Hello, you are not signed on. |
|
![[ Blogs.starwars.com ]](/static/skin/default/img/title_banners/site_banner.jpg "[ Blogs.starwars.com ]")     
|
 | Memo to Lucasfilm: Keep U.S. Partisan Politics Out of SW |
I don't watch The Colbert Report but I heard about the greenscreen contest and saw some of the entries up on YouTube. Funny stuff! Then I learn today that ILM submitted its own entry (that came in second) under the name "George L." which was followed by a surprise appearance by Papa George himself on the show. Great! I watched the video posted on starwars.com and found it quite amusing until Jar Jar makes some sort of cheap, dumb crack about "Darth W." I suppose Barbra Streisand wrote the script.
Now I spent an awful lot of time last year arguing with both liberals and conservatives who thought ROTS was "Fahrenheit 911" in space. I still don't think it is. But it has irked me for a while now how U.S. partisan politics have been leaking its way into content like novels and SW Insider, and now this. I'm a conservative Republican, I voted for Bush twice, and I'm a near lifelong SW fan. There are many other fans who are conservatives too. In fact, social conservatives have been among SW's biggest supporters for years, praising its good values and how these films prove you don't need to appeal to the lowest common denominator to rake in the box office. And I'm sure there are many fans of all ideological stripes who would rather not drag what will one day become dated politics into fandom.
Lucasfilm took something that could have been a fun SW moment for all fans and made it another stupid, tired Bush-bashing joke that made it clear the laughs were only for one side of the aisle. As someone who has vociferously and passionately defended GL, SW, and the PT for all of these years (not to mention the $$ I've spent), I'm insulted. But you know what? I'm not going to change my principles and my beliefs for anyone, not even to feel "accepted" by official fandom.
|
 |
http://blogs.starwars.com/misspadme/60 |
| |
Rive Caedo
Rive's Uncharted Settlements
|
date Posted: Oct 12, 2006 9:01 PM
I agree (in fact "The joke about Bush was a bit much for my tastes" was the only bad thing I had to say about the event in my own entry). However, to be fair, Colbert's show focus is usually to poke fun at conservatives anyway. So ILM could have just been going off a "when in Rome" mentallity and took it a bit too far. And if anything in Star Wars exemplifies going "a bit too far", it's Jar Jar 
|
 |
FAN4YRS
A Rebel's Ramblings
|
date Posted: Oct 12, 2006 9:04 PM
I hate that kind of crap, too. Lucas had a really good thing going in "Star Wars" by not making it political, which kept it from being Earth-bound, until a year ago with "Revenge of the Sith" when he tarnished an otherwise perfect film with lines like:
Anakin: "If your not for me, than your against me" (similar words were spoken by Jesus 2000 years before President Bush)
Obi-Wan: "Only a Sith deals in absolutes" (which makes Yoda and Obi-Wan Sith since they were absolute about what Luke must do to defeat the Empire)
|
 |
nob01
Oil Bath Bubbles
|
date Posted: Oct 12, 2006 10:18 PM
I should be like independentjac and stay out of this - politics and religion don't mix with entertainment - however, consider the show ILM made the spoof for, and its political satire format.
As for RotS having undertones of the current political clime, this is nothing new - all the great films reflect the time and current events that they were made in, either literally or metaphorically.
As for Bush being an easy target, I'd rather not see this blog descend into a slanging match, so I'll keep my opinions to myself.
|
| |
Marvolo7
Marvolo's Misanthropic Musings
|
date Posted: Oct 12, 2006 10:45 PM
Amen! That definitely needed to be said.
One of my favourite aspects of Star Wars is the fact that the films are a set of timeless epics that won't become dated because of references to current events. Well, the OT, anyway. I'm with FAN4YRS; I absolutely cringed during Anakin's "if you're not with me..." line. Sure, the films can and should have parallels to politics and historical events, and should pose the same moral questions we ask ourselves today. But overt statements (not to mention cheap shots) on today's political situation are out of line.
|
| |
Rogue Squadron Leader
After-Action Summary
|
date Posted: Oct 13, 2006 1:24 AM
What Marvolo said...
though I have to hand it to GL for the OT...it stayed fairly moderate...and many of the lessons of SW are exactly what GB (whom I support) is saying, namely that there is evil in the world/Galaxy and it cannot be reasoned with...only destroyed....
