded star wars being political I just thought that the Trade Federation blockade was a really dumb plot line

[@michaelandreipalon359]

I never minded the defense program being called "Star Wars". I just wished it became a success story and not another '80s fad. Lately, I've been sorely thinking that we would have been better off with an Allied victory on the Vietnam War, even if it means Watergate not happening. Yes, not unlike the Watchmen comics and movie adaptation, those are so good... just saying. I really wonder on what would George Lucas think on other views on climate change in certain works outside of Star Wars, particularly in Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park novel duology. At least this beats the "politics" of works like Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus and Ayn Rand's stuff. My nitpicks, though. Oh, and we sorely need more positive depictions of government and corporations sometime in the future, and same goes for religion. Believe me, those sides are getting way too demonized in media lately, and it's getting REALLY tiresome. In an aside, what do you guys and gals think on reading up Cloak of Deception back then and now, especially with other lore like Darth Plagueis in mind?

[@JihadiFemboy]

People like to ignore this aspect to Star Wars when it's yet another reason why the Lucas era films are the best works in the franchise.

[@will_the_warlord8913]

happy may the 4th

[@c17sam90]

The strange thing with people complaining about how “woke” star wars is now is that Lucas was probably more woke than anyone currently running Star Wars

[@auntpatty7172]

Horribly ironic that Lucas was so inherently against capitalism and corporate interest but sold his legacy to a media conglomerate that immediately, and continuously, shredded it and tried to mash it into a pile of mess no one liked, for money. And still are

[@Douglas-zt4sx]

You're focusing on the references without defining what you mean by "about" and how that might differ from what others might mean by "about". For example, the often-cited example of Lucas saying he drew inspiration from Vietnam when talking about the Ewoks defeating the technologically superior Empire on their home turf, doesn't mean that Return of the Jedi was "about" the Vietnam War, or that the Empire was a stand-in for the United States of Lucas' time.

[@LexYeen]

do you understand the concepts of "metaphor" and "media literacy"? because it doesn't seem like it.

[@CoreysDatapad]

When I say that's what things are about, I am saying they pulled their inspiration from real-world issues or figures and were used by Lucas in an intentional way to comment on those.

[@ironinquisitor3656]

@@LexYeen Most people don't sadly.

[@Douglas-zt4sx]

@@CoreysDatapad My point, Corey, is that I don't think you're accurately representing the opposing position you're trying to refute. You're presenting something of a false binary: broad principles versus in-your-face contemporary references. But Star Wars can draw on contemporary references (whilst also drawing on timeless references - in my same example above Lucas also references the war of independence), whilst still being about broad principles. I think you have your work cut out to demonstrate that Lucas intended any of the six films to be "about contemporary problems". I think it's more likely that he wanted to tell stories, largely around timeless principles, and drew inspiration from a wide net, including contemporary problems, to tell them.

[@CoreysDatapad]

The whole point is that it can be about broad principles but accomplishes that by referencing specific events. But then people think (or pretend to think) it's *only* the broad principles and try to use that as a straw man to talk about why the new stuff is bad, because they say the new stuff shoehorns in modern references, and claim the older stuff didn't, which is absolute nonsense, and that is what I'm addressing. I never set it up as the binary choice you're claiming I did here, and I'm very clear about that in the video. Anything they''re saying about the new content can be said about the old, and vice versa. They try to deny any kind of broader principle about diversity or whatever else they're villifying and claim that including that is self-evidently bad because it's "shoving politics down their throat." The universal themes George included are the same ones newer material like the ST included, it's just a new generation of people feel attacked by it that don't feel attacked by earlier stuff because they don't identify with the War on Terror or the Contract With America the way they identify with a border wall or the alt-right. You're engaging in some massive mental gymnastics if you think those themes, with those references, were not set up with the intention of commenting on those events, especially given how much the specifics of those events within Star Wars were influenced throughout the production of the prequel trilogy in particularly by the events that were unfolding in the real world. If you try to divorce the Phantom Menace from the results of the 1994 midterms, and especially things like Palpatine's emergency powers from what Lucas thought was happening with Bush and Cheney, then you have absolutely no leg to stand on. I don't "have my work cut out" to demonstrate that, the man is very much not subtle about it being the case, in the same way he directly calls Palpatine Nixon.

[@Kip450]

Watching this, I realize that _Star Wars_ is criticizing real problems without offering any solutions. Case in point, every political system in the films fails most spectacularly. Are we simply supposed to accept that every government has an expiration date, after which we must endure a costly war? Or are we meant to preserve whatever the current system is, warts and all?

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Is there any wonder I actually wonder a Multiversal crisis to happen in Star Wars, so to justify the Celestials or a defense force to finally intervene and make things as they should be?

[@SarastistheSerpent]

I definitely recommend watching Jessie Gender’s video on Star Wars. There is a common theme in the franchise of how history repeats itself in a vicious cycle, and liberal democracy and fascism feed on one another’s failures and in turn empower each other.

[@SarastistheSerpent]

@@michaelandreipalon359there was supposed to be in the concept of Anakin Skywalker, as he was originally meant to be the messianic figure that breaks the cycle and ends the Sith (and therefore fascism) once and for all. George was pretty adamant that in his version of Star Wars, Anakin fulfilled the prophecy and the Sith and the empire never came back. The force created and sent Anakin to restore balance. That’s why he embodied the whitest and blackest elements of the cycle, both a hero of light and villain of dark as Darth Vader. He’s the embodiment of the cycle.

[@sambridgers9543]

This might sound like a cop-out, but what might seem like a solution to one might be impossible to another. There's many problems in the world right now where there's not an obvious solution.

[@Robocopnik]

Well, the good guys are literally called 'the rebellion', so, y'know, I think it's clearly NOT saying preserve things as they are, regardless.

[@adaa12345SixSevenEightNine]

I love showing those who think all the Star Wars movies are apolitical the intetview where George talks about basing the fledgeling rebel alliance on the Viet-Cong. You know those rebels who fought an immense colonial empire controlling their land 😂

[@SarastistheSerpent]

Even outside of Lucas’ Star Wars, there were many allusions to real world 20th century politics in legends. The Empire was based on the American government in the Vietnam war and the German 3rd Reich during WWII, and were incredibly humanocentric and racist towards aliens. They committed numerous genocides against non-human species, both under Darth Sidious and later under Darth Krayt in Legacy. Legends Thrawn also had a difficult time rising through the empire’s ranks in spite of his brilliance and competence due to rampant anti-alien bigotry, and he only ever got to where he was due to Palpatine specifically making an exception for him. There were also numerous genocides committed against force sensitives, which like being a mutant in the X-men, can very easily be interpreted as an allegory for the persecution of queer people, or even religious minorities.

[@DarthJ1977]

Amidala = Dalai Lama .... A teenage ruler in exile, look at the colors associated with each.

[@mojungle3054]

Proton torpedoes can't melt durasteel beams #staywoke

[@rebelfriend6759]

Nice to see stuff I’ve learned about in my uni political science courses getting brought up. I vaguely knew of these implications, but never deep

[@sergioruiz733]

😂 I kinda want someone to dub all of Emperor Palpatine's voice lines with a Richard Nixon VA.

[@alomac8976]

At least George was good at making movies...

[@mr.o6240]

"Wizard!"

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Disney Star Wars at the very least better bring that back, alongside "stang" and "kriff".