Also that pacifism by itself will not protect you from evil enemies...
And I will always love ATOC's "aggressive negotiations"
|
| |
amiraleia
AmiraLeia
|
date Posted: Oct 13, 2006 2:01 AM
Kudos to you MissPadme for speaking out about this. I also am tired of the political insults being woven into entertainment. It just doesn't seem the right place for it.
|
| |
Rayten
Rayten's Realm
|
date Posted: Oct 13, 2006 7:35 AM
Regarding the "Darth W" part, I never even thought it was refering to George W Bush until I read your blog here. And here's what I have to say about it. Lucas himself definetly personally approved the entire video including "Darth W". Now remember it's "Darth W Vader", not any other sith lord. Vader isn't entirely a bad guy, he's someone who made some big mistakes in the process of trying to do good, and is finding it very hard to make up for it, but in the end, he does.
|
| |
Rayten
Rayten's Realm
|
date Posted: Oct 13, 2006 7:36 AM
No matter what your view on Bush or the Iraq war or any of the decisions he has made, you have to amid (wrong spelling, sorry about that) that he has made some big mistakes in the process of trying to do good. In that sense, Vader and Bush are the same. Lucas is hopeful that eventually, Bush will come out on top like Vader and make amends for any mistake made.
|
| |
Rayten
Rayten's Realm
|
date Posted: Oct 13, 2006 7:36 AM
No matter what your view on Bush or the Iraq war or any of the decisions he has made, you have to amid (wrong spelling, sorry about that) that he has made some big mistakes in the process of trying to do good. In that sense, Vader and Bush are the same. Lucas is hopeful that eventually, Bush will come out on top like Vader and make amends for any mistake made.
|
| |
Rayten
Rayten's Realm
|
date Posted: Oct 13, 2006 7:38 AM
sorry about the double posts, please delete them. My connection was slow, so I clicked submit comment twice.
|
| |
darthdarth70
|
date Posted: Oct 13, 2006 7:54 AM
Maybe GL is anti-Bush (for lacking of better words to say), but he is entitled to his own politic point view. I thought that he did a fair a good job for not dragging this into the movies. Many people feel that "revenge of sith" alluded current US politics, but I don't feel that way. Galactic politics is the background of the SW after all, and I found Anakin is within his character to say and to do what he did on Mustafar. I enjoy that scene very much. Maybe GL used this line to express his own belief, but that didn't make me think too much into it. As long as he doesn't drag this into the movie, I'm OK. I haven't watched Colbert Report. I planned to, now I won't.
|
| |
Dark-Jedi25
Hard to see, the dark side is
|
date Posted: Oct 13, 2006 9:27 AM
I have served voluntarily in Iraq and in Afghanistan as an Infantryman and as a Cavalry Scout. It doesn't bother me to hear "Bush Bashing." Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. The fact that we have the freedom to make jokes about Bush in this manner shows just how un-sith-like Bush really is.
If GL was an Iraqi under Saddam and made a joke like this, all his money would have been confescated, him (and his family, employees, and friends) would have been brutally tortured and murdered.
I used to watch the news while I was in Iraq and laugh. We would win 20 battles and lose one, and all you see in the news is the one that we lost.
|
 |
jedilily1026
Years Matter Not (Gone Crazy...Be Back Soon)
|
date Posted: Oct 13, 2006 9:30 AM
Colbert's show focus is usually to poke fun at conservatives anyway.
The nature of the show and it's audience lends itself to these types of comments. Any political figure or even so called "movie stars" are bashed continually all over the media for x or y reason.
I don't discuss politics or religion....
|
| |
greenandwhitejedi
Bar 66
|
date Posted: Oct 13, 2006 11:41 AM
That video wasn't exactly SW canon, was it? I think that the boys and girls at ILM are completely entitled to express their opinions in a video short produced for a political satire show. Furthermore, Dare I say that if Jar-Jar had made a similar jibe in regard to a Democrat politician then we would not be reading this blog right now?
|
| |
Dark-Jedi25
Hard to see, the dark side is
|
date Posted: Oct 13, 2006 12:09 PM
Anyway, I think that show is funny. I like jokes that make fun of the army too, even though I have been in it for more than a decade. And they do sometimes make fun of the Liberals too. I have always considered myself to be a middle-of-the-road Independant, but I tend to go with the conservative for Pres because they put the troops first in military matters. I was in Iraq during the last pres elections and developing a loathing for John Karry because of some of the stuff he was saying about me. Many of the things he said during the debate about us were outright lies.
|
 |
MissPadme
Miss Padme's Naboo Love Nest
|
date Posted: Oct 13, 2006 4:34 PM
Rive Caedo, I'm aware The Colbert Report leans liberal like 99.99% of most broadcast t.v.. It's Lucasfilm openly taking a side with SW that I object to.
FAN4YRS, I actuallly disagree that scene was intended to be some sort of anti Bush statement though a lot of people took it that way. Lucas and Rick McCallum have denied that ROTS was meant to be an anti Bush screed, so I'm inclined to believe them. I wrote about this in a previous blog post "Shut Up, Michael Medved."
nob01, Since when is ILM in the business of political satire? I thought it was a visual effects company. Allegories are one thing (and good allegories make sense over time); flat out making a partisan statement is another.
|
|
MissPadme
Miss Padme's Naboo Love Nest
|
date Posted: Oct 13, 2006 4:42 PM
Marvolo7, again, I disagree about ROTS but I concur with your opinion overall.
Rogue Squadron Leader One thing I appreciated about the OT besides its great moral lessons on good and evil is the idea of thinking for yourself. Back then entertainers didn't try as hard to beat their politics over your head.
AmiraLeia Thanks. I just don't think it's a great idea for SW to start getting partisan.
|
|
MissPadme
Miss Padme's Naboo Love Nest
|
date Posted: Oct 13, 2006 4:49 PM
Rayten, the idea of referring to Darth W means to express the idea that Bush (and perhaps all Republicans) are evil. And it has more to do with what happened in Iraq.
darthdarth70, Of course anyone is entitled to his or her own political views. The problem with using something that's widely popular and universally embraced like SW to make a partisan shot is that you're going to tick off the people who disagree with you. And it's also a big fat "You're Not Welcome" mat to those who disagree with you. How do you think liberal fans would feel if there was a pro-NRA or anti-abortion statement in the video instead?
|
|
MissPadme
Miss Padme's Naboo Love Nest
|
date Posted: Oct 13, 2006 5:49 PM
Dark-Jedi25 The fact that we have the freedom to make jokes about Bush in this manner shows just how un-sith-like Bush really is. Well, you are right about that. Thanks for your service and glad you are back safely !
jedililly I suspect though that the politics of many people, perhaps the overwhelming majority if not everyone, at Lucasfilm lended itself to those kinds of statements.
|
|
MissPadme
Miss Padme's Naboo Love Nest
|
date Posted: Oct 13, 2006 5:49 PM
greenandwhitejedi Of course it's not canon but it was a Lucasfilm project! They're entitled to their views but they're not entitled to my support as a fan. Which is why I think it's rather dumb on their part to make a one-sided partisan joke by referring to the president as evil. Would I be unhappy if they made a joke about say, Hillary Clinton instead? Actually yes I would...not only because I know it would upset liberal/Democrat fans (and I think they would be entitled to feel that way) but also because I think SW should be outside the realm of temporal partisan politics.
|
| |
gallandro77
|
date Posted: Oct 13, 2006 7:22 PM
but didnt you just birng politics to star wars?
|
| |
gallandro77
|
date Posted: Oct 13, 2006 7:24 PM
sorry, didnt you just contribute to politics in star wars (there already was bush bashing, true)
|
|
MissPadme
Miss Padme's Naboo Love Nest
|
date Posted: Oct 13, 2006 7:45 PM
gallandro, no...that video brought politics into this. I'm commenting on it. Otherwise, I'd be more than happy to not even bring up politics.
|
| |
Dark-Jedi25
Hard to see, the dark side is
|
date Posted: Oct 13, 2006 8:14 PM
"I actuallly disagree that scene was intended to be some sort of anti Bush statement though a lot of people took it that way"
Anakin: "If your not for me, than your against me"
I can see how this could be taken either way. It is a common expression that is probably as old as we are. The fact that Bush has used this expression recently, however, gave the anti-Bush crowd something to grab onto. I would bet that nearly all of the Anti-Bushies in the audience thought of that during this scene. It is funny though that Yodi, just a few scenes before this, was insisting to Obi-Wan that the Sith MUST be confronted.
|
| |
jkelly
There Is No Conflict
|
date Posted: Oct 14, 2006 2:06 AM
Going waaaay back, GL was upset about Reagan's use of "Star Wars" to describe SDI and I still don't know why.
Hemingway was a conservative (even though he lived in Key West) that strongly supported US involvement in the world wars, even though he lamented the loss of life. However, his books are largely seen as anti-war. What can you do?
But when you've got an audience, don't you feel the need to say something? I don't know. I tend to agree with you, but I don't know that I'd respect someone with a podium that wouldn't speak up.
Bono knows more about the World Bank System than most politicians. Is that relevant?
Yes. Clooney saying something is infuriarting. Bono's at the other extreme. Where does this "joker" fall?
|
|
MissPadme
Miss Padme's Naboo Love Nest
|
date Posted: Oct 14, 2006 8:57 AM
jkelly, the SDI thing was over use of a trademark. I can't explain it all in 750 characters or less but it was more of an intellectual property issue than a political one. Lucasfilm asked both pro and con SDI groups to not use "Star Wars," and even took one group to court (Lucasfilm lost).
|
|
MissPadme
Miss Padme's Naboo Love Nest
|
date Posted: Oct 14, 2006 8:58 AM
(Cont'd)
I fail to see what a joke about the president being evil would accomplish besides being unnecessarily divisive. Am I going to say, "OMG, I feel so uncool now because even Jar Jar hates Bush! That does it, I'm going to change party membership?" Is anyone going to do that? It's one thing if Bono tries to use moral persuasion to get people behind a cause. It's another if you use your podium to say to a significant part of your audience, "The guy you voted for is evil and so are you."
|
| |
darthcarth
Join the Nail Side of the Thumb!
|
date Posted: Oct 14, 2006 4:27 PM
I'm surprised that everyone has forgotten about the Republican's ad campaign: Election Wars. They completely botched up episodes 3 and 4 to make themselves look like the Rebels trying to take on the "Evil Democratic Empire" (they actually said that in the ad) where the Democrats are at best, as Jon Stewart puts it, Ewoks. And this was 1 year before the greenscreen challenge. To me they had it coming. The Republicans are the Empire. They control the White House and both Houses of Congress. And they don't care what movie they botch up, as long as it helps them stay in power.
|
| |
darthcarth
Join the Nail Side of the Thumb!
|
date Posted: Oct 14, 2006 4:31 PM
And I agree that Star Wars should not be in politics, but the Regan and Bush Administration did it anyway. So I say this to them: If you try to make a mockery of Star Wars once again, we will fight back, and hard. And quoting Kenobi, "If you stike us down, we will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."
|
| |
jkelly
There Is No Conflict
|
date Posted: Oct 14, 2006 4:50 PM
I can't talk too much because I didn't see it. Daily Show hasn't been funny since Kilborn left
Ad hominem attacks don't have a place in political discourse and usually aren't funny. On the other hand ... Limbaugh refers to Bush's tactics as "strategery" in homage to Will Ferrell. I laugh every time
Poetic truths are there, in the art, regardless of what motivated the artist at the chronological time period in which the artist happened live. That's the frustrating part of trying to temporally limit a film . It's not about Iraq or the fall of Rome. It's about humankind and should be treated with intelligence and respect.
Sometimes, when you hold someone in too regard, he can let you down. Which may have happened here
|
| |
jkelly
There Is No Conflict
|
date Posted: Oct 14, 2006 5:14 PM
I looked. As suspected, not funny. Honestly, that's the most disturbing part. There are so many good jokes to make about W. Are there no writers on the Ranch?
It wasn't clever. The lightsaber fight between GL and Colbert was clever, but not the skit. It was a "pound you over the head and here's what you're supposed to think" type of thing. No one goes to a movie or a concert to get that. Stick to what you're good at -- it's not comedy or politics.
You're right about a lot. Such comments should be kept in a forum like a political rally.
In re SDI, wasn't the trademark thing the legal way to get it out of there because he disagreed with the politics? If you can't explain in a comment, a blog on it would be timely.
|
|
MissPadme
Miss Padme's Naboo Love Nest
|
date Posted: Oct 14, 2006 7:45 PM
darthcarth,you're talking about groups independent from Lucasfilm, not the company itself. BTW, Democrats and liberal activists have used SW too. It's a big part of the popular culture, so politicians on both sides are going to use touchstones the public recognizes (even though I resent it sometimes).
jkelly, Lucasfilm asked BOTH sides of the SDI debate to quit using "Star Wars" in its ads. You see, if a trademark becomes used generically and loses its unique use, it becomes public domain. THAT's what Lucasfilm was worried about when the media and everybody else kept referring to SDI as "Star Wars."
|
 |
The Stooge
Star Wars Joke-A-Day
|
date Posted: Oct 18, 2006 7:20 AM
Even if my politics are offended, I usually don't care about this sorta stuff if it works. Here it just seemed sorta labored... ah well. Better luck next time, George!
|
| |
Fish1941
|
date Posted: Oct 18, 2006 1:48 PM
Why is George Lucas not allowed to make an anti-Bush comment or joke? Would you be making this complaint if the joke had been anti-liberal in nature? I feel that he was in a situation that allowed him to express his own political beliefs. Listen, you're entitled to your political beliefs, which is only natural. But we all must realize that even George Lucas is entitled to his.
|
|
MissPadme
Miss Padme's Naboo Love Nest
|
date Posted: Oct 18, 2006 7:54 PM
The Stooge, well, you do have a point. If something genuinely hits the funny bone, you'll end up laughing in spite of yourself even if you don't agree with the punch line. You're right, it was labored and tacked on.
|
|
MissPadme
Miss Padme's Naboo Love Nest
|
date Posted: Oct 18, 2006 7:56 PM
Fish1941, to answer your questions...Lucas like anybody else is entitled to his opinion and I'M entitled to disagree with or criticize how those opinions are expressed. Yes, I would still think it unwise to bring up partisan politics even if I agreed with those politics. Did JRR Tolkien ever use Middle Earth to promote or criticize a Prime Minister? Did C.S. Lewis have Aslan make fun of a pol he didn't like? Not to my knowledge. A great story, a great myth ought to be beyond partisan politics. Not to mention that it's just not smart to tick off half the people in your audience for no good reason.
|
| |
Oboe-Wan
Oboe-Wan's Hive of Scum & Villainy
|
date Posted: Oct 25, 2006 11:17 PM
I guess I never read current events or politics into ROTS. Maybe i'm naive, but politics was the basis of the PT anyway, right? The age-old story of power gone awry is not republican or democrat, Bush or Truman, it's timeless. It's a morality play of sorts.
Now... as for the "George L." green screen entry, I guess I just didn't like the political statement at the end just because the whole thing was so funny up to that point. It was kind of a killjoy for me. I don't want to hear that, I just want to enjoy the short film. Personally, Stephen Colbert should have just lopped off Jar Jar's head & been done with it. But what do I know...? I'm horrible at political debates!
|
| |
Fish1941
|
date Posted: Nov 02, 2006 1:43 PM
Did C.S. Lewis have Aslan make fun of a pol he didn't like? Not to my knowledge. A great story, a great myth ought to be beyond partisan politics.
Why? I don't see why it should be beyond partisan politics. I think it should be up to the creator. If he or she wants to include his political beliefs in the saga, then he or she should. Both liberal and conservative artistic creators do it, anyway.
|
|
MissPadme
Miss Padme's Naboo Love Nest
|
date Posted: Nov 02, 2006 8:34 PM
Fish1941
The great myths and fairy tales deal with broader, more universal issues than what's happening in America in 2006. That's why they endure. And as the Dixie Chicks learned the hard way, you might have the right to toss in your politics but your fans are not obliged to continue supporting your career either.
|
- Please log in to post comments
|
|
 |